Today's a big day for Nokia, as its first Windows Phone-based device, the Lumia 800 smartphone, debut in the UK, France and other parts of Europe.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop said that it was so far, so good in terms of the response from consumers to the Lumia 800, saying, "The reaction is remarkably positive. We need to introduce the experience to consumers to get them to try it because we know once they try it they will like it."
The Lumia 800 costs about 420 Euros, while the upcoming Lumia 710 will cost 270 Euros when it is eventually launched in Europe (so far there's no official release date for either device here in the US).
Elop confirmed that Nokia will offer both more expensive and cheaper Windows Phone based devices in the future. He would not confirm reports that Nokia is working on a Windows 8-based tablet, saying only that such a product might be an "interesting opportunity."
Nokia has had problems of its own in recent months as the once dominant mobile phone manufacturer saw its market share decline, thanks in part to the rise of devices that use competing platforms. It has also moved to make large amounts of layoffs of its staff around the world.
Elop said that he has streamlined the company since coming on as CEO (he previously worked at Microsoft), claiming that five layers of management have now been done away with at the company.
Now, he says he wants to get the millions of current Nokia phone users to try out their new Windows Phone-based devices, saying, "Our highest priority is to help the Windows Phone ecosystem compete against Android."
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