According to Business Insider, Nokia is hoping to convert 200 million of its Symbian users to WP7 by 2013. This came to light in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which revealed that Nokia wants to convert its 38% smartphone marketshare into Windows Phone 7 users:
“We expect the transition to Windows Phone as our primary smartphone platform to take about two years.
[…]
We expect 2011 and 2012 to be transition years, as we transition to Windows Phone as our primary smartphone platform and we invest in building a new ecosystem with Microsoft.”
In the transition, Nokia will still sell Symbian devices, but slowly pull back on them. They’re hoping to shift 120 million more units before the switchover is complete. The paper also mentioned that transitioning to Microsoft may hurt Nokia in China, and that while goods will now cost the company more due to licensing fees, R&D will drop in price significantly.
Good! Now how does this help us current WP7 users????