Nokia Corp., the world's largest maker of cell phones, said that Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Phone 7 operating system will allow the supplier of mobile phones to create more competitive smartphones as they will be more affordable compared to rivals.

"We have become convinced that we can [reach a very low price point] very quickly," said Stephen Elop, chief executive officer of Nokia, at a press conference, reports Reuters news-agency.

Considering the fact that by adopting Microsoft Windows Phone operating system means that Nokia will not need to develop its own OS, it will truly be able to sell phones at lower price points going forward. However, one must remember that Microsoft imposes a number of strict guidelines about hardware that powers Windows Phone 7-based smartphones and naturally this may result in higher cost of manufacturing.

While it is a good news that Nokia expects Microsoft Windows Phone 7-based communicators to be affordable, it remains to be seen when they reach the market at all. Earlier this month the CEO of Nokia promised to release the first WP7-powered smartphone in 2011, but it is pretty clear that the company will only be able to release a lineup of new smartphones only in 2012.

There is a trend towards affordable smartphones nowadays and it is crucial for Nokia to launch inexpensive smartphones. At present it is how inexpensive Nokia's smartphones can get compared to handsets based on Google Android and other operating systems.

Tags: Nokia, Windows Phone, Microsoft