Nokia Lumia Activations “Were Flat to Up” After Windows Phone 8 Announcement

Despite news that Windows Phone 8 won’t make it to current Windows Phone devices, Nokia’s Stephen Elop claims it didn’t negatively impact Lumia sales.

According to The Verge, during Nokia’s Q2 earnings call, Elop said “Lumia activations were flat to up in the weeks following Windows Phone 8 announcement.” So while those Windows Phones will only receive updates to Windows Phone 7.8, users seemingly didn’t care. It’s probable, however, that those users simply didn’t know that their new phones won’t get the next big version of the mobile OS.

Those sales helped Nokia sell 4 million Lumia devices in the last quarter. In the previous quarter the company only sold 2 million Lumia devices.

Elop said during the earnings call that Nokia will bring the Windows Phone 7.8 update to all existing Nokia Lumia devices from the Lumia 900 down to the Lumia 610. The company is also committed to creating its exclusive Windows Phone apps. Apps like Nokia Transit and City Lens add features that other Windows Phones don’t have, and are theoretically a big selling point for Nokia’s phones over Windows Phones from Samsung or HTC.

The Finnish company also plans more devices for the launch of Windows Phone 8 later this year. Those new devices will be “competitive,” and cover the high-end and low-end of the smartphone market. We hope at least one of the more expensive smartphones will feature Nokia’s PureView technology.

Strangely, Nokia will still sell current Lumia phones after the Windows Phone 8 launch. We assume they will fit the role of Apple’s iPhone 3GS: the slightly older and slower free models that help bring in new users.

Nokia hopes sales tick up with Windows Phone 8, and Elop anticipates a big marketing push from Microsoft which may help push those numbers up.