At this stage in the game, it might be too hard for Nokia's Windows Phones to compete with Apple, Samsung and Android, but that's not stopping the company from taking aim at another competitor: BlackBerry.
Nokia is hoping that its new line-up of Windows Phones can take out BlackBerry in the business sector. If sales during the holidays are any indication, it has a pretty good shot at accomplishing that goal.
Despite its historic success in enterprise, BlackBerry sales have been trending south for years now, and Nokia thinks the functionality offered by smartphones like the Lumia 920 can attract business professionals experiencing the transition. After all, the Lumia series runs Microsoft Office programs like Word, Excel and PowerPoint out of the box, and most companies use those programs all the time.
"We need to keep pushing," said Nokia's Global Sales Chief Chris Weber to Bloomberg in Espoo, Finland. "It's a good opportunity now with people and companies trying to decide which way to go."
That's not to say it's going to be easy. There's no reason to think enterprises will spurn popular iPhones and Android devices, and BlackBerry itself is mounting a do-or-die effort with the BlackBerry Z10 to reinstate itself as a major player in the mobile field.
Still, Nokia thinks there's an opening it hasn't had for awhile, and that its big gamble on Microsoft's Windows Phone OS is enough to differentiate it from its rivals.
"I am confident that the bet we have on Microsoft gives us the opportunity to be the third," Weber added. "I do think there's room and I think there is appetite."
During the fourth quarter of 2012, the Lumia series sold 4.4 million units, enough to help Nokia stop a skid of six straight losing quarters and finally post a profit.
Rumors have even circulated that Nokia might be interested in purchasing BlackBerry outright. CEO Stephen Elop insists he's only interested in locking up the company's user base.
"When I get asked that question, my answer is 'I'm interested in their customers,' " Elop said in an interview this week. "It's a really perfect moment to go after that marketplace."
