European carriers: Nokia's Lumia smartphone "would be much easier to sell" if it ran Android

Four of the major cellphone carriers in Europe say Nokia's Windows Phone-powered Lumia smartphones would be "would be much easier to sell" if it ran the Android operating system, reports Reuters.

The carriers claim that the handsets are overpriced, and already suffer from image problems through software and hardware bugs, and its advertising and marketing efforts have been lacklustre.

"No one comes into the store and asks for a Windows phone," said an executive in charge of mobile devices for one European operator. "If the Lumia with the same hardware came with Android in it and not Windows, it would be much easier to sell," he added.

Another problem it seems is that stores aren't keen to sell the handsets to consumers. According to the report, Lumia handsets weren't prominently displayed at a France Telecom store in Paris, with the sales clerk offering shoppers iPhones first, then Android handsets.

Following Nokia's recent Q1 earnings warning, credit rating agency Moody's has downgrading the company to a BAA3 rating and the company's outlook to "negative." However, Moody expects Nokia to be "accepted in the market in 2012," and for Windows Phone to become the number three mobile platform, behind Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms.

Image credit: Nokia.

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