There are three separate groups at the Consumer Electronics Show -- which opened today in Las Vegas -- that must be desperately rubbing rabbits' feet, crossing their fingers, and praying for the same thing: Please, oh, please, let the expected introduction of the "Ace" be a huge success. There is a lot riding on the outcome.
Those groups include Nokia
Next, there is Microsoft
And finally, according to reports cited by Credit Suisse analysts, there are the wireless carriers, which are hoping that the Windows Phone OS will provide another competitor for those iPhones and Android-run devices.
Light Reading reports that assessment has been seconded by Chris Collins of marketing research company Compete: "Carriers won't publicly talk about this, but they're dying for a third ecosystem to emerge. Having an Apple/Android duopoly doesn't play to their best interest."
The mobile carriers have had to shell out vast sums in infrastructure costs to build out their networks and upgrade them to the latest 4G LTE specs. To pay off the huge debt they have incurred, the companies must entice subscribers with the phones they want most. That is often the expensive iPhone. But to make those iPhones affordable, the carriers have to subsidize most of the cost. Verizon NYSE: VZ) reported last week that after doubling its iPhone sales quarter-to-quarter, its profit margins were trimmed by 5%.
AT&T
Will Ace do the trick and storm the iPhone castle for Microsoft and its Windows Phone, or will it be just another barbarian falling into Apple's moat?
Meanwhile, keep track of these companies by putting them on the Fool's My Watchlist:
- Add Verizon Communications to My Watchlist.
- Add AT&T to My Watchlist.
- Add Nokia to My Watchlist.
- Add Microsoft to My Watchlist.
- Add Apple to My Watchlist.