Windows Phone is taking shape as handsets are slowly finding their way into the hands of consumers. However, the operating system has finally broken away from Symbian, something that should have happened a long time ago.

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The real reason behind Windows Phone's success over Symbian, is the Nokia Lumia line of Windows Phone devices. Over 70 percent of Windows Phone devices are of the Lumia variety. This is proof that Windows Phone wouldn't have made dent in the market without the help of Nokia. Microsoft should count itself lucky to have landed a deal with Nokia when it mattered most.

For those who are interested in the numbers, Nokia announced that 4.4 million Lumia Windows Phone handsets were sold in Q4 2012. That's a massive 51 percent increase over the 2.9 million units that were sold in Q4 2011. This success can be attributed to the release of Windows Phone 8, which is a huge step above Windows Phone 7.5 and is actually what Microsoft should have begun with.

Symbian is quite dead, it's not coming back, it will never be zombified. However, it is still fighting the good fight to stay alive. In the last three months of 2012, 2.2 million Symbian devices managed to sneak into consumers hands. That's still quite impressive for a platform that is on its way to the mobile operating system graveyard. One can't deny that Symbian was a great operating system back in the 2000s despite the bugs and Nokia's slow update process.

Come Jan. 24, Nokia will release its full earnings report for Q4 2012. It should be quite interesting to see how well the Lumia line of handsets are truly doing.

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