At the moment, the Windows Phone platform is not capable of hitting the low-end spectrum of the market, so Nokia has to make do with its Asha line-up of handets, which are based on the aging Series 40 platform.

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At Nokia's recent earning call, CEO Stephen Elop made it clear that Android is not a part of Nokia's plan, going forward. The company is focused on Windows Phone for its smartphone offering, while its Asha range of devices will target the low-end section of the market where it will compete with Android handsets at the same price point.

"We are clearly innovating with Microsoft around Windows Phone and our focus on taking that to lower and lower price points, you will see that over time to compete with Android. But at the same time we've said consistently and you're just beginning to see it in the Asha full touch products that we will continue to innovate around our Asha smartphone line in order to compete with the very lowest levels of Android with assets that we have. So we are not in a situation where we are considering something to different than Windows Phone combined with what we are doing with Asha," noted Stephen Elop during Nokia's earning call.

The main concern for Nokia right now, is how the company will scale Asha devices to compete with low-end Android handsets with large screens and dual core processors. The Series 40 platform was not designed with smartphones in mind, so we're guessing scaling such a platform to do smartphone work will not be easy. Nokia's best bet is to quickly get Windows Phone 8 devices down to that level, because there will come a time when it won't be possible to do anything else with the Asha line of devices, and Windows Phone would be the only option left for Nokia.

It would be interesting to see what Nokia plans to do with next-generation Asha devices. Don't be surprised if these handsets come fully equipped with everything that makes a smartphone tick.

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