Windows Phone proves a difficult sell

After just five months in the job, Gavin Kim, the marketing manager for Windows Phone, is leaving the company. Kim is leaving Microsoft for "personal reasons", and Microsoft thanked him for his efforts. However his departure is surely linked to the limited success of Windows Phone to date.

This is yet another setback for Microsoft in its efforts to carve out a share of the market for Windows Phone. Reuters reports that European operators are not satisfied with the operating system, an issue key to the success of Nokia's new smartphones. Complaints include limited innovation, too expensive and a lack of marketing spend to boost sales of Nokia Windows phones. And this despite Nokia and Microsoft's significant efforts to promote the phones.

The situation appears to be going better in the US. Shortly after the launch of the Lumia 900 there in early April, AT&T and Amazon were already listing it as out of stock. The Windows phone was reportedly selling better than popular phones such as the Motorola Razr Max and Galaxy Nexus, raising hopes that Microsoft would soon issue a long-awaited update for the Windows Phone OS. 

The mixed reception for Windows Phone, which according to Gartner had a market share of just 1.5 percent at the end of last year, is worrying for Microsoft. The alliance of Microsoft and Nokia, as it now appears, is still far from as successful as hoped, and alternative partners for Windows Phone are not exactly queuing up. Samsung and HTC are reportedly still interested in making Windows Phones, but are waiting for the new version 8 of the software, expected later this year. 

The mission taken up by Gavin Kim five months ago - 'winning the hearts and minds for Windows Phone' –  is not getting any more attractive, as the results from Nokia show. Nokia alone collected USD 250 million from Microsoft in the first quarter to help it promote Windows Phone. 

Eugene Ho is taking over as marketing head for Windows Phone; he was previously General Software Manager at Microsoft. Ho will have to come up with more than the much-criticized campaign 'Smoked by Windows' to get the phones noticed. It will likely be the Lumia 900 with Windows 8 that breaks open the European market.

Microsoft is not the only one who's nervous. Nokia announced alongside its quarterly results that Colin Giles, its executive head of sales, is leaving the company in June. The official reason is to be 'closer to his family'.