Nokia can’t compete with Apple, Android, say European carriers

Nokia’s Lumia phones are already facing an uphill battle trying to gain attention and sales in a market dominated by Apple and Android.

Four of the major telecom carriers in Europe told Reuters that the Lumia smartphones were not good enough to compete with the iPhone or Samsung’s Galaxy phones. As a result, carriers seem to feel little incentive to push the phones over the competition.

At one French telecom store cited by Reuters, Lumia models were not displayed prominently, and one salesperson steered a potential customer toward an iPhone and a variety of Android phones over Nokia’s devices

Lack of customer awareness is also hurting Nokia.

“No one comes into the store and asks for a Windows phone,” one executive an a European carrier told Reuters.

Nokia has tried to get the word out with a marketing blitz. Ads mocking its rivals and touting the Lumia phone as unique and different have already hit the market.

But the appeal of the iPhone and Android, both among consumers and retailers, shows that Nokia faces a huge challenge not just promoting its phones but changing public perception.