Nokia posts £900m loss, told to speed up move to Windows Phone
Posted on 26 Jan 2012 at 15:00
Analysts have told Nokia it needs to speed up its transition to Windows Phone after posting a loss of more than £900 million.
The results were better than market watchers had feared, prompting a 7% upturn in the company's share price, however declining sales in older Symbian operating system handsets means the move to Microsoft handsets has taken on greater importance.
“The big challenge for Nokia now is that we are seeing a crumbling of demand for Symbian that's in excess of Nokia's predictions and essentially it has to accelerate this transition to Windows Phone and move Windows phones down the line that much faster,” CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber told PC Pro.
“We have one million sales for Lumia and that's a start, but that's all it is at this stage - Microsoft and Nokia have said this is a long term commitment that will require a lot more investment before they are anywhere near the point where they are a proper rival to Apple and Google, but the commitment is there.”
In the war of ecosystems, clearly there are some strong contenders already on the field and with Lumia, we have demonstrated that we belong on the field
Although sales were down by 21% compared to last year, at €10 billion, Nokia was putting on a brave face and talking up sales of more than a million units of its first Windows handsets, the Lumia 710 and 800.
Million Lumias sold
“In the war of ecosystems, clearly there are some strong contenders already on the field and with Lumia we have demonstrated that we belong on the field,” said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop.
“Our specific intent has been to establish a beachhead in this war of ecosystems, and country by country that is what we are now accomplishing. To date, we have sold well over a million Lumia devices. From this beachhead, you will see us push forward with the sales, marketing and successive product introductions necessary to be successful.”
The company said it expected to see sales increase as it introduced Lumia devices to China and Latin America later this year.
Ooh goody!
It's been a while since we've had a decent war (these wars on drugs / terror / reason just don't cut it).
Don't tell Nokia, but the i in Apple's arsenal stands for inflatable. They copied the idea from a previous war, but will still be granted the patents thanks to their crack squad of mercenary lawyers.
By dubiou on 26 Jan 2012 
"Analysts have told Nokia it needs to speed up its transition to Windows Phone after posting a loss of more than £900 million."
I suppose it makes some kind of sense.
The quicker they move to Windows Phone, the quicker that move can be seen as an abject failure and then they can start cranking out Android phones.
LIKE THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE ALL ALONG.
One can only that that Nokia are still in business by that time.
By Lacrobat on 27 Jan 2012
“The big challenge for Nokia now is that we are seeing a crumbling of demand for Symbian that's in excess of Nokia's predictions"
If you complain loudly about how lame your horse is then you can't wonder too hard when people aren't willing to ride it. Nokia needs to product good replacements for the N8, the E7 and the N72 and I don't see phones like that coming any time soon. Actually the most common Nokia I have seen out and about is the C3.
By JamesD29 on 27 Jan 2012
N72
Should have been e72.
By JamesD29 on 27 Jan 2012
@Lacrobat
Personally I find Android on a phone to be a slightly more 'shiny' version of windows phone 6.5. Oh well.
By rhythm on 27 Jan 2012
@Lacrobat
I find Windows Phone pretty darned tempting actually. Good, attractive Nokia hardware coupled with the speed and modernity of WP7 may be a tough combo to better.
By TheHonestTruth on 27 Jan 2012
@dubiou
"... but will still be granted the patents thanks to their crack squad of mercenary lawyers."
Would that be the "iTeam". Sorry couldn't resist.
By koshthetrekkie on 27 Jan 2012
NOKIA has little choice
Symbian was\is a technological dead-end.
Android is a very tempting proposition for handset makers, but NOKIA's ambitions go beyond *merely* making handsets.
Apple aren't ever going to licence iOS.
That leaves Windows Phone as the instant plug-in replacement.
Not even the most dyed in the wool Apple fanatics dare suggest that WP7 is in any way a 'rip off' of iOS, a charge laid squarely at the door of Android. Instead they attempt to deny it credibility - it lacks features, etc. in fact their main criticism is that it isn't iOS.
MS & NOKIA combined undoubtedly have both the intelligence and muscle to make this stick. What is in doubt is their will to continue for a long time in the face of constant barracking from the Apple-obsessed media (including PcPro).
The alternative is a tech world dominated by two marketing behemoths.
By wittgenfrog on 29 Jan 2012
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