Nokia has been struggling to match up to their competitors in the market of late. Adding to their misery is the fact that rating agencies like Fitch and S&P have reduced the company’s credit ratings to ‘junk’.
Earlier this year, Nokia incurred losses of €1.34 billion with their total sales dropping by €3 billion, while same time last year they has managed to earn a profit of €439 million. This downfall is a result of the company going through a transformation period, according to Timo Ihamuotila who is the executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Nokia.
Buy the Nokia Lumia 900 starting at $49.
Nokia had earlier decide to collaborate with Microsoft to introduce smartphones running on Windows Phone, the Lumia 900 being the first of them in the US, in their attempt to compete with Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. Nokia is now looking at developing tablets along with Microsoft, according to some reports.
However, analysts are of the opinion that there is time before the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft finally pays off after the next generation of smartphones is introduced with features that the Lumia 900 does not currently support; expected to be technologically more advanced than the current iPhone and Android devices.
However, to excel in the mobile market, Nokia will now have to pick up pace in the transition from feature phones to smartphones, giving up on their insular corporate culture, focusing on hardware along with the development of software, promoting and marketing of their products and such, which Apple has been excelling at. Like in the case of the iPhone, Apple has done a good job of winning consumers.
Nokia is also going to need the backing of network carriers like Verizon, who is looking for a third platform to support to offset iPhone subsidy costs. The role played by network carriers will be crucial to break the duopoly of Apple and Google in the market. The carriers will have to avoid being downgraded to being mere utilities by companies like Google and Apple, and their way out is to support and promote Nokia. Nokia can hope for a strong comeback if their Lumia 900 and other future devices based on Windows Phone emerge to be as popular with consumers as they have with reviewers, given that they receive stable support of network carriers as well.
Buy the Nokia Lumia 900 starting at $49.
May 7, 2012 at 1:20 pm
What they need is a solid device period. I am on my second Lumina 900 and it still is not as great as I thought it would be. from going to a focus to this is a better improvement. But this is a disappointing start and the camera sucks.