Nokia Corp., who all-but invented the mobile phone market back in the halcyon days of the early-90s, look set to be dropping not one but two places down to a distant third in terms of smartphone manufacturing volume by the end of this year, if a new report from research firm Nomura is to be believed.
The Finnish handset manufacturer has been shedding smartphone market share at an alarming rate due to the unpopularity of Symbian, the operating system that powers many Nokia phones. Symbian has fallen into a developmental quagmire since the launch of iOS and Android, both of which have eclipsed Nokia’s flagging software both in terms of usability and visual appeal. Recently Nokia formed a partnership with Microsoft Corp. to use Windows Phone 7 in their upcoming handsets, a strategy new CEO Stephen Elop will be hoping stems the bleeding.
Nokia has also been forced to abandon MeeGo, a new smart device OS they had teamed up with Intel Corp. to build, downsize significantly and outsource Symbian development due to falling profits and ever-shrinking mindshare.
Meanwhile, the increasing popularity of Android is powering Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s smartphone growth. The Korean firm’s current flagship handset, the Galaxy S 2, outsold even the mighty iPhone in some locales, and a diverse portfolio as well as global presence is keeping sales buoyant. Apple Inc., meanwhile, continues to see mammoth shipments of their iPhone 4 – even with a successor reportedly just round the corner.
Nomura also postulate that HTC Corp. could give Nokia a run for their money in the latter part of the year, knocking the Finnish firm down to an embarrassing fourth place.
Although Nokia will continue to dominate in overall handset sales due to its dominance of the dumbphone sector and their prevalence in emerging markets and the third world, the company lacks an appealing “halo” product to draw in potential high-end customers.
