Nokia grows profits and smartphone share in Q4
By Thomas Ricker 
posted January 28th 2010 7:00AM
posted January 28th 2010 7:00AM
Pretty good news for Nokia today as it announces its Q4 results. Net income jumped 65% to €948 million (on €12 billion in sales) or 26 eurocents per share, from €576 million euros, or 15 eurocents a share, earned in Q4 2008. That handily beat the consensus forecast of 19 eurocents per share. Importantly, Nokia grew its smartphone (or "converged devices" in Nokia parlance) marketshare to a healthy 40%, up from 35% just last quarter. Looking forward, Nokia cautioned that it expects its adjusted operating margin in Devices & Services in Q1 2010 will be at the low end of its 12% to 14% target. At the time of this posting, Nokia stock has jumped about 9% in recognition of these good times.
@iPad Yeah the worst ever year of Nokia and they managed to do these profits really is the time to sue :D
Considering that we will see the real N900 sales in q1 as it starts to sell in Asia and there's enough units available for Europe. Plus next year is Symbian Foundation year while Maemo 6 probally doesn't yet make it to the real party with the 2010 2H release.
@fatjoe
Dude analysts have estimated the amount Apple would have to pay Nokia if they are found guilty which you fanboys already think they are to be about 1.5 billion, that's a small drop in Apple's vast billions.
Wow apple like numbers.
Here are some interesting numbers to compare against Engadgets touted doubled iPhone sales.
(in regular Q numbers, not in Apple Q+1)
Nokia estimated smartphones sales globally to be
Total Q3 - 47 million (100%), Q4 - 52.4 million (100%)
Apple Q3 - 7.37 million (16%), Q4 - 8.737 million (17%)
Nokia Q3 - 16.4 million (35%), Q4 - 20.8 million (40%)
In other words, Apples great quater with doubled iPhone sales, gained them a 1% increase in smartphone marketshare.
More interesting still is the 2008 Q3 (Apple Q4), the earilier "super" quarter for Apple.
Total Q308 - 44.2 million (100%)
Apple Q308 - 6.9 million (16%)
Nokia Q308 - 15.5 million (35%)
Question goes, is Apple showing amazing growth for the past year?
@Rev
Does that count S40?
@E30 Kid
Hint: I said Q4 total 52.4 million and Nokia told us that they sold 127 million devices in Q4.
Answer: No, these are only converged devices (=smartphones). If you are interested, Nokia estimated total of about 329 million mobile phones sold in Q4.
i say "one of the biggest" is because i don't think that nokia isn't the biggest thing in the world. you can't say that others are too far back. I've been using symbian for about 3-4 years now and i like it, yes it is difficult, there is room for improvements, too bad it doesn't get the attention it deserves because it is one of the most versatile OS out there. you can use it for business and fun all together. It is complicated no one can deny that but you get used to it. I don't think that is for the low to mid budget phones.
I have a challenge for the high end Iphone: listen music and check your email in the same time, while your gps is working in the background. It has great functions, great touch screen, a lot of apps but you can not call it high-end I'm sorry.
As for android it is a great OS, the maemo looks interesting and there could be something about it if it will be looked after, with updates and the rest but it is at the beginning and there is room for improvement i hope that Nokia won't treat it like they done to Symbian and the S40.
@gigeaky You are quite ignorant if you don't think that is possible on an iPhone. You know what isn't so easy on S60? Installing many apps you want without handing over your IMEI to some random board in China.
Hopefully this will shut the "Apple is PWNING ALL!!!!" zealots that love to say Nokia are suffering because of the iPhone.
Good shit Nokia, keep up the good work!
@ChazClout
mention that when apple is global lead in the mobile market till then
nokia just getting annoying handfuls of pebbles thrown at them
and yes the ipad is a waste
pay more for less should be apples moto
i have the nokia N900 which is a tablet smartphone hybrid which runs linux and multitasks out of the box
for 555USD
with expanable storage to 48 which i have so beat that apple..........nevermind their are no apps to fix and increase hardware
So, Nokia definitely increased market share in the smart phone market.
I am now pondering about this quote in a Reuters article:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nokia-Motorola-win-smartphone-rb-3387365210.html?x=0&.v=2
Quote: "Analysts said the only clear market share loser among top smartphone vendors was Apple, which sold 8.7 million iPhones in the quarter, missing analysts forecasts."
I doubt that this is true.
Apple hate levels are nearing thermonuclear proportions on this site.
@artemis360
Not so sure if this is actually Apple hate as much as people are tired of Engadget bias. "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Engadget pushes too hard for Apple and it backfires.
I for one am pretty tired of the 20 Apple news for every other. Where are the news about RIM? They have been more successful than Apple. There are some news on Android, but no where near as many as such an interesting platform would require. Nokia usually makes news on only on some curiosity and then a sentence or two. As these figures show, they are very far from irrelevant.
@Rev Totally agree with you...
@Rev
You are right on it. Engadget's endless talk about apple have got me to decide to never by one, I'm just so fucking tired to read about anything from that fucking company.
This is a gadget site, or used to be, for example it can't be necessary to have 6 or how many there was at the same time about the iPad.
@Rev Yeah the Apple hype is crazy, especially this week with the ridiculous iPad/glorified iPod. However what has Nokia really done this year either? Okay they did bring navigation to their devices, which actually works pretty well.
If anything Android free navigation that beats any other phone navigation has not been hyped enough.
I just thought I'd point out that IMO Nokia didn't recapture lost market share or anything like that. Last Q's 35% smartphone market share was an anomalous number that likely had more to do with the fact that it was captured in a product cycle lull than the fact that Nokia was losing ground to competitors. Nokia was due to release several major devices and device refreshes in December, i.e. Customers were waiting on new Nokia phones to make their purchases as opposed to shopping with competitors.
Here is an interesting article:
Ovi Store has overtaken the Apple App store in Asian and Latin American markets. The key to success seemed to be local customization of targeted apps. hmm.......so sensitivity to local cultures and tastes seem to pay off.
http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2010/01/26/ovi-store-overtakes-apple-key-markets-cseries-looms.htm
Can someone explain to me where this growth came from? I'm assuming it's not from N900 sales since the software on that is still not ready for prime time from what I've heard, although I'd still very gladly own one.
So, besides that have they even released any new devices? I mean there's the N97 but that was as huge a disappointment as the iPad. I actually don't recall them doing anything new in Q4..
Are they gaining profits just because we're getting out of the recession or something?
@Junzhi N97 was the biggest disappointment to bloggers - mainly those in the US. Its sold 6M+ in the 6 months of release.
Biggest gain though has been in the numbered series (5800 is still the best selling phone in a lot of markets despite being in the market for almost a year + they've introduced 3-4 other similar phones that have done very well).
See:
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/images/news/nokiasmartphonevolumeQ409.png
& also the accompanying article for analysis.
@Junzhi
OPK (Nokia CEO) talked about 5 smartphone models that were doing really well. N900 wasn't mentioned among them. I think there was at least N97 (I think the updates have actually gotten it in fair shape), N97 mini, 5800 and E72.
E72 and N97 mini have come out after N97 and 5800 got a navigation edition during Q4. Hopefully the price wasn't much higher than regular model, since it is now free :)
@Junzhi N900 will definitely be the Q1 big smartphone seller for Nokia as the supply isn't there and it's out of stock over Europe and it's not even selling yet in Asia(should start selling this month or early Feb).
It's mainly the N97, N97 mini, 5800(that i wouldn't surprised to brake the 20 million mark), E71s successor E72 that made the smartphones go up.
Oh and Nokia's CEO did mention that patents made more profit than ever as they got very strong position in the smartphone patents(and in phones general) and smartphones where selling all time high this Q.
@Munk
That's actually very interesting. I know that US bloggers don't particularly like resistive screens and S60, but my friend wons a 5800 and he doesn't like it himself. I've seen it and it's pretty laggy/buggy. Same goes with the N97.
I'm just curious why they do well overseas and not so much here. Is it just that they look for different things in smartphones? I love my E71 but S60 is just too dull for me to keep using, so I'm going to switch to Android for now. If Nokia ever makes an Android phone I'm sure it would be amazing though, since their hardware is spectacular in most cases.
Of course, after Symbian Foundation maybe they will have a platform that's also appealing to me
@Junzhi Just IMO but its a cultural difference.
People outside the US (Asians - & I mean the entire Asia) are generally more patient people and prefer function over form.
For example,
- the camera is a big selling point and so SE had a big following in SE-Asia with their T series phones. While SE started to rehash their phones at higher premiums, Nokia improved their algorithms and brought the high grade sensors and lenses to lower end phones.
- Radio's. Nokia is considered to make the best cellular tech. Take the E71, fully metal and not only does it keep calls but also gets signals where other phones fail (its not just at&t, the iphone has a rep of dropping calls and connectivity problems everywhere) + the call quality is considered superior.
-Price/feature ratio. You can get a s60 smartphone at similar prices to the competitions dumbphones.
-Build Quality. Ask Nokia owners and all have a scary story where they dropped their phone from X-meters onto hard concrete and dint even bother to check it because they knew it would work. Such confidence leads to brand affinity/loyalty and in most markets you get 3-4x more for a Nokia device than a competitor upon resale. Also things dont break easily as other phones and if they do then there is always someone at the corner who can fix it! Also as someone said that they were unhappy with their Nokia and thus will not look to but them again, in most other markets people dont think that. Because you always know other people who have the device its easily found if you have a faulty unity. Calling the numbers of the local service centers you can either get it fixed or outright changed without much trouble.
-Localisation. They pay a lot of attention to the specific cultures and work not just on the language, keyboards and app's but also services that the local market desires. This is somethings American media cannot seem to/ do not want to understand.
-Loyalty. Even if you buy a $30 Nokia, it works till you take a jackhammer to it and even their dumbest os s30/40 are very intuitive and are designed in a way that even illetearate people can use it. Since the icons and basic UI is similar and experiences happy, people keep upgrading to higher models. You might find s60 overly complicated - & it is- but in most places a 8 year old boy can teach you how to set it up to do tasks that puts android and iphone to shame.
-Openness. "Google is my app store"! s60 users have been installing all kinds of apps since 2001 without gatekeepers and most are either free or cracked versions are easily found.
You can play AAC,WMA,MP3,AVI out of the box and can install app's to play others.
You have extensive messaging & bluetooth support which means that you can send pictures,video's, audio, messages, calenders, contacts, apps etc via bluetooth at no extra cost or via email,mms or sms.
It was the first webkit browser, so you can view stuff - including youtube - out of the box. Many ppl also install Opera or Skyfire for more optomised ux.
There are many small things that Nokia does better than anyone else and thats why they have the respect and mind/market share around the globe.
Hope that helps. Also try using the n900. If you're coming from a Cap screen, it may take a little getting used to but its probably the best res screen out there and while Maemo 5 is quite immature, the device has some serious power and potential!
@Munk Nokia is good product, just not high end anymore. The reason is simply that the OS is not stable, it cannot handle e-mail even as well as a toy like the iPhone, it cannot handle messaging as well as a toy like the iPhone and did I mention it is not stable? Go read on HowardForums how often the N97 will spontaneously reboot or have some issue that requires a full HARD RESET. There is no way to easily restore your apps and settings and the OS is NOT open when you need run a hack to install what you want. S60v3 can be very nice WHEN IT WORKS, however when inevitably something goes wrongs it is the biggest PITA. I simply gave due to the high maintenance nature of the OS. It really is for nerds and geeks who get off on spending hours tweaking their telephone. I do not have the time or patience for that anymore.
I don't care for flashy UI, but at a fundamental technical level the OS needs to be much less of a PITA in actual daily use and maintenance. All it takes are a few tweaks in UI, some easy way to restore devices that don't make you wish you did a "clean install" because the device is rebooting, and freezing and stalling, and taking forever to search for something or basically choking on your e-mails and messages. Those of you who think S60 is that great why is it that it sucks so bad at e-mail? This isn't 2003 where e-mail on a phone is an exotic feature. It is expected to just work now in 2010.
Just wish the n900 supported 3g on AT&T's network or I would have had one now. Guess I'll have to make due with my E72!
OMG I can't believe Engadget didn't post this, but I heard a rumor that after the unveiling of the iPad, Nokia has decided to shut down all operations immediately after the iPad goes on sale! They simply cannot compete!
Hey nokia how about you release ovi maps for the n900.
That's all that's preventing me from buying one.
@look a cow
if thats all ur waiting for then hurry and get one! who knows how long thats going to take. in the meantime you are missing out on an amazing experience. easily the best phone ive ever had. i would even recommend it over getting a netbook.
btw im assuming u mean ur waiting for navigation. because the n900 does have ovi maps. and it has turn by turn directions. just not the spoken voice guidance while you drive. basically like how google maps is on the iphone. but its definitely usable as it curremtly is. if thats whats holding you back then theres really no need to wait.
Sent from my Nokia n900
can we get a MaePad? :P lol
good job nok
Sent from my Nokia n900
@Robbie Hottie You are so happy with your N900. In Malaysia, we can't get the legal N900 from Nokia Store. :(
Well done Nokia, just wait for the N98 game changer to hit the market. Any insider's info on when we can buy it?
@trimalo Yeah like N96 and N97 were such great game changers. In fact the screwed the "N-series" name with such crap products that I don't think they will use "N-series" anymore. They need to find a new name for a series because the "N-series" name has been screwed with such crap as N96 and N97.
@trimalo BTW, I owned the:
N95-1
N95-3
N95-4
So I know right up to the N95 it was great times. The N96 was a joke. As well as everything after.