Nokia downgrades sales forecasts thanks to 'competitive environment' (aka, 'doing business')
By Chris Ziegler 
posted June 16th 2010 3:56PM
posted June 16th 2010 3:56PM
Follow the break for the somber press release.
ESPOO, Finland, June 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nokia (NYSE:NOK - News) today commented on factors impacting its business and updated its second quarter and full year 2010 outlook for Devices & Services. During the second quarter 2010, multiple factors are negatively impacting Nokia's business to a greater extent than previously expected. These factors include: the competitive environment, particularly at the high-end of the market, and shifts in product mix towards somewhat lower gross margin products. In addition, the recent depreciation of the Euro affects Nokia's cost of goods sold, operating expenses and global pricing tactics.
Updated outlook for Devices & Services for the second quarter 2010: - Nokia now expects Devices & Services net sales to be at the lower end of, or slightly below, its previously expected range of EUR 6.7 billion to EUR 7.2 billion for the second quarter 2010. This update is primarily due to lower than previously expected average selling prices and mobile device volumes. - Nokia now expects Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin to be at the lower end of, or slightly below, its previously expected range of 9% to 12% for the second quarter 2010. This update is primarily due to a lower than previously expected gross margin.
Updated outlook for Devices & Services and mobile device market for the full year 2010: - Nokia continues to expect industry mobile device volumes to be up approximately 10% in 2010, compared to 2009 (based on its revised definition of the industry mobile device market applicable beginning in 2010). - Nokia continues to target its mobile device volume market share to be flat in 2010, compared to 2009. - Nokia now expects its mobile device value market share to be slightly lower in 2010, compared to 2009. This update is primarily due to the competitive situation at the high-end of the market and shifts in product mix. This is an update to our previous target to increase our mobile device value market share slightly in 2010, compared to 2009. - Nokia continues to target non-IFRS operating expenses in Devices & Services of approximately EUR 5.7 billion in 2010. - Nokia now expects Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin to be at the lower end of, or below, its previously targeted range of 11% to 13% for the full year 2010. This update is primarily due to the currently estimated gross margin, which is lower than previously estimated. Nokia expects Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin during the fourth quarter 2010 to be higher than the currently expected full year Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin.
Nokia will provide its second quarter results and more details on its 2010 full year outlook when it reports its Q2 2010 results on July 22, 2010.
Nokia will be hosting a conference call at 13:30 UK time (8:30 EST). The dial-in number for media (listen only - the question and answer session will be limited to financial analysts and investors only) is +1-706-634-5012. Conference ID: 82113811.
The dial-in number for financial analysts and investors is US: +1-888-636-1561. Conference ID: 82113811. UK: +44-1452-560-299. Conference ID: 82236648.
A replay of the call will be available soon after the call completion. The replay number is US: +1-800-642-1687. Conference ID: 82113811. UK: +44-1452-55-0000. Conference ID: 82236648.
About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.2 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device - from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (http://www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
It should be noted that certain statements herein which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those regarding: A) the timing of the deliveries of our products and services and their combinations; B) our ability to develop, implement and commercialize new technologies, products and services and their combinations; C) expectations regarding market developments and structural changes; D) expectations and targets regarding our industry volumes, market share, prices, net sales and margins of products and services and their combinations; E) expectations and targets regarding our operational priorities and results of operations; F) the outcome of pending and threatened litigation; G) expectations regarding the successful completion of acquisitions or restructurings on a timely basis and our ability to achieve the financial and operational targets set in connection with any such acquisition or restructuring; and H) statements preceded by "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "foresee," "target," "estimate," "designed," "plans," "will" or similar expressions. These statements are based on management's best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Because they involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from the results that we currently expect. Factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) the competitiveness and quality of our portfolio of products and services and their combinations; 2) our ability to timely and successfully develop or otherwise acquire the appropriate technologies and commercialize them as new advanced products and services and their combinations, including our ability to attract application developers and content providers to develop applications and provide content for use in our devices; 3) our ability to effectively, timely and profitably adapt our business and operations to the requirements of the converged mobile device market and the services market; 4) the intensity of competition in the various markets where we do business and our ability to maintain or improve our market position or respond successfully to changes in the competitive environment; 5) the occurrence of any actual or even alleged defects or other quality, safety or security issues in our products and services and their combinations; 6) the development of the mobile and fixed communications industry and general economic conditions globally and regionally; 7) our ability to successfully manage costs; 8) exchange rate fluctuations, including, in particular, fluctuations between the euro, which is our reporting currency, and the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan, as well as certain other currencies; 9) the success, financial condition and performance of our suppliers, collaboration partners and customers; 10) our ability to source sufficient amounts of fully functional components, sub-assemblies, software, applications and content without interruption and at acceptable prices and quality; 11) our success in collaboration arrangements with third parties relating to the development of new technologies, products and services, including applications and content; 12) our ability to manage efficiently our manufacturing and logistics, as well as to ensure the quality, safety, security and timely delivery of our products and services and their combinations; 13) our ability to manage our inventory and timely adapt our supply to meet changing demands for our products; 14) our ability to protect the complex technologies, which we or others develop or that we license, from claims that we have infringed third parties' intellectual property rights, as well as our unrestricted use on commercially acceptable terms of certain technologies in our products and services and their combinations; 15) our ability to protect numerous Nokia, NAVTEQ and Nokia Siemens Networks patented, standardized or proprietary technologies from third-party infringement or actions to invalidate the intellectual property rights of these technologies; 16) the impact of changes in government policies, trade policies, laws or regulations and economic or political turmoil in countries where our assets are located and we do business; 17) any disruption to information technology systems and networks that our operations rely on; 18) our ability to retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled employees; 19) unfavorable outcome of litigations; 20) allegations of possible health risks from electromagnetic fields generated by base stations and mobile devices and lawsuits related to them, regardless of merit; 21) our ability to achieve targeted costs reductions and increase profitability in Nokia Siemens Networks and to effectively and timely execute related restructuring measures; 22) developments under large, multi-year contracts or in relation to major customers in the networks infrastructure and related services business; 23) the management of our customer financing exposure, particularly in the networks infrastructure and related services business; 24) whether ongoing or any additional governmental investigations into alleged violations of law by some former employees of Siemens AG ("Siemens") may involve and affect the carrier-related assets and employees transferred by Siemens to Nokia Siemens Networks; 25) any impairment of Nokia Siemens Networks customer relationships resulting from ongoing or any additional governmental investigations involving the Siemens carrier-related operations transferred to Nokia Siemens Networks; as well as the risk factors specified on pages 11-32 of Nokia's annual report Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2009 under Item 3D. "Risk Factors." Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Nokia does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
Updated outlook for Devices & Services for the second quarter 2010: - Nokia now expects Devices & Services net sales to be at the lower end of, or slightly below, its previously expected range of EUR 6.7 billion to EUR 7.2 billion for the second quarter 2010. This update is primarily due to lower than previously expected average selling prices and mobile device volumes. - Nokia now expects Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin to be at the lower end of, or slightly below, its previously expected range of 9% to 12% for the second quarter 2010. This update is primarily due to a lower than previously expected gross margin.
Updated outlook for Devices & Services and mobile device market for the full year 2010: - Nokia continues to expect industry mobile device volumes to be up approximately 10% in 2010, compared to 2009 (based on its revised definition of the industry mobile device market applicable beginning in 2010). - Nokia continues to target its mobile device volume market share to be flat in 2010, compared to 2009. - Nokia now expects its mobile device value market share to be slightly lower in 2010, compared to 2009. This update is primarily due to the competitive situation at the high-end of the market and shifts in product mix. This is an update to our previous target to increase our mobile device value market share slightly in 2010, compared to 2009. - Nokia continues to target non-IFRS operating expenses in Devices & Services of approximately EUR 5.7 billion in 2010. - Nokia now expects Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin to be at the lower end of, or below, its previously targeted range of 11% to 13% for the full year 2010. This update is primarily due to the currently estimated gross margin, which is lower than previously estimated. Nokia expects Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin during the fourth quarter 2010 to be higher than the currently expected full year Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin.
Nokia will provide its second quarter results and more details on its 2010 full year outlook when it reports its Q2 2010 results on July 22, 2010.
Nokia will be hosting a conference call at 13:30 UK time (8:30 EST). The dial-in number for media (listen only - the question and answer session will be limited to financial analysts and investors only) is +1-706-634-5012. Conference ID: 82113811.
The dial-in number for financial analysts and investors is US: +1-888-636-1561. Conference ID: 82113811. UK: +44-1452-560-299. Conference ID: 82236648.
A replay of the call will be available soon after the call completion. The replay number is US: +1-800-642-1687. Conference ID: 82113811. UK: +44-1452-55-0000. Conference ID: 82236648.
About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.2 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device - from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (http://www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
It should be noted that certain statements herein which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those regarding: A) the timing of the deliveries of our products and services and their combinations; B) our ability to develop, implement and commercialize new technologies, products and services and their combinations; C) expectations regarding market developments and structural changes; D) expectations and targets regarding our industry volumes, market share, prices, net sales and margins of products and services and their combinations; E) expectations and targets regarding our operational priorities and results of operations; F) the outcome of pending and threatened litigation; G) expectations regarding the successful completion of acquisitions or restructurings on a timely basis and our ability to achieve the financial and operational targets set in connection with any such acquisition or restructuring; and H) statements preceded by "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "foresee," "target," "estimate," "designed," "plans," "will" or similar expressions. These statements are based on management's best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Because they involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from the results that we currently expect. Factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) the competitiveness and quality of our portfolio of products and services and their combinations; 2) our ability to timely and successfully develop or otherwise acquire the appropriate technologies and commercialize them as new advanced products and services and their combinations, including our ability to attract application developers and content providers to develop applications and provide content for use in our devices; 3) our ability to effectively, timely and profitably adapt our business and operations to the requirements of the converged mobile device market and the services market; 4) the intensity of competition in the various markets where we do business and our ability to maintain or improve our market position or respond successfully to changes in the competitive environment; 5) the occurrence of any actual or even alleged defects or other quality, safety or security issues in our products and services and their combinations; 6) the development of the mobile and fixed communications industry and general economic conditions globally and regionally; 7) our ability to successfully manage costs; 8) exchange rate fluctuations, including, in particular, fluctuations between the euro, which is our reporting currency, and the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan, as well as certain other currencies; 9) the success, financial condition and performance of our suppliers, collaboration partners and customers; 10) our ability to source sufficient amounts of fully functional components, sub-assemblies, software, applications and content without interruption and at acceptable prices and quality; 11) our success in collaboration arrangements with third parties relating to the development of new technologies, products and services, including applications and content; 12) our ability to manage efficiently our manufacturing and logistics, as well as to ensure the quality, safety, security and timely delivery of our products and services and their combinations; 13) our ability to manage our inventory and timely adapt our supply to meet changing demands for our products; 14) our ability to protect the complex technologies, which we or others develop or that we license, from claims that we have infringed third parties' intellectual property rights, as well as our unrestricted use on commercially acceptable terms of certain technologies in our products and services and their combinations; 15) our ability to protect numerous Nokia, NAVTEQ and Nokia Siemens Networks patented, standardized or proprietary technologies from third-party infringement or actions to invalidate the intellectual property rights of these technologies; 16) the impact of changes in government policies, trade policies, laws or regulations and economic or political turmoil in countries where our assets are located and we do business; 17) any disruption to information technology systems and networks that our operations rely on; 18) our ability to retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled employees; 19) unfavorable outcome of litigations; 20) allegations of possible health risks from electromagnetic fields generated by base stations and mobile devices and lawsuits related to them, regardless of merit; 21) our ability to achieve targeted costs reductions and increase profitability in Nokia Siemens Networks and to effectively and timely execute related restructuring measures; 22) developments under large, multi-year contracts or in relation to major customers in the networks infrastructure and related services business; 23) the management of our customer financing exposure, particularly in the networks infrastructure and related services business; 24) whether ongoing or any additional governmental investigations into alleged violations of law by some former employees of Siemens AG ("Siemens") may involve and affect the carrier-related assets and employees transferred by Siemens to Nokia Siemens Networks; 25) any impairment of Nokia Siemens Networks customer relationships resulting from ongoing or any additional governmental investigations involving the Siemens carrier-related operations transferred to Nokia Siemens Networks; as well as the risk factors specified on pages 11-32 of Nokia's annual report Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2009 under Item 3D. "Risk Factors." Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Nokia does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
Its called competition Nokia! if your product doesn't sell well, theirs no one to blame but you...
@JustThatNerdyGuy
true. it's just their fault. it's like they don't want to wake up from this bad dream
@JustThatNerdyGuy true enough. i think they should try to make their products better by coming up with a new UI and a little better hardware. and more importantly, they should present it well enough. look at steve jobs, he presents iphone in a way that makes everyone want to buy it even when we know that iphone isnt the best phone out there.
@JustThatNerdyGuy
Yup, in the words of Metallica, "Sad but True". Nothing compelling has been released in the last three months so not unexpected.
@statickeith
not this guy...each time I see apple rep or fan, I threw up in my mouth a little. Gotta keep engadget/excludeapple on at all times in order to keep my desk sanitary o.O
Nokia didn't expect competitors to be competitive
@statickeith
Hmm Nokia has some of the best hardware IMO, their OS´es are rock solid and fast. I like Nokia, I would not touch an iphone with a stick, some HTC are however nice, but before they can give me at least 7 days of "reel" standby they are just bricks waiting for a recharge.
I think perhaps, In the US Nokia phones are not just marketed as well as here in EU, but then again the US does not even has 4G, dispite 4G was announced by Nokia many years ago, Nokia indeed had 4G phones at the same time where SE startet selling 3G phones. But Americans dont know that, because it was never marketed over there.
And yes Apple has an awesome marketing dept, but almost no R&D which is why they have to steal tech from e.g. Nokia and have their suppliers come up with new stuff.
@Techtrino What the hell are you rambling about?
@Techtrino No R&D? Zip it up, your fanboy is showing.
@JustThatNerdyGuy
Am I the only one that think that Nokia should do the unthinkable and license Windows Phone 7 from Microsoft?
And stop throw stuff that doesn't work on your phone, and call it a feature.
@Steve Jobs Clone
why not just go with Android?
Actually, its time for a rant - and not a Chris or Engadget because, much as it pains me to admit it, they're right on this one.
In 2007 a wonderful world beating smartphone was released. No, not that one, I mean the N95. It was a slice of awesomeness and everybody in Europe who wanted a smartphone bought one. Everybody. Nokia were on top of the world and then...
...they failed to see where the wind was blowing. The first sign was the N96. A slightly beefed up N95 with actually fewer useful features. No hardware acceleration but, hey, digital TV... when no-one used it. Nokia's roadmap was sliders ahoy! Just about that time the iPhone came along and changed everything.
Now I can understand Nokia waiting to see how it did. It was a big gamble by Apple with no guarantee of success - touch screens had been around for a while but were never really popular with consumers. However they should have had at least started on a high end touchscreen at that point. They didn't and then it was catch up from then on resulting in the N97 a mid range phone dressed up to be an iPhone competitor.
Yeah, that one still hurts.
It's now been three years and whilst Nokia have dominated the low and middle tier of the smartphne market - the 5800 is a brilliant phone for the money as is the X6 - there has been no realistic competitor at the high end. Not one. No, not the N900, it's not a phone. Not really.
So now things have changed and Nokia find themselves in a quandary. They have to break back into a market they dominated and it's going to be tough. The iPhone has captured the imagination of the public and Android is closing that gap very quickly. Enter the N8.
You know what? It's a good phone. A great phone in fact. But is it enough? Are Nokia 'cool' enough to make it desirable? It's touch and go. I think it'll do enough to stop the rot and reverse Nokia's decrease in high end share but if I'm wrong it's difficult to see where the comeback comes from.
Q3 and Q4 are make or break quarters for Nokia - not in the sense of them going under because that's not going to happen. They will continue to dominate the dumphone and featurephone to smartphone transition market but the high end...? No. That'll have gone and maybe gone forever.
Nokia, I've been a fan of yours for a very long time and I've forgiven some of your omissions but enough is enough. You have six months. After that you're cancelled.
It's your fault. Under the 'leadership' of OPK you've gone from hero to zero and you need to consider why that's happened. A leader who can't anticipate change or react quickly to it is no leader at all and the finger must be pointed at the board. If you want to survive then you need to consider who captains the ship and you need to do that now.
I loved you, man. Don't let me down.
@JustThatNerdyGuy
They got what they deserve. Stop releasing half-baked devices -- the bar has been set higher. Time to wake up and get with the program.
@LuckTR umm, im NOT an Apple Fanboy. i was kust saying that people drool over apple products just beacuse of the way steve jobs presents his products. im trying to say that Nokia should do the same along with some minor hardware and software changes (N8 is REALLY good though) coz I know that Nokia has a potential of dominating android and iOS in north america. it just has to please the north american customers. I never said that i phone is good. i said its not as good as steve jobs claims it to be!
@JustThatNerdyGuy One of Nokia's big problems is that their smartphones don't really sell in the US, mainly because their smartphones aren't really sold by any US carriers. Occasionally a carrier will say they'll support an e71 or so, but most of their big, awesome phones aren't available in the carrier's stores. And that's where like 95% of US phone sales happen. If they want the N8 to be successful in the US, they need to get it in a carrier's showroom, stat.
For the love of all that is holy, just man up and make the best damn Android phone in the world. Surely you can do that, right?
@NiKoLaSm Why would they do that? 0.o
@N900 Because Nokia is far too late to a battle that is Apple versus Google and it is far easier to enter the Google camp than Apple's.
@MarkAnderson
F***ing A sir.
I'm in the same boat. For the first time in many years I've actually considered switching to a different manufacturer and you know what, it's not about the hardware, its the software, ecosystem and user experience that seems to have been missing for far too long. 2011 will determine Nokia's fortunes as far as the high end market is concerned. AFAIC I hope they don't pull a Microsoft and pretty much die in the high end market.
S^4 and Meego better be good or I'm off
@MarkAnderson
Great write-up, as usual. I agree with everything you wrote.
What I'm afraid now is that Nokia has put too many things on its plate and lose much needed focus, execution and timing. There's Meego, Symbian, Ovi app store, Ovi web services, touchscreen, QWERTY, Qt, navigation, not to mention the plethora of phones.
@NiKoLaSm In terms of what? Symbian is open-sourced, more open than Android in certain instances. MeeGo is even better.
Nokia letting go of all that and then making a plain-jane Android phone sounds dumb. Kinda like if I spent all my time building a big house, only to knock it down and move into a condo.
They should have jumped on the Android train right away. I mean they are from the home country of Linux for Christ's sake. They could have proudly taken that track.
@N900 Maybe but in this case the big home is in Nowhere Oklahoma that no one wants to live in and the condo is a kickass loft in Manhattan.
@SeeKo
Proudly but taking a whopping in their pockets and putting quite a number of people out of jobs in the process. Nah, I think they made the better choice here.
@NiKoLaSm Lol, sure OK, but you need to know such a thing is never gonna happen. It's more than just: Drop Symbian, Pick up Android. Nokia might as well let go a VAST majority of it's employees, ditch their hard work on Ovi, maps, music, EVERYTHING, delay the N8 so they can license Android (all the money into developing S^3 down the drain), render all their frequent buyers of the brand and their phones obsolete, ditch Qt and Silverlight, and cut it's ties with Intel if they were to ever do this.
A lot of people here can say "Put Android on it!!11!!", but it isn't that simple.
@N900 Listen, I certainly understand that. However, Nokia's stock price and market cap are in the toilet. I think a lot of people are going to lose their jobs soon anyways unless Finland steps in with lots of money. You could still put ovi maps onto Android. I see no reason why that would be hard to do.
@N900
The whole Android argument is a bit specious when you consider that the best selling top end Android sets actually use a third party UI in HTC's Sense. Android's UI by itself isn't that pretty.
Which makes it even more baffling why Nokia couldn't have built their own version of Sense in three years.
@NiKoLaSm
Nokia still rake in the profits, they're not losing so much as slowly progressing.
@NiKoLaSm
Your comment is just silly. So they suffered a heavy drop in their market share and the shareholders are probably pissed but Nokia always were a company with a longtime plan and are not jumping from quarter to quarter at high risk. And I think many shareholders value that as well.
Your statement that Finland has to step in with a money loan is plain silly. Nokia always had money. They always earned very well with their cellphones. There was only one single quarter in the history of the company that they were in the red numbers and that was due to a devaluation of their network subsidiary. There is absolutely no need to panic.
@MarkAnderson I have no clue, but MeeGo is pretty close. S^3 doesn't have your fancy transitions and enough gloss, but it's pretty much there. Nokia fucked up, and what's saving grace right now is the markets outside of the US.
But the thing is, Nokia is getting on the right path. Call me an apologist or whatever, but they have a pretty good line-up, and some striking competition now. I'd venture to say we stop trying to bend the moon here with Android.
@N900
I don't like android, period.
Default android is really no better than Symbian^3 bar the android marketplace and integration with GOOGLE services.
Android with a skin like Sense is truly a breath of fresh air.
A new UI, look and feel is all Nokia needs to shake this perception that their brand as a whole stinks.
I'm pretty sure Engadget would change their opinions of Symbian^3 if there was consistency and flashy-ness to the UI.
@N900
They are to a degree and if the N8 sells well - let's say over 8 million in its first year - then things will look a bit rosier. In the meantime their cheaper phones do well.
Trouble is that once a brand is perceived as 'budget' it's difficult to get the premium customers back. That's why the N8 is a make or break in that sense.
@MarkAnderson
Perceptions and impressions, Easy to form, hard as hell to change.
@SeeKo Ok, Nokia has lots of money. But your peak market cap back in 2000 was around $217 Billion, you are now at $32-33 B. MSFT, AAPL, or GOOG could buy you out and barely bat an eye.
@MarkAnderson I completely agree, and if I can add to that, I would say that the N9 selling well would also be a big help to Nokia. Those 2 upcoming phones are essential to the company.
@MarkAnderson
Nokia will lose a lot of market share, but not because their sales will plummet. Nokia's sales are fairly constant, but the market overall is growing like crazy (e.g. Apple's share grew by something crazy like 150% last year).
Relatively flat sales indicates (to me) that the products are good, but that there's no momentum behind the platform. They're not sucking new users in, they're just keeping old users on the platform. As you say, they need some radical new products to get people *excited* about Nokia products.
Taking Apple as an example again, they just announced over half a million pre-orders on the first day, and (IMO) that's largely because the iPhone 4 is such a radical upgrade to a product that's stayed pretty much the same for the last 3 years. Nokia need to create that kind of excitement, and to do that, they need to, well, think different.
@KarlW
+1,
I think the statement "think different" highlights and adequately represents ever Nokia hasn't done over the past 3 years
@NiKoLaSm
Nokia has cash. They dont need more moneyfrom stockholderss. They have been keeping a big cashreserve just for a situation like this, a big overhaul of product line.
Worst thing Nokia could do is to panic and release N8 as a raw product. They need to keep ther cool and make S^3 as a finished product. The delays in S^3 has delayed the release of N8, and N9, but nothing good comes from a rush job.
@JustThatNerdyGuy
Well, at least it's not kissing Google's behind like Motorola, HTC, Samsung etc does now. They are working on Meego and putting their Symbian smartphones in the hands of people how can't afford the iJesus phone. There are more internet capable nokias out there than there are PC. Sure they suck on the high end but at least if they go down they will do it with style. I say competition will make them stronger, or will kill them. Least their not whoring for an OS to BigBrother company like Sony Ericsson does.
@KarlW
I agree. That said, Apple need to be careful not to overplay their hand. They have the hot seat just now but putting all your eggs in one basket is a dangerous thing to do.
I'd be surprised if Apple didn't diversify its phone range - the iPod started as a premium product and once it became a commodity they were clever enough to segment it. The iPhone's probably six months to a year away from that though.
@MarkAnderson
Interestingly I just read All About Symbian's take on things. It seems the drop in estimates is due to Android, not the iPhone as the latter's projected sales had been accounted for.
Oh Nokia. To be blind-sided once is bad enough but twice is just embarrassing.
@MarkAnderson
I'd be inclined to shoot for something further down the line like 2 years from now. There is no need to cut into the current profit margins and the sales that they're getting from the device which yields these huge margins until they've become significantly more well established in the market and practically indispensable.
@N900 But what if you built a house that sucked and it wasn't very decent? When the "condo" is nice, working, and might even make the over all cost cheaper? Its a win win
@JustThatNerdyGuy
And we were all saying this like.. what a year ago? Remember when Gartenberg and those guys were all saying... this company's relevance is fading...
@MarkAnderson
Well said, I couldn't agree more.
I applaud you.
@MarkAnderson
@ENGADGET
Hire this man!!!
Well one cool thing about symbian that you can customize the hell out of it. I payed 30 bucks for the SPB Shell for wifys N97 and its a thing of beauty. Can't do that with others because Android is one ugly green thingy.
@N900 i think what that guy was saying look a Motorola right before and after android they where going bankrupt and extinct but look at them now
@SeeKo
That fishhead from Espoo is seriously starting to stink up the joint. There'll be no quick turnaround for this company. They're selling too many cheapo cellphones in third-world countries. Nokia isn't a bad company. It probably just couldn't react to the quick changes that took place at the high-end smartphone range. The smaller, nimbler companies were able to adjust faster and didn't have that huge amount of low-end cellphone crap that Nokia has to constantly drag around.