Samsung Passes Nokia As Biggest Handset Manufacturer

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Samsung Passes Nokia As Biggest Handset Manufacturer

Posted by Soulskill on Friday April 27, 2012 @07:49AM from the changing-of-the-guard dept.

rtfa-troll writes "Tomi Ahonen reports that Samsung has become the largest manufacturer of smartphones (overtaking Apple) and of mobile phones (overtaking Nokia). During the first quarter of 2012 Samsung sold 93.5 million phones, with 44.5 million (48%) of those being smartphones. Apple would still lead on 'smart mobile devices' with 52 million sales including iPads, but not iPods. The last time the lead in mobile phone sales changed was in 14 years ago, in 1998, when Nokia overtook Ericsson. Ericsson never recovered and began leaving the mobile phone market three years later, creating Sony Ericsson, later Sony Mobile. It looks like the mobile phone market is going to be brutal, with Apple and Samsung crushing everybody else except possibly HTC, which is still rising, and Motorola (which has Google to look after it)."

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no huge surprise .. nokia is engineered to fail by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-27 07:59 · Score: 5, Insightful

thanks to the microshit idiot in charge, nokia will fail and microshit will pick up the remains for pennies on the dollar.
1. Re:no huge surprise .. nokia is engineered to fail by rtfa-troll · 2012-04-27 08:09 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  thanks to the microshit idiot in charge, nokia will fail and microshit will pick up the remains for pennies on the dollar.
  That would be a repeat of Microsoft's Sendo strategy and would make sense. Sendo seems to have ended in court with a loss / really expensive settlement though; I'm just wondering how Eliop got a worse deal than that past the Nokia board and lawyers though?
  
  --
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2. Re:no huge surprise .. nokia is engineered to fail by F69631 · 2012-04-27 08:50 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  The board realized that the strategy of trying to create another incompatible ecosystem and trying to attract developers was doomed to fail from the get go and installed Elop as the CEO to do what he did.
  When Elop took over Nokia I was still a software engineering student and I currently work for a company that develops smartphone apps.
  When Nokia was still developing Meego, there was a lot of buzz about it all around the world: Other students (who're now also developers) mentioned it quite often, considered installing it on their netbooks, etc... Nokia was making very good progress at creating the ecosystem. Whether or not it would have soared like an eagle or crashed to the ground will remain forever unseen but what we do know is that Nokia and MS have utterly failed in building ecosystem around what they decided to go with.
  That said, the article you linked was pretty interesting. I think that some parts were worse than others (I nearly laughed when I read how good Elop is at transparency) but it's still a nice point of view.
3. Re:no huge surprise .. nokia is engineered to fail by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-04-27 09:29 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  There are 85,000 apps in the Windows Phone marketplace now, not stellar but nothing to sneer at either.
  The problem is more apparent when you look at what those apps actually are. I mean, WP is still the only platform that doesn't have a fully functional Skype client (what it currently has does not work in background).
  
  With Windows 8, the software platform will be unified, and porting a Win 8 Metro app to Windows Phone will be super easy, with only the UI layer needing tweaks.
  Since there have been no public statements on the future version of Windows Phone, so far this is just wishful thinking (or, if you're an insider, a leak).
  In any case, the problem is the word "will". No-one cares about what "will" be there - it'll matter when it'll be there, which we still don't know yet. Meanwhile, iOS and Android are here already.
Already warming up my "I told you so" dance. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-27 08:06 · Score: 4, Insightful

Just the beginning of the end. Nokia was doomed the moment Microsoft was whispered in the head office. Any company to work that closely with MS always gets burned.
Right now the mole is just tanking the company, making it cheaper for the inevitable buy out.
I'm dead serious about all of this. You'll mod me down now, but I'll be laughing when it happens 8-18 months from now.
1. Re:Already warming up my "I told you so" dance. by recoiledsnake · 2012-04-27 08:24 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  > Any company to work that closely with MS always gets burned.
  Lets see, Intel,AMD, Nvidia, HTC(who started out as a only-Windows Mobile OEM), Dell, HP, Sony, ASUS, Acer, Samsung, Lenovo... all of these got burnt and didn't make lots of profits because of their partnership with MS right?
  
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2. Re:Already warming up my "I told you so" dance. by 1s44c · 2012-04-27 08:24 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I 100% agree right up to the bit where you mention laughing. This isn't a laughing matter, it's a tragic commercial suicide. They could have been winning, instead they stabbed themselves in the gut with the Microsoft deal and limped around the marketplace dripping their lifeblood on the floor.
  An iphone like Nokia Linux phone would have been 100% win!
3. Re:Already warming up my "I told you so" dance. by Jeppe+Salvesen · 2012-04-27 08:27 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Nokia was doomed several years ago. They ridiculed Apple while they failed to streamline Symbian app development, while they failed to research and develop touch-screen mobiles, while they failed to build a proper app store that was easy to use, while they failed to build.
  Making a deal with Microsoft was just an act of desperation. They were already bleeding profusely from the consequences of all their dumb-ass decisions made around 2005-2007 when mobile internet was beginning to take off. The Ovi store could have been launched in 2005-2006 with over-the-air app downloads. Had Nokia remained on the leading edge and focused on making their products better from a consumer-point-of-view, then Apple would have had a much harder job in invading the mobile phone market.
  But Nokia was not focused. Apple and Google had them for lunch.
  
  --
  Stop the brainwash
4. Re:Already warming up my "I told you so" dance. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-27 09:20 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Microsoft's new "strategic partnership" with Nokia is not its first. For a decade the software company has courted and consummated relationships with a variety of companies in mobile and telecom. Here are the ones I can remember:
  LG. In February 2009 Microsoft Corp. signed a multiyear agreement for Windows Mobile to be included on devices from LG Electronics Inc. LG would use Windows Mobile as its "primary platform"for smartphones and produce about 50 models running the software.
  What happened? LG made a few Windows Mobile devices but with WinMo uncompetitive, they abandoned the platform and moved to Android losing years of market presence and all their profits.
  Motorola. In September 2003, Motorola and Microsoft announced an alliance. "Starting with the introduction of the new Motorola MPx200 mobile phone with Microsoft Windows Mobile software, the companies will collaborate on a series of Smartphone and Pocket PC wireless devices designed to create a virtual "remote control" for the Web-centric, work-centric, always-on-the-go mobile professional." In addition, the alliance includes cooperation on joint marketing and wireless developer programs.
  What happened? Motorola launched a series of Windows Mobile phones culminating in the Motorola Q "Blackberry killer". As Motorola hit the rocks in profitability new management reached for the Android liferaft. The company now relies exclusively on the Droid franchise.
  Palm. In September 2005 Palm and Microsoft announced a strategic alliance to "accelerate the Smartphone market segment with a new device for mobile professionals and businesses. Palm has licensed the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system for an expanded line of Treo Smartphones, the first of which will be available on Verizon Wirelessâ(TM) national wireless broadband network."
  What happened? Palm shipped a few Windows Mobile, famously dismissing Appleâ(TM)s potential entry as something "PC guys" could never achieve. A new CEO, a private placement and an acquisition later the company is a division of HP making its own operating system.
  Nortel. When Steve Ballmer was famously laughing at the iPhone and saying that he likes the Windows Mobile strategy "a lot" he was sitting next to the then-CEO of Nortel (Mike Zafirovski formerly of Motorola) with whom the company had just closed a strategic deal. "an alliance between Microsoft and Nortel announced in July 2006 â¦ includes three new joint solutions to dramatically improve business communications by breaking down the barriers between voice, e-mail, instant messaging, multimedia conferencing and other forms of communication".
  What happened? Nortel declared bankruptcy two years later.
  Verizon. In January 2009 "Verizon Wireless has selected Microsoft Corp. to provide portal, local and Internet search as well as mobile advertising services to customers on its devices. The five-year agreement will go into effect in the first half of 2009 when Microsoft Live Search is targeted to be available on new Verizon Wireless feature phones and smartphones." The deal would ensure Bing distribution to all of Verizonâ(TM)s smartphone customers.
  What happened? Bing did ship on some devices but in October 2009 Droid came to Verizon.
  Ericsson. In September 2000, "Ericsson and Microsoft Corp. today launched Ericsson Microsoft Mobile Venture AB. This previously announced joint company will drive the mobile Internet by developing and marketing mobile e-mail solutions for operators. The first solutions are expected to be on the market by the end of the year. The company is part of a broader strategic alliance between Ericsson and Microsoft"
  What happened? Ericsson divested itself of the mobile division forming a joint venture which would go on and make more strategic alliances with Microsoft over Windows Mobile culminating in a loss of profits and eventual flight to Android. Sendo. In February 2001, Microsoft announced a partnership, in which Microsoft bought $12m of Sendo shares an
Turns out they had a great plan! by RocketRabbit · 2012-04-27 08:10 · Score: 2, Interesting

Copying Apple was the best plan Samsung even devised. Not only is it a really cute move, but it has paid off in the market. The only problem is that Samsung makes about a nickel on each phone it sells.
1. Re:Turns out they had a great plan! by Hope+Thelps · 2012-04-27 08:24 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  The only problem is that Samsung makes about a nickel on each phone it sells.
  Okay, doing a quick search on "samsung ,mobile phone profits". I see things like:
  "reported its highest quarterly profits since 2008, with net profit almost doubling to 5.05 trillion won ($4.5 billion) for the three months to March 31." (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business/120427/samsung-profits-jump-mobile-phone-sales-outstrip-apple-and-nokia)
  and
  "Samsung’s quarterly handset division profits nearly tripled to 4.27 trillion won ($3.8 billion U.S.), accounting for 73 per cent of total profit" (http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1169494--galaxy-phone-powers-samsung-to-record-profit)
  Now, maybe those reports are wrong. And very possibly Apple makes much much more on their phones (I haven't checke but I believe it) BUT I really doubt Samsung are crying over results like that. This looks like a very very succesful business for them.
  
  --
  To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem. ~ h2g2
2. Re:Turns out they had a great plan! by UnknowingFool · 2012-04-27 09:36 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  At 44.5 million phones and $3.8B, Samsung is making $85 profit per smartphone. Apple sold 35.1M iPhones with revenue of $22.7B. At a modest 30% margin, that is $6.81B or $194 per smartphone. The margin might be higher on the iPhone though so Apple is killing on profit.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Motorola, Nokia by Dynamoo · 2012-04-27 08:10 · Score: 4, Interesting

Two things.. one, don't assume that Google gives a shit about Motorola, except for the patents. Once the patents have been stripped away, I would expect it to be sold on again.
Secondly.. Nokia is in a mess, but it isn't Stephen Elop (the CEO) who created it. He inherited the mess from the previous CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who basically doomed the company after borking the launch of the N900 and the Maemo platform. Elop sent out his now famous "burning platform" memo and chose to leap off the platform into Microsoft's lifeboat rather than the Android one. Why? Well, Nokia has much more influence over Windows than it would do with Android and has a chance of building a decent ecosystem.
Honestly though.. if Nokia made a decent Android handset, then I would probably go and buy it.

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1. Re:Motorola, Nokia by binarylarry · 2012-04-27 08:13 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  With Windows Phone Nokia has to do whatever Microsoft wants. They have very little wiggle room.
  With Android they can go to any extreme, from working directly with Google to forking the whole thing like Amazon.
  Using a poor platform like Windows Phone was a huge mistake for Nokia and it's probably going to be a fatal one.
  
  --
  Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
2. Re:Motorola, Nokia by klingens · 2012-04-27 08:38 · Score: 2
  
  With Windows Phone Nokia has to do whatever Microsoft wants.
  This is half-true. Microsoft has very hard minimum specs, if any company attempts to undercut those, they can lose the licensing. On the other hand, there isn't a lot of incentive to make a more powerful Win phone because of how smoothly the core OS runs at those minimum specs.
  This is wrong. I just checked the current Windows Phone 7.5 Systems. From the cheapest 195€ one to the most expensive 579€ Lumia.
  ALL of them have 512MB RAM, a single core CPU, no SD card slot, a 800x480 screen and either 8 or 16GB flash storage. Every single one of them. These are all hard limits you can't go over or under when you want a license. Microsoft killed any product differentiation for the vendors. Even Apple has more differentiation.
3. Re:Motorola, Nokia by Asic+Eng · 2012-04-27 10:03 · Score: 2
  
  Nokia is in a mess, but it isn't Stephen Elop (the CEO) who created it.
  No, but he made it worse. Nokia had a decent strategy, but failed to deliver in time. That cost them dearly, but they still had a chance to recover. Now they swiched to another strategy putting all their eggs in one basket.
  It sounded crazy to me from the start, but fair enough: you don't really know before you tried. They did try though, and they do know now. The only reason they are hanging on to the Windows-only strategy is because of Elop's ego - that is his fault.
Re:Meego by AliasMarlowe · 2012-04-27 08:11 · Score: 5, Informative

If only I could buy a new phone with Meego on it...
In some countries, you can, such as Australia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, etc. But not in the US, UK, Japan, or Germany (the Germans apparently are buying them from Switzerland). The Nokia N9 runs on Meego "Harmattan", which is actually intermediate between Maemo and Meego. It's deliberately withheld from the larger markets, because it causes some embarrassment to the Lumia series of WinPhones.

--
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Re:Meego by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-27 08:20 · Score: 5, Insightful

And, despite the lack of marketing, way more N9s have been sold than Lumias. It's a realy pity because Harmattan's swipe interface is lightyears ahead of anything Android has to offer.
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Instead of linking to a random blog post... by Emetophobe · 2012-04-27 08:31 · Score: 5, Informative

There are better sources at BBC News or Bloomberg.
1. Re:Instead of linking to a random blog post... by tbird81 · 2012-04-27 08:37 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  But then how is the blogger (probably Soulskill's friend) going to make advertising dollars?
Re:Meego by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-27 08:38 · Score: 4, Interesting

The best available numbers are on the site linked to Who Wants Numbers? Lumia on T-Mobile? Lumia 800 vs Lumia 710? How Many Nokia N9?
Nokia could just publish the activation numbers as Google and Apple do, but instead they seem to only publish the number of phones sent off to operators and even that they do rarely. I wonder why?
Walmart by Iamthecheese · 2012-04-27 09:58 · Score: 2

Walmart StraightTalk uses Samsung phones. Walmart was one of the the first to offer unlimited talk and text without a contract for a decent price. A direct result was the sale of a huge number of Samsung phones.

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