Nokia phone sales figures drop 30 percent

[maflynn]

cnet is reporting some rather sobering news for Microsoft/Nokia.

News story

Nokia says its smartphone sales were hampered by the "strong momentum of competing smartphone platforms" -- confirmation that Nokia is still living in the shadow of Apple and Android.

Microsoft has its hands full, in trying to promote the WP platform. I'm happy with my Lumia, the app store is increasing in volume, but they're still trailing both Apple and Android.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I'm not surprised by this at all. Having played with a couple of the recent Nokia's I have to say they are very capable and solid phones in their own right. However the lack of app's in their app store compared to their nearest rivals puts a lot of consumers off and the physical design on some of their devices doesn't appear as inspiring apart from the changes in colour. They are good phones though and it would be great to see Nokia as a major player once again having owned Nokia phones into double figures myself. They along with Microsoft were a little late to the party I feel and this has harmed them.

 

[maflynn]

the lack of app's in their app store compared to their nearest rivals puts a lot of consumers off.

That's the thing, most current and major apps are there. The volume of apps critique is not as accurate as it was 12 months ago. People's perceptions is that there's no apps for that platform and that's not really true any more. Still perception is reality to many people if they don't think their apps are there (without doing their research) then they'll avoid that phone/platform.

I think part of the problem is the carriers, I went to one VZW store looking to buy the Icon and they didn't have it, and thy were very off putting, saying we don't sell windows phones, but come and look at this Samsung Note 3. The salesmen basically ignore what I was looking for and started pushing the android platform.

 

[MRU]

The strange thing is that in Europe marketshare has grown year by year - but USA seems to be eluding them.

 

[maflynn]

The strange thing is that in Europe marketshare has grown year by year - but USA seems to be eluding them.

From what I've read there's brand recognition and brand loyalty occurring in Europe. Nokia is held to such high esteem that people naturally seem to gravitate to that brand. In the US, Nokia doesn't mean anything.

That's why I think its a mistake by MS to drop the Nokia name for the phones, though maybe they have to, as part of the deal.

 

[jamezr]

From what I've read there's brand recognition and brand loyalty occurring in Europe. Nokia is held to such high esteem that people naturally seem to gravitate to that brand. In the US, Nokia doesn't mean anything.

That's why I think its a mistake by MS to drop the Nokia name for the phones, though maybe they have to, as part of the deal.

Thats a great point.......In Europe Nokia has great brand recognition. But in the US they do not have that brand and loyalty following. MS might need to get another vendor involved in WP8. HTC and Samsung do make WP8 phones but they seem to be afterthoughts. MS needs a brand with US name recognition to start putting more effort and advertising behind WP8.

 

[ozaz]

From what I've read there's brand recognition and brand loyalty occurring in Europe. Nokia is held to such high esteem that people naturally seem to gravitate to that brand. In the US, Nokia doesn't mean anything.

I'm not sure that's the only reason or even the main reason. It may just be related to market differences. In Europe, PAYG & SIM-only plans have been popular for a long time. Good quality, cheap phones like the 520 will benefit in this type of market. Similarly, since the Moto G was released in the UK, I think the market share for Motorola (not a particularly well loved brand over here) went from 0 to 6% in a matter of a few months.

My understanding is these types of plans are not nearly as popular in the US, so I assume these low end phones don't have nearly as much impact on the overall market in the US.

That's why I think its a mistake by MS to drop the Nokia name for the phones, though maybe they have to, as part of the deal.

They have a license to use the name for 10 years, but are unlikely to use it for that long.
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/28/nokiasoft-branding-issues/

 

[Lloydbm41]

I found this Kantar report enlightening. Gives a much better view of the world overall when comparing the various platforms. For instance, Japan is an Apple fetish country for some odd reason. But WP overall looks to be growing.

 

[AppleScruff1]

That's the thing, most current and major apps are there. The volume of apps critique is not as accurate as it was 12 months ago. People's perceptions is that there's no apps for that platform and that's not really true any more. Still perception is reality to many people if they don't think their apps are there (without doing their research) then they'll avoid that phone/platform.

I think part of the problem is the carriers, I went to one VZW store looking to buy the Icon and they didn't have it, and thy were very off putting, saying we don't sell windows phones, but come and look at this Samsung Note 3. The salesmen basically ignore what I was looking for and started pushing the android platform.

I have found that the Verizon and AT&T stores won't even mention WP and when you ask, they tell you nobody buys them because there aren't many apps available. I have asked several salespeople which apps and not one could give me an example. I have also found that they steer you right to Samsung if you play dumb and don't mention the iPhone. This is a cross sample of what I have found in about 6 stores of each carrier in my area. The sales people don't know squat about the WP platform. Commissions must be better on Samsung phones. The iPhone seems to sell itself and it doesn't seem like they steer customers to Apple either.

 

[Technarchy]

Time for some new design language. The current Lumia look is getting a bit stale.

The Icon design with 8.1 should perk things up. And maybe some better marketing.

 

[Zenton]

Mostly I'm turned off by the actual apps. I want my apps to look and feel like they were designed to look and feel when the dev created them to Android/iOS (or to the original platform). Not some horrible almost black and white UI with huge fonts all over the place and the typical WP styling.

+ I've encountered several situations where me and my friends are all downloading some particular app, and the ones with WPs can't find it.

 

[AppleRobert]

Sticking with my 521 and not going further with Windows phone. The M8 and iPhone 6 will be my next buys.