14 DAY TRIAL // Espoo, Finland-based mobile phone maker Nokia is expected to hit the third place on the smartphone market during this quarter, the latest analyst reports suggest.
According to Nomura Research, Nokia is about to lose the crown on the smartphone market, after climbing to the top on this segment in 1996.
The leading handset vendor was the top smartphone company in the world by sales volume since a quarter ago, the research firm notes.
All in all, it appears that things turned on a sliding slope for the company, and that it is on its way to lose the lead in smartphone unit sales this quarter, for the first time in fifteen years.
Things are getting even worse than expected, as the mobile phone maker might be surpassed by both Apple and Samsung in unit shipments.
Basically, this quarter would mark Nokia's fall all the way to the third position on the smartphone market, and it seems that things might get even worse than that.
“Nokia looks set to relinquish its smartphone crown to Samsung and Apple,” Nomura stated in a note to investors on Monday, a recent article on BGR reads.
“Further emphasizing the shift in power to Asia is our forecast for HTC to almost match Nokia during 2012.”
However, it seems that Nokia will take the hit only in the smartphone area. It will remain the leading mobile phone maker in the world, courtesy of its strong position in emerging markets, the research firm noted.
In February this year, Nokia announced plans to bring handsets powered by Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system to the market, and to leave Symbian aside.
The company will still launch a series of Symbian devices, but it will focus on the launch of Windows Phone handsets, and is expected to lose a lot of market share before the transition is completed.
The first Nokia Windows Phone devices are expected to hit shelves in late 2011, while mass production will kick off only next year.