*from www.bloomberg.com, April 2, 2013 (To view original article click here.)
Take Away #1: As Nokia Oyj claws its way back into the smartphone market with its Lumia handsets, it risks missing the next big trend as consumers shift toward big-screen handhelds.
Key Facts and Figures:
- Smartphone buyers are increasingly snapping up devices with screens measuring 5 inches or more for easier Web browsing and video viewing.
- Others pick up a tablet to accompany their handsets.
- Nokia is absent from both categories, dominated by Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc.
Take Away #2: Nokia’s failure to enter the large-screen market early on marks the third time in a decade the company has overlooked a major trend.
Key Facts and Figures:
- In 2004 Nokia was slow to embrace clamshell handsets.
- A few years later it missed out on touch screens.
- This time, Nokia’s future in smartphones is at stake as it seeks to sustain the nascent revival it has enjoyed with Lumia.
- “This is a trend that can’t be missed,” said Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst at researcher IDC in London.
- “People are using smartphones in different ways now, consuming media by streaming over faster networks. A 5-inch screen for a smartphone just feels right in the hand,” says Jeronimo.
- Sales of handsets 5 inches or bigger soared to 29.7 million units last year from 1.2 million a year earlier, Jeronimo said.
Take Away #3: While Nokia hasn’t announced any bigger devices, the company is almost certainly preparing one and could release it within a few months, Jeronimo said.
Key Facts and Figures:
- James Etheridge, a Nokia spokesman, declined to comment on plans for bigger-screen smartphones and tablets.
- The company is still assessing consumer interest in them, said Etheridge.
Take Away #4: Nokia stock has lost about 90% since the iPhone and Google’s Android were introduced in 2007.
Key Facts and Figures:
- Over the same period, Apple has almost tripled and Samsung has more than doubled.
- Nearly 20% of Nokia’s shares are on loan – borrowed stock is typically shorted – more than eight times the average among Euro Stoxx 50 members.
- Nokia’s flagship Lumia features a 4.5 inch screen, and the rest of its handsets have smaller displays.
- While the company has focused on the design and software of its smartphones, competitors have been getting bigger.
- Nokia shares fell 0.5% to close at 2.51 euros in Helsinki trading.
Take Away #5: The Galaxy S3 from Samsung, the world’s largest handset maker, became the top-selling smartphone globally last year.
Key Facts and Figures:
- The Galaxy S3 has a 4.8-inch screen, while the Galaxy S4, an updated version introduced last month, has a 5-inch screen.
- Samsung’s Note 2 has a 5.5 inch display.
- ZTE Corp.’s Grand Memo has a 5.7-inch display, and the Ascend Mate from China’s Huawei Technology Co. boasts a 6.1 inch screen.
Take Away #6: Samsung in February unveiled the Note 8.0, an 8-inch device that works as a mobile phone, a device many refer to as a “phablet”.
Key Facts and Figures:
- Such devices are often called “phablets” because they blur the line between phones and tablets.
- Apple, which has dominated the 10-inch segment since it introduced the iPad three years ago, responded to phablet competition with the 7.9-inch iPad mini, unveiled in October.
- Apple has also increased the size of the iPhone, though it remains a relatively small 4 inches.
Take Away #7: Nokia, which pioneered the mobile-phone market in the 1980s clung to its so-called candy bar handsets a decade ago even as customers were flocking to clamshell phones made by Motorola Inc., Samsung and Sony Ericsson.
Key Facts and Figures:
- Nokia’s market share fell to a five-year low before recovering as the company released new clamshells and smartphones.
- After 2007, Nokia’s market share headed south again after it ignored consumer interest in touch screens, spurred by the iPhone.
Take Away #8: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop started the current comeback effort two years ago.
Key Facts and Figures:
- Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has since dropped Nokia’s homegrown operating system in favor of Windows software from his former employer Microsoft Corp.
- Elop has also cut more than 20,000 jobs in a bid to revive Nokia after the company fell outside the top five in smartphone rankings and became unprofitable.
- The strategic shift has yet to reverse market-share losses, though Lumia sales did increase to 4.4 million units last quarter.
- That’s still a fraction of the 160 million devices shipped by manufacturers using Google Inc.’s Android, led by Samsung, and the 48 million iPhone sold by Apple.
- Nokia’s fourth-quarter smartphone market share was about 3% according to IDC.
Take Away #9: Apple and Samsung have carved out such powerful market positions in smartphones and tablets that simply rolling out a bigger device doesn’t guarantee success, even for a strong brand.
Key Facts and Figures:
- BlackBerry failed to dent iPad sales with its PlayBook, even as its handsets retain a loyal following.
- Sales of tablets running Microsoft’s Windows RT software have been disappointing, said Nvidia Corp. CEO Jen-Hsun Huang last month.
- Dell Inc.’s Streak, combining the features of a tablet and smartphone, went on sale in 2010 and was discontinued the following year.
- In 2011, Hewlett-Packard Co. pulled the plug on the TouchPad tablet, which relied on an operating system developed by Palm Inc.
- “The benchmark is for a larger screen and Nokia isn’t there yet,” said Ben Wood of CCS Insight.
- “Nokia needs to make sure they don’t miss the boat,” said Wood.
*To view original article from www.bloomberg.com click here.