Late last year Nokia launched its first devices on the Windows Phone platform with the Lumia 710 and the 800, and have since followed these with the Lumia 900 and the 610, but it seems that Nokia earns more from Apple than it does with its Lumia range after sales disappoint.
Earlier today we told you how Samsung had overtaken Nokia to become the biggest seller of handsets in the world, and in turn ending fourteen years of Nokia’s reign. Now it is being reported by AppleInsider that Nokia has earned more from licensing patents to Apple than selling its range of Lumia Windows Phone 7 devices.
The company actually lost money selling handsets during the last quarter that saw a $1.7 billion overall loss, which came despite the launch of the new Lumia models. The first quarter of last year saw Nokia shifting 108.5 million handsets, which compares to this year’s 82.7 million units that equates to a fall of 24 percent.
Nokia managed to gain around $600 million from Apple as settlement in a patent licensing dispute that included a number of standards and essential patents according to sources close to the deal. If the company doesn’t see a change in fortunes with regards to Windows Phone devices it could change tact by going after other smartphone manufacturers.
There is a chance it could sell off its vast patent portfolio to another company, which could potentially include Microsoft itself. Last year Google snapped up Motorola Mobility in a $12.5 billion deal, which like Nokia has been losing money producing smartphones. Nokia has only just started its assault on the US market though with the launch of the Lumia 900, which has been met with high demand so far.
Once the device is released into other regions Nokia’s revenues could really take off, but many still feel that the company should have took to the Android platform after ditching Symbian. Do you think the Nokia Lumia range will be successful?