A closed for refurbishment mobile phone shop in Helsinki is stirring internet rumours about the impending launch of Nokia Windows Phone 8 handsets. The shop happens to be Nokia’s home country flagship Helsinki store. In other Nokia news, the company today announced a thumping loss of €1.53 billion during Q2 2012.
The amazing 7th September
The 7th September is the day after the end of the Nokia World show (5-6th September, in Helsinki). So any newly announced hardware may be up for grabs in the store. Amazing would be something like a new Nokia Lumia 1k PureView range of smartphones sporting the Windows Phone 8 OS. Also amazing would be the Nokia stores around the world becoming Microsoft branded stores containing Nokia mobiles alongside Microsoft hardware and software. Somewhat less than amazing would be a new member of the Nokia Asha budget handset range. The QR code displayed in the shop windows sends the inquisitive to a website NokiaGraffiti.me which isn’t very informative at all.
Second quarter losses
Sales of Lumia smartphones doubled in Q2 (4 million sales) but are still dwarfed by Apple’s and Samsung’s market shares in this most profitable part of the mobile device market. The reported loss of €1.53 billion during Q2 was a little less than expected. Also cash reserves weren’t eaten away as quickly as expected; it held €4.2 in cash reserves at the end of Q2, better than the projected market estimate of €3.7. As a result Nokia shares have done exceptionally well today and are currently up nearly 17 per cent.
Q3 coming up
Looking forward, Q3 doesn’t offer any respite for Nokia. The phone business is expected to continue to dwindle for Nokia before it picks up, by as much as nine per cent in Q3. The market share price reaction today could either suggest a tipping point in Nokia’s fortunes or it could be a typical dead-cat bounce. Either way the coming months, with the launch of WP8, are incredibly important for the one time leader in all things mobile. Something amazing is required…
