Apple once more outsold Nokia as the one-time cell phone giant bleeds more red ink. The Finnish cell phone maker is hoping the launch of its first smartphone based on Microsoft’s Windows Phone software will save it from further financial drubbing.
Despite Apple reporting fewer iPhones sales than analysts expected, the Cupertino, Calif. company still sold 17.07 million smartphones compared to 16.8 million by Nokia. In July, Nokia reported selling 16.7 million smartphones versus Apple’s 20.34 million iPhones.
In a further sign of Nokia’s decline, the company announced selling 106.6 million phones, down from 110.4 handsets sold during the same period in 2010. The company reported sales of €8.98 billion, a 13 percent drop from last year, and had a €68 million net loss compared to a €529 net profit a year ago. Although the number of handsets sold during the period is fewer than a year ago, it was higher than analysts expected. The surprise likely came at the price of less profit, since the average selling price of a Nokia phone fell to €51, down from €65, reports say.
In a related development, Nokia announced it will begin selling next week its first handset based on Windows Phone. Earlier this year, the phone maker announced it would switch to the Microsoft platform to power its handsets.
