back to article Bottom falls out of Nokia's network rump

Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN) is facing a 19 per cent drop in sales for the last quarter and an even bigger challenge for the coming 12 months: how to win enough new biz to support a company soon to be shorn of its handset division. NSN will comprise the majority of the company once the sale of the Finnish giant’s once- …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Phillips used to make mobile phones and they survived, but it don't think Nokia make toothbrushes do they?

    1. SuperTim

      Philips

      Made a lot more than mobile phones. Nokia used to make other stuff too, but alas their tyre division is no more either (much is the pity, their tyres were good).

      1. bazza101

        Re: Philips

        Nokian tyres (and I believe wells) are still available. Different company now though.

        1. wolfetone Silver badge

          Re: Philips

          I remember my auntie had a Nokia TV. It always confused me because I thought Nokia only made mobiles.

          1. MacroRodent

            Re: Philips

            >I remember my auntie had a Nokia TV.

            I still use one. Bought in 1994, works fine. Of course it now has to get its signal from a digi-TV box or DVD, since Finland no longer has any analogue PAL transmissions. Now and then I look at flat-screens in shops, but conclude that standard-definition TV on them looks worse than on the Nokia tube (the deinterlacing and other digital processing in flat-screen TV:s makes everything look cartoonish), and there is not yet enough on-air HDTV material here.

            1. wolfetone Silver badge

              Re: Philips

              "I still use one. Bought in 1994, works fine. Of course it now has to get its signal from a digi-TV box or DVD, since Finland no longer has any analogue PAL transmissions. Now and then I look at flat-screens in shops, but conclude that standard-definition TV on them looks worse than on the Nokia tube (the deinterlacing and other digital processing in flat-screen TV:s makes everything look cartoonish), and there is not yet enough on-air HDTV material here."

              I would say that my auntie's TV was bought around the same time, were they available in Europe generally? My auntie lives in Ireland (and at the time there was only 2 channels - TV3 didn't come on the scene until later in the 90's) and got the TV there but I never saw a Nokia TV in the UK?

              1. Major N

                Re: Philips

                I have a Nokia TV. Branded Granada though IIRC.. I think a lot of their stuff was rebadged by the rent-a-telly crowd back in the day.....

        2. Lars Silver badge

          Re: Philips

          Nokia tyres was spun off from Nokia and become Nokian tyres (nokian.com) same company so to say.

      2. asdf
        Trollface

        Re: Philips

        >but alas their tyre division

        Now I can see why it bothers Brits how us Yanks butcher their language. Yes I am sure tyre is how we should all spell it but it just looks wrong. Damn you Daniel Webster for formalizing Merkin.

  2. Horridbloke

    Perhaps...

    ... they could start making toothbrushes.

    1. TitterYeNot
      Coat

      Re: Perhaps...

      "... they could start making toothbrushes."

      Mine's the one with the Nokia toothbrush in the pocket - it' a bit naff, but it's got a great camera...

      1. Michael Habel

        Re: Perhaps...

        Mine's the one with the Nokia toothbrush in the pocket - it' a bit naff, but it's got a great camera...

        All the better to see those Cavities, and Plaque with...

        ...Humm I should start working on this idea right away and Patent it ASAP....

  3. Stuart Castle Silver badge

    The problem with comparing Nokia with Philips is

    that Philips never seemed to consider mobile phones as major part of their business. Yes, Nokia made all sorts of electronic stuff (TVs, computers, monitors, etc) when they started making mobiles, but they seemed to scale all that back to concentrate on phones and their associated network hardware.

    Philips, on the other hand, added mobile phones to a range of products that went from computer chips, light bulbs and electric toothbrushes through to huge CT and other various computerised healthcare machines via TVs and hi fis.

    Even though Philips have either reduced or got rid of a few loss-making divisions over the last few years (for instances, I believe the TV division has been reduced), they are still competing in a *lot* of markets.

    A strategy that Nokia may well be advised to consider.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The problem with comparing Nokia with Philips is

      "...they are still competing in a *lot* of markets.

      A strategy that Nokia may well be advised to consider."

      which is a bit of a problem after they did the opposite in their field of strength to begin with!

      They should have maintained Symbian and Meego/harmattan development and adopted WP and possibly even Android to broaden their product portfolio. They would have been the ultimate cell-phone maker having ALL the major phone-OS's in products (either in-house or from external parties).

      I would have loved to see an the following

      N9 -> harmattan

      S9 -> Symbian

      W9 -> Windows Phone X (what we came to know as Lumia 800)

      A9 -> Android

      All based on that terrefic N9-design.

      But alas all that's left now are mediocre korean and crippled japanese droids :-(

      And for the snobs that fruity product...

      It's all gone to hell :-(

  4. PaulM 1

    Nokia Hardware Is Very Good

    Nokia produce good hardware. The battery life of Nokia S40 feature phones is is much better than most iPhones and Android phones. I carry a Nokia S40 feature phone along with my smart phone so that I can allways guarantee that I can make a phone call. That is after all what phones are for. Also Nokia phones have superior antennas to many other phones and so can often communicate in remote areas that others can not. My hope is that Nokia Windows phones will combine the best of both worlds: good hardware and good software.

  5. Duke2010

    Toilet

    Nokia used to make bog roll before phones. Im sure they will be fine.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As for Nokia no longer making handsets ... wots all this then?

    https://research.nokia.com/news/12524

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nokia probably regrets selling off their tyre business

    They may need it now for extra cash.

    1. Lars Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: Nokia probably regrets selling off their tyre business

      Probably not. As far as I remember it was taken over by people in that division without any greater conflicts as shown perhaps in the Nokia and Nokian names. Not always a easy life for Nokian, but still very reliable for quality. One funny thing I remember related to Nokia and El Reg years ago was an article where somebody from El Reg wrote that it would not surprise him if Nokia started to produce submarines at some point. I still find that rather funny. However I find a slight conflict in the header "Bottom falls out of Nokia's network rump, Life after Microsoft looks grim" and the text "That’s not to say the firm is in dire straits." and "...has enabled NSN to maintain fairly high operating margins".

      Personally I hope the "grim" from falling a sleep not much helped by Elop burning the rest of the platform is in the past. Ericsson did the same with its cell phones, much earlier, I don't think they much regret it to day.

      Ericsson has been the king from the start, with more influence and innovations than people remember to day.

      Huawei is the upstart, strong and "dangerous" much because it's Chinese. I hope, and believe, there is ample room for NSN too.

  8. Richard Jones 1

    I wish they still made phones not the thief beacons they are selling on to MS.

    I need a new phone with the useful features of a 6230i not useless dross like touch and always look at me so called aps, or should that be asps offered by most current devices.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nokia bashing?

    I wonder if the author realizes that Nokia still has HERE, their mapping group?

    Formerly Navteq?

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