Tough times ahead for Nokia in the smartphone arena

Profits at mobile phone producer Nokia have slipped by a fairly substantial 64 per cent according to financial results disclosed by the Finnish company. The figures cover the second quarter and indicate that Nokia is facing an uphill struggle against increasing competition from the likes of Apple and Google, both of which have tapped into the smartphone marketplace with huge success.

The turbulent times over at Nokia have been compounded by persistent reports that the mobile phone giant will be revising its top managers, which has only added to the uncertainty and further highlighted those negative business statistics. As a knock on result, the Nokia share price has taken a tumble, dropping 40 per cent since April this year.

Despite having a decent arsenal of mobile phones, and a dedicated customer following, Nokia has taken its eye off the ball in recent years. Although they have made bold moves in smartphone development, with models like the N97 and X6 doing good business along with a neat but over-priced Nokia Booklet netbook, the company has lost ground up against the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC.

Speaking to the New York Times, Bengt Nordstrom, the chief executive of Northstream, a mobile industry consultant based in Stockholm said: “It would not surprise me if Nokia was looking for a change at the top."

"Nokia’s problems are big and serious. The emergence of the iPhone and the Android operating system have made that all too clear. Nokia was not prepared for either one. They are clearly not the same industry leader they have been for the last 30 years.”