mobileu.co.uk

Nokia Lumia sales top 1 million

A poll of analysts has suggested that sales of Nokia's Lumia handset – its first to be released in a tie-up with Microsoft – sold 1.3 million units between November and the end of last year.

Conducted by Bloomberg, the poll of 22 analysts saw projections ranging from 800,000 to two million, with just the one analyst predicting sales of under one million.

The figures are likely to be welcome news for Nokia, which is likely to see much of its future success stem from the Lumia handset as it retires its own Symbian and MeeGo devices.

Investors had initially expressed doubt in the Finnish company's endeavours with Microsoft, especially given the competition from Apple's iPhone and the numerous Android handsets.

Espen Furnes, Oslo-based fund manager at Storebrand Asset Management, told Bloomberg: “The numbers look promising.

“If Nokia is able to have a strong launch and surpass at least one million and keep that type of momentum, this would help put them in a credible position that is crucial to winning back investors.”

So far Nokia has refused to give an official sales forecast for the Lumia smartphone, suggesting that the company is taking a long-term view of things.