Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 has been steadily increasing in popularity since its debut last October, and we’re seeing signs of that increase as Nokia posts a preliminary report on its last quarter sales.
Nokia sold 14 million phones last quarter, led primarily by the 4.4 million Windows Phone-powered Lumias, a 3.4 million unit increase over a year earlier. The company says its Mobile Phones business unit and Lumia portfolio “delivered better than expected results” in Q4 2012. It’s also worth noting that Windows Phone 8 didn’t launch until part way through the quarter.
The 4.4 million sold is also 1.5 million better than it in the third quarter, and it’s the most Lumia phones the company has sold in any quarter since the smartphone line first launched in fall 2011. In addition, the fourth quarter marks the end of the first full year of Lumia sales, with a grand total of 14.3 units sold to date.
“We are pleased that Q4 2012 was a solid quarter where we exceeded expectations and delivered underlying profitability in Devices & Services and record underlying profitability in Nokia Siemens Networks, said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop. “We focused on our priorities and as a result we sold a total of 14 million Asha smartphones and Lumia smartphones while managing our costs efficiently, and Nokia Siemens Networks delivered yet another very good quarter.”
Nokia only sold 2.2 million Symbian devices during the quarter, a clear sign that Symbian is beginning to fade. 9.3 million Asha phones were also sold during the quarter.