More on the Nokia Patent Lawsuit Against Apple

Om Malik:

But the timing of the suit also underscores the degree to which Apple has overtaken Nokia in the smartphone space. Nokia last week reported its first quarterly net loss in more than a decade as its North American sales tumbled by nearly a third. Apple’s momentum, meanwhile, just keeps growing.

Nokia still sells way more phones than Apple does, even counting only “smartphones”, but the iPhone sells for a far, far higher average selling price than Nokia’s phones. In terms of profit from handset sales, Apple is either already ahead of Nokia or soon will be.

According to these numbers from pseudonymous Apple analyst “Deagol”, the average selling price for an iPhone last quarter was $612. Nokia’s average selling price per handset last quarter was about $93.

★ Thursday, 22 October 2009