Nokia N900 smartphone sales disappoint

Asavin Wattanajantra

Nokia sold less than 100,000 top-of-the-range N900 smartphones in its first five months on sale, according to researcher Gartner.

Reuters said that this showed the device has yet to mount a serious challenge to the iPhone and BlackBerry.

It also proves that users are moving towards other challengers from the likes of HTC which has recently released some popular Android-based phones.

The N900 went on sale in November and runs the Linux Maemo OS, which some see as vital for Nokia to regain ground in a smartphone race it is currently losing, when it comes to high-end devices.

The N900 is chunky and computer with a slide-out keyboard and touch screen, but has failed to attract as many users as Nokia would probably have liked.

The sales of less than 100,000 Nokia N900 do not compare well with sales from the likes of RIM and Apple with their own high-end devices, which runs into the millions.

But Nokia put a brave face on the figures, with Alberto Torres, head of Nokia's solutions business, telling the Open Mobile Summit trade conference in London this week, “Sales have substantially exceeded expectations.”

It remains to be seen what else Nokia can do in the future to make more of a dent in the war over high-end smartphones, but the N8 has already been confirmed for Vodafone and could possibly make a difference.