Nokia is now the world's second-largest cell phone company, ending a 14-year run at the top.
Samsung took over the top spot, shipping 92 million cell phones in the first quarter, compared to the 83 million that Nokia shipped, according to IHS iSuppli. It was the first time since 1998, when Nokia surpassed Motorola (MMI), that Nokia was outpaced in cell phone shipments.
Making matters worse for Nokia (NOK), S&P downgraded the Finnish company's debt rating to "junk" on Friday. That follows Fitch's similar downgrade earlier in the week.
Nokia's decline has been a long time in the making, with shipments sinking by nearly 30% since their peak just after Apple's iPhone first went on sale in 2007.
Samsung's rise mirrored Nokia's fall from grace. The South Korean company controlled just a third of Nokia's cell phone market share in 2008, and it has been rising steadily ever since.
The overall cell phone market includes popular smartphones like Apple's iPhone but also older and less expensive phones that don't feature as many apps or other bells and whistles. Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) sold 35 million iPhones in the first three months of this year.... Source/Origin >> Read More
