How makers of phones and tablets are faring

Makers of phones and tablet computers have begun releasing results for the latest quarter. Many companies including Nokia and Research in Motion have been struggling to compete with Apple and manufacturers of devices running Google's Android software. Here's a look at how makers of phones and tablet computers are doing.

? Oct. 18: Google Inc. says its Motorola Mobility device-making business suffered an operating loss of $527 million, more than tripling from the same time last year, when it was still an independent company. Google is planning job cuts at Motorola, but says it still could take a few years for Google to turn that business around.

Nokia Corp. reports that its third-quarter net loss widened further to ?969 million ($1.27 billion) with a 19 percent plunge in revenue, as it struggles against the dominance of Samsung and the iPhone in the tough smartphone market. Nokia gave a grim outlook for the rest of the year as it prepares for this fall's launch of Microsoft Corp.'s new phone software, Windows Phone 8. The Finnish firm acknowledges it expects no quick gains from the new Windows launch.

? Oct. 23: Apple Inc. unveils a faster, full-sized iPad and a smaller one called the iPad Mini. The smaller one will start at $329, much more than its competitors. Both new iPads will be available starting Nov. 2.

? Oct. 25: Apple Inc. warns that profits will be down in the holiday quarter compared with a year ago because it's releasing so many new products. When a production line is new, it costs more to run and the components are more expensive.

Amazon.com Inc. says its $199 Kindle Fire HD tablet is its best-selling product worldwide, but as usual, it did not give specific sales figures.

? Oct. 26: Strong sales of Galaxy phones propelled Samsung Electronics Co.'s quarterly profit to a record high, but there's concern growth will slow in an increasingly crowded smartphone market.

HTC Corp. reports a 79 percent drop in third-quarter profit, its fourth consecutive fall in quarterly profit. It predicts revenue will drop in the holiday quarter as well despite traditional pre-Christmas buying and its introduction of two new models running Windows.

? Nov. 1: Sony Corp. says sales improved in its mobile phone segment, but sales faltered in its digital cameras because of the popularity of smartphones, which typically come with cameras.

? Nov. 2: IDC says Google's Android software for mobile devices was running on 75 percent of smartphones shipped in the third quarter, as the search company extended its lead over Apple.

? Monday: IDC says Apple's share of the market for tablet computers fell to 50 percent in the third quarter as the iPad faced more competition from Android devices such as Samsung's Galaxy tablets and Google's Nexus 7. Apple still had a solid lead and shipped more iPads worldwide than a year earlier.

Apple says it sold 3 million iPads of all kinds in the first three days the iPad Mini was available, double the 1.5 million iPads sold in the first three days after Apple launched the third-generation iPad in March and cut the price of the iPad 2.

IHS iSuppli releases analysis showing that Microsoft and Apple are garnering the highest-profit margins for their tablets, followed by Google and then Amazon.

Coming up:

? Dec. 20: Research in Motion Ltd.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/makers-phones-tablets-faring-145513655--finance.html

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