4 ms·

VR is such a tiny niche compared to a market they once ruled throughout most of the world (except maybe USA?). Just like IBM, I guess their demise in consumer

VR is such a tiny niche compared to a market they once ruled throughout most of the world (except maybe USA?). Just like IBM, I guess their demise in consumer products was gradual, but went by a lot quicker than IBMs did. Some of their assets were pretty valuable (especially patent-wise), so that $7 billion MS write-off may not be completely telling (AFAIK, MS are making a tidy profit from phones running Android, through patent-infringements).

function_seven 11y ago
> (except maybe USA?) Even in the US, Nokia had a huge portion of the cell phone market. Maybe more than half? The 51xx and 61xx phones were all over the place. Can't find any sources for this, just my recollection.
- adventured 11y ago
  It appears their peak US share was around 35%. [1] By contrast, that's about what Motorola's peak market share in the US was as well (in the early 1990s). Samsung at times has had 20-30% of the US cellphone market. I believe Apple likely holds the record for most dominant US market share. They're around 43% of the US smart phone market today (not sure how that would look if you blend in feature phones though). [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/technology/companies/19nokia.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/technology/companies/19nok...
dools 11y ago
In 1984, the mobile phone market was tiny compared to everything.
sirkneeland 11y ago
Nokia Technologies still owns all the patents. Microsoft got neither the brand nor the IP (though they were granted a license to it)
- NonEUCitizen 11y ago
  For IP, Microsoft got more than just a license; it got "rights equivalent to ownership." http://allthingsd.com/20130904/from-can-we-talk-to-a-coffee-table-mishap-the-inside-story-of-microsofts-nokia-purchase/ http://allthingsd.com/20130904/from-can-we-talk-to-a-coffee-...
vegabook 11y ago
> VR is such a tiny niche ...and in danger of stalling: https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=oculus%20rift https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=oculus%20rift

function_seven 11y ago

> (except maybe USA?) Even in the US, Nokia had a huge portion of the cell phone market. Maybe more than half? The 51xx and 61xx phones were all over the place. Can't find any sources for this, just my recollection.

adventured 11y ago
It appears their peak US share was around 35%. [1] By contrast, that's about what Motorola's peak market share in the US was as well (in the early 1990s). Samsung at times has had 20-30% of the US cellphone market. I believe Apple likely holds the record for most dominant US market share. They're around 43% of the US smart phone market today (not sure how that would look if you blend in feature phones though). [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/technology/companies/19nokia.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/technology/companies/19nok...

dools 11y ago

In 1984, the mobile phone market was tiny compared to everything.

sirkneeland 11y ago

Nokia Technologies still owns all the patents. Microsoft got neither the brand nor the IP (though they were granted a license to it)

NonEUCitizen 11y ago
For IP, Microsoft got more than just a license; it got "rights equivalent to ownership." http://allthingsd.com/20130904/from-can-we-talk-to-a-coffee-table-mishap-the-inside-story-of-microsofts-nokia-purchase/ http://allthingsd.com/20130904/from-can-we-talk-to-a-coffee-...

vegabook 11y ago

> VR is such a tiny niche ...and in danger of stalling: https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=oculus%20rift https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=oculus%20rift