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WORRIES: Nokia lost £1 billion last year

MOBILE PHONE giant, Nokia, posted a £1 billion loss in the last three months of 2011, it has been reported.

The Finnish company, who remain the world's largest handset providers, was overtaken by rivals Apple and Samsung, who are leading the way in the smartphone seector.

The fall came despite Nokia launching its own range of acclaimed Lumia smartphones, whih were designed to take on Apple's iPhone and the Android system used by Samsung

Analyst Nick Dillon from research firm Ovum told Sky News: "There's still a chance for [Nokia], but the longer it leaves it the more entrenched those competitors will be."

While Michael Schroder, an analyst at FIM bank, said: "The report highlights that the start of the Windows strategy is slow, and we have very little concrete data to predict its success at this point."

"These are critical times for the future of the whole company. The next months will be extremely important," he added.

But Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, remains buoyant.

He said: "From this beachhead of more than one million Lumia devices, you will see us push forward with the sales, marketing and successive product introductions necessary to be successful."