Nokia Offers Ray Of Hope For Mobile MarketNokia Offers Ray Of Hope For Mobile Market

Nokia Corp., the leading mobile-phone maker, surprised analysts and investors Tuesday with something the cellular industry hasn't seen a lot of lately: good news. In a scheduled update of its fiscal fourth-quarter 2001, the company said it might beat earnings targets, thanks to booming sales in October and November.

In a statement, Nokia said it expects total net sales growth of 20% for the fourth quarter. It also predicted mobile phone sales will increase 25% over the third quarter. The company attributes some of the sales surge to strong demand for its new high-end, high-margin 8310 General Packet Radio Service phone in Europe, and by "brisk" U.S. sales of phones with both Time Division Multiple Access and Code Division Multiple Access technology.

The No. 2 handset maker, Motorola Inc., had news of its own Tuesday. It will include AOL Time Warner's Instant Messenger service on its mobile phones and will advertise through the media company's outlets. Details of the multimillion-dollar, multiyear deal were not disclosed.

Farpoint Group analyst Craig Mathias says rising phone sales are primarily being driven by new features such as instant-messaging services. "We think a little of it was Sept. 11," he says. "The safety and security market gave sales a boost. But the sustaining market's going to be one that's based on data." Mathias says the voice market will plateau in the next few years, and it will be data-driven services that propel phone sales in the future. In the coming year, he says to expect falling prices and lots of new features. "It's going to be a very good year for handsets."