Earlier this week Nokia published their 2009 third quarter earnings [PDF], and the numbers don’t look so good. The big headlines are revolving around a €559 million quarterly net loss and global smartphone market share down to 35% (from 41%, Q2). This marks Nokia’s first quarterly loss in a decade.

Investors we’re caught surprised at the dramatic drop in smartphone market share. The 6 percent drop in a single quarter caused Nokia’s stocks to take a dip on the Helsinki exchange.

“The scale of the smartphone (market) share loss must give the markets pause for thought over the coming days. Dropping six points in three months is pretty stunning”

Tero Kuittinen, MKM Partners analyst

Why are the numbers down? The main reason cited has to do with a €903 million write off on Nokia Siemens Networks. Then there is increasing competition in the smartphone field. The American market is dominated by RIM and Apple, though Nokia is not too preoccupied. Europe however is another story. With Android handsets gaining popularity in Europe and others such as Palm’s Pre making a strong debut across several European markets, Nokia is starting to feel the crunch in the high-performance segment. Nokia is still king as per market share goes (38% global total), but failures such as the N97 “flagship” adds pressure to future launches.

“Consumer demand may be showing early signs of improvement but these results show sustained pressure on smartphone margins. Apple’s iPhone is defying gravity in the high tier.”

Geoff Blaber, CCS Insight analyst

Nokia seems to be optimistic about next quarter and several analysts say it’s not so bad. With the launch of the N900, E72, X6, and other handsets, Nokia seems to have its hands full. With the holiday season fast approaching, things are sure to pick up. How is Nokia faring in your side of the globe?

1. Ability to target carriers

The Android Market now allows developers to select which carriers can publish their applications. So, I can create an application for only T-mobile subscribers in the US, and another one just for Roger subscribers in Canada. Why is limiting your user base a good thing? Selective targeting. Know your customers. For example, if you are aware that Verizon users have a specific drawback on their phone (Verizon’s practice of striping down functionality), you can build an app to resolves that specific issue. You know the “problem”, and you can create the “solution,” and in theory the application should be well received.

2. Support for additional screen sizes and resolutions

Prior to Donut, all Android devices used 3.2″ screens with a resolution of 320×480 (“normal”). This is quite a platform limit. Improvements in Donut address this major issue.

What does this mean for developers? Developers will now have to pay attention to User Interface design across different screens and resolutions. Google has simplified the task by creating 3 screen classes: small, normal, and large, while well documenting the development tweaks needed. What does this mean for end users? As more Android devices flood the market, consumers will have greater choice. Users may now choose devices with smaller or larger screens, depending on their needs, and are not locked to a single “standard”. Additionally, competition promotes competitive prices: cheaper devices.

Romain Guy, user interface engineer at Google, summarizes pretty clearly the idea on the Android Dev blog.

“To date, all Android devices (such as the T-Mobile G1 and Samsung I7500, among others) have had HVGA (320×480) screens. The essential change in Android 1.6 is that we’ve expanded support to include three different classes of screen sizes:

• small: devices with a screen size smaller than the T-Mobile G1 or Samsung I7500, for example the recently announced HTC Tattoo
• normal: devices with a screen size roughly the same as the G1 or I7500.
• large: devices with a screen size larger than the G1 or I7500 (such as a tablet-style device.)”

Romain Guy, Google

For more technical details on how to adapt your apps for the new screen sizes, check out the Android Dev Guide for Supporting Multiple Screens.

Device Screens and resolutions supported by Android (1.6):