Strategy Analytics provided some unusual positive news for Nokia, arguing that current Lumia sales provide an “encouraging start for Nokia and Microsoft”. It notes that Nokia has outshipped Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s first Android devices in the first three quarters following their respective commercial launches.

In the first nine months of availability (from Q4 2011 to  Q2 2012), Nokia shipped 6.9 million Lumia smartphones. This compares with 3.7 million iPhones and 1.3 million Samsung Android devices in the corresponding periods after launch.

Global Cumulative Smartphone Shipments in First Three Quarters after Respective Commercial Launch: 

“Based on historical shipment benchmarks, Nokia’s new Lumia portfolio is performing reasonably well,” noted Neil Mawston, executive director for Strategy Analytics. “Some of the pessimism surrounding Nokia and Microsoft’s emerging partnership so far may be misplaced.” However, Mawston added: “Nokia and Microsoft are clearly not out of the woods yet. With a new Apple iPhone 5 expected on the horizon, and Samsung’s Galaxy S3 selling in huge quantities, Nokia will need to pull something impressive out of the bag for the next-generation Windows Phone 8 launch later this year to sustain its tentative early momentum.”

Last week, Strategy Analytics forecast that Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform will capture 4 percent US market share during 2012, up from 3 percent in 2011. This will see shipment volumes increasing to 5 million from 3.5 million, driven by availability of smartphones from Nokia, HTC and Samsung.