Microsoft discovers long-lost phone division down back of sofa

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Nokia phones generated $2.6bn in revenue for Microsoft as the division arrested its decline. Redmond sold 9.3m Lumia devices in the quarter, the most ever.

In the quarter a year ago, Nokia (then the owner) shifted 8.8m Lumias. In June only 5.8m Lumias moved. The company had failed to refresh its product line as it, and other OEMs, waited for Windows Phone 8.1 to be ready.

The number is dwarfed by the volumes shipped by Apple. But it shows Microsoft is still a significant global player in phone hardware - whether it wants to be or not.

The Microsoft results – more details and good recap here – show healthy income from hardware. But CEO Satya "Cloud-o-bile" Nadella has been less than expansive about it in public statements. Ex-Nokia staff are on the sharp end of Microsoft's biggest-ever redundancies, with over 12,500 out of 18,000 losses. All of which suggests Microsoft's future might be more Cloud than o-bile.

Nevertheless, Redmond presses on. Microsoft gave official confirmation of what has been known for months - that it would drop the Nokia brand from its Lumia smartphones - it just didn't say when. And still hasn't (officially), but it did give a teaser of what they'll look like.