Nokia's move into software and services has begun paying dividends, with revenue from the division reaching 119 million euros in 2Q08, up from 84 million euros in the previous quarter.

Products falling under Nokia's Ovi software and services umbrella brand include the Nokia Music Store, Nokia Maps, N-Gage and the Comes With Music Initiative.

The latter - which is supported by Sony BMG, Universal Music and Warner Music - will offer owners of selected Nseries handsets free and unlimited music downloads for a year.

It's due to launch later this year, though Nokia has not specified an exact date. Nokia Maps, meanwhile, was downloaded 406,000 times during the quarter.

However, software and services currently accounts for a tiny part of Nokia's overall revenue, which amounted to 13.2 billion euros in 2Q08 (up four per cent). That works out at less than one per cent coming from Ovi.

It total, Nokia sold 122 million handsets in 2Q, equivalent to 21 per cent year-on-year growth.

The company estimates it's market share for 2Q08 was 40 per cent, compared with 38 per cent in the 2Q07 and 39 per cent in 1Q08.