Here's a rare positive spin on Nokia: Early sales of its Lumia smartphones don't look so lackluster when compared with the early days of the iPhone.

According to research firm Strategy Analytics sales of Lumia handsets, based on the Windows Phone operating system, have actually been impressive when judged against the debuts of the devices that rule today.

In Lumia's first three quarters, Nokia shipped 10.9 million of the devices. Apple shipped just 5.4 million iPhones in the last three quarters of 2007, when it hit the market. As for the early days for Samsung's Android family? Just 1.5 million units shipped.

Trouble is, the comparison isn't perfectly fair. Apple sold one model through one carrier (AT&T) in one country (U.S.) to start with, before expanding to the U.K. and Germany two quarters later. Samsung started in Germany before expanding to other countries. Under pressure to move quickly, Nokia has a handful of Lumia devices and is selling them in around 50 countries says Strategy Analytics.

Analyst estimates put iPhone sales at around 100 million in the three quarters ending June, ten times Lumia sales. Nokia will have a hard time celebrating that.