Microsoft’s biggest quarterly loss ever; Qualcomm on the verge of break-up; Apple’s shares in retreat – devices are a bad business to be in right now. Last week we saw the havoc that the accelerating decline of the PC is wreaking on Intel and others; this week, as the quarterly results cycle gets into full swing, the slowdown and saturation of the smartphone segment is center stage. Samsung, LG, Sony and HTC have already announced figures hit hard by the bursting of the smartphone bubble. Microsoft’s experiment with smartphone hardware, with the purchase of Nokia’s devices business, has ended in the worst quarterly loss in its history. The chip vendors are inevitably feeling the pinch too, with Qualcomm announcing its…