HELSINKI, july 5 (Agencies): Nokia has cut prices of smartphones across its portfolio from early July in an attempt to slow the decline of its share in the higher-end of the cellphone market, 2 industry sources said. One of the sources with direct knowledge of Nokia’s pricing said the company’s flagship model, the N8, the multimedia phone C7, as well as the business user-targeted E6, saw the steepest cuts of around 15%.
Other price cuts were smaller, both sources said. “There are no very big cuts per model, but the scale - across the portfolio - is unseen for a very, very long time,” said one of the sources, who works at a European telecom operator. A Nokia spokesman declined to comment on specific prices and said changes were part of its normal business. The Finnish company is expected to report losses for the second and third quarters this year as its aging smartphone lineup is rapidly losing market share against phones running on Google’s Android platform. Nokia’s share of smartphone market fell to 25.5% in the first quarter from 39% a year earlier, according to research firm Gartner.
Other price cuts were smaller, both sources said. “There are no very big cuts per model, but the scale - across the portfolio - is unseen for a very, very long time,” said one of the sources, who works at a European telecom operator. A Nokia spokesman declined to comment on specific prices and said changes were part of its normal business. The Finnish company is expected to report losses for the second and third quarters this year as its aging smartphone lineup is rapidly losing market share against phones running on Google’s Android platform. Nokia’s share of smartphone market fell to 25.5% in the first quarter from 39% a year earlier, according to research firm Gartner.
