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Nokia lags despite new design
By Nic Hopkins



NOKIA, the world’s largest maker of mobile handsets, looks unlikely to halt a decline in both its market share and value, despite unveiling five new models, including some in the clamshell design that it had previously shunned.



Analysts said yesterday that the latest handsets would not stop Nokia, based in Finland, from conceding more market share to emerging rivals such as South Korea’s LG and Samsung, which are fast winning over customers with advanced and stylish models.

Analysts described Nokia’s latest offerings as “underwhelming” and said the delay in getting the phones into stores meant that newer models of its rivals would eclipse them. The negative reaction sent Nokia shares down more than 2 per cent in Helsinki.

Jorma Ollila, Nokia’s chief executive, said that the company had “sharpened our product portfolio in key areas” by unveiling flip-phones as well as a handset that he described as the world’s smallest for fast third-generation services.

Per Lindberg, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, said: “If Nokia could ship them today it would be selling more units . . . The problem is they aren’t selling them today, and as a result their market share will continue to slide.”

The latest models include the 6260, boasting a flip-top that swivels, and the 6630 3G with wireless e-mail, web browsing, and video calling. “It’s a step in the right direction but still a couple of paces behind the competition,” Ben Wood, an analyst at Gartner, said.

Nokia, which has had more than a third of the global market, said in April that it had begun to lose ground. Since then, its shares have fallen by more than a third. They were down to €11.71 yesterday.

For the first three months of 2004, its share was 28.9 per cent, down from 32 per cent in the same period last year. Motorola, its nearest rival, has risen to 16.4 per cent from 14.7 per cent, while Samsung is up at 12.5 per cent.


http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9076-1146368,00.html