Nokia to slash Smartphone prices

December 6, 2009 - 11:55 am | 33 views

Technology.am (Dec. 06, 2009) — The world’s leading cell phone maker Nokia will considerably cut back on the number of diverse Smartphone models it rolls out next year as the Finnish firm tries to shrug off fresh rivals Apple Inc and RIM. Nokia continues to trade more smart phones than any of its rivals, however has lost ground as rivalry grows.

“We see … truly severe rivalry positively in the high end, however we too see it in the mid to low end of Smartphone growing,” Jo Harlow, the new chief of Nokia’s Smartphone unit, said in a webcast.

Nokia devices to press on Smartphone prices down whilst rising margins, helped by its market-leading Symbian operating system, Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said former this week.

Harlow was selected to head the latest unit in October, following the firm reported Smartphone market share declining to 35 percent in the September quarter from 41 percent in the preceding quarter.

Nokia, which introduced around 20 Smartphone models in 2009, said it had slashed its Smartphone collection for subsequent year approximately in half.

“Reducing the number of Smartphone models makes a lot of wisdom … although Nokia has to be very cautious in finding the correct equilibrium: its large product portfolio has been one of its strong viable advantages in the past,” said Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu.

Antti Vasara, head of Smartphone R&D, said the company be able to put more effort behind the fewer products. “We have cut down needless segregation, so that we have a far more focused portfolio for next year,” he said.

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