Nokia predicts that the global mobile phone market will grow by 10 percent next year after falling some seven percent this year. But analysts say the firm must do more to compete with its rivals.
The world's biggest mobile phone maker cautioned that its own market share, currently at some 37 percent, would be "flat" next year. It added that it expects the value of its market share to be up "slightly." Nokia executives made the comments during the company's Capital Markets Day, held in Espoo on Wednesday. The event attracted some 250 analysts and investors from around the world.
In October, Nokia reported its first loss in a decade amid rising competition in the smartphone market from the iPhone and the Blackberry, as well as problems with its Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture.
"We're waiting for more power from Nokia smartphones; for a product that can compete equally with more expensive phones," Martti Larjo, chief analyst at Nordea, told YLE. "We'd like to see Nokia produce something like an iPhone copy," he added.
Industry observers say Nokia's outdated Symbian operating system, which drives its smartphones, is one of the reasons why many consumers choose Apple's iPhone or RIM's Blackberry, which are easier to use.
Michael Schröder, chief analyst at the FIM investment bank, said, "The operating system for Nokia's smartphones is irreparably outdated. Nokia's competitors have come out with ones that offer better user experiences...Nokia will still face a few more difficult quarters."
CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo promised that Nokia will release "a new version of Symbian" in 2010. "Smartphone growth will be significantly higher," he said, adding: "I believe Nokia is in better shape than our competitors. I mean that our challenges are clear, but so is our direction."
Nokia's share price edged down by about one percent on the Helsinki Stock Exchange following the announcements.
0 kommenttia:
Lähetä kommentti