Nokia: Our market share will slip over weak demand

Nokia said Friday that its mobile device market share will slip in the third quarter from the second quarter "due to weaker consumer confidence in multiple markets." The company also said it refused to be lured into a price war.

Nokia (all resources, reviews and blogs) said it expects its market share to increase over the year, but expects mobile device volumes to grow about 10 percent in 2008, or 1.14 billion units. Nokia had market share of about 9 percent in the second quarter.

In a statement the company said:

Nokia's current estimate that its mobile device market share in the third quarter 2008 will be lower than previously expected is due to multiple factors. These factors include Nokia's tactical decision to not meet certain aggressive pricing of some competitors, the overall market competition, including the entry markets, and the temporary impact of a slower ramp-up of a mid-range Nokia device. Nokia's strategy is to take market share only when the company believes it to be sustainably profitable in the longer term. Nokia has not broadly participated in the recent aggressive pricing activity - as it believes that the negative impact to profitability would outweigh any short term incremental benefits to device unit sales.

The reaction was swift in premarket trading.

For device buyers that means you can get devices on the cheap. Nokia said it expects new product launches to help it out in the third quarter and fourth quarter.