Nokia loses grip as mobile sales slide

NEWS Shipments of mobile phones have fallen for the first time, slicing Nokia's leading share of the market. Worldwide consumer shipments fell by 8.4 per cent from last year's second quarter numbers.
Sales are also down, slipping seven million since last quarter, according to research group Gartner. Gartner has cut its forecasts for this year, predicting that handset sales for 2001 will now be 450 million, down from 500 million. With nothing to tempt customers to upgrade their phones, manufacturers and analysts are predicting that sales will continue to fall, or at very best be flat year-on-year. Nokia, which swiped the leadership position from Motorola in 1998, saw its share drop from 35.3 per cent to 34.8 per cent. Motorola and Ericsson, placed second and third respectively, managed to increase their share of the market.