NEWS BRIEF
Nokia Global Market Share Declines

Finnish cell phone manufacturer Nokia said Tuesday its global market share declined in the first quarter due to bad design and shaky business relationships.

Nokia's global market share fell to 28.9 percent in the first three months of the year, compared to 34.6 percent it held a year ago, reported Gartner (NYSE: IT), a technology analysis group based in London.

According to reports, Nokia had set itself a target of 40 percent for the latest quarter.

Motorola, Samsung Numbers Up

At the same time, two of Nokia's chief competitors, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and Samsung, both realized an increase in their share of the global market. Motorola's share rose to 16.4 percent from 14.7 percent, while Samsung gained to reach 12.5 percent from 10.8 percent.

Gartner also said Nokia was unable to attract fashionable phones in the latest quarter and the company was unsuccessful in promoting its latest products.

"You could say Nokia is a victim of its own success ... it's become the mobile phone establishment and lost its coolness ... meanwhile, it's been hit from all sides this year as other manufacturers deliver the goods," said Ben Wood, Gartner's telecommunications analyst.

Wood also remarked, "Nokia lost market share because of a sales drop in Western Europe and North America. A weak product portfolio and European carriers offering more phones from Nokia's competitors led to the disappointing performance."