Nokia cuts price of smartphone

ELECTRONICS giant Nokia yesterday halved the price of its flagship smartphone in the US in a move seen by some investors as a sign of desperation in its battle against arch rivals Apple and Samsung.

The price-cut on the Lumia 900 – just three months after its launch – came ahead of Thursday’s second-quarter results, which are expected to show a widening loss.

Once the world’s dominant mobile maker, Nokia was late to embrace smartphones and has lost out in the most-profitable part of the market.

Nick Dillon, an analyst at Ovum, said:“They are stuck between a rock and a hard place – to drive sales of their devices, they are going to have to spend money on marketing when the stock market is demanding they do anything other than spend money.”