Finnish handset maker Nokia has slipped down to the 10th position from the zenith of leadership it previously enjoyed, according to research and advisory firm Gartner.
This is despite the encouraging sales of Lumia series. According to Gartner, Nokia sold 5.1 million Nokia phones in the first quarter of 2013.
Samsung is ruling the roost among different dealers, remaining at the top position with a market share of 23.65 percent, ahead of Nokia at 14.8 percent and Apple at 9 percent. Just a year ago, Nokia was on top with 19.7 percent market share.
Sales rose by 13 percent for Samsung and 16 percent for Apple, while Nokia suffered a steep 24 percent fall, compared to the corresponding period last year.
The overall sales figures in the market in the first three months rose by 0.7 percent, driven by a strong demand for smartphones in the Asia Pacific region which managed to offset weaker sales in other parts.
It is not just the drop in the smartphone sales that is worrying Nokia. The company is also lagging behind in the overall handset market. It lost almost five points of market share, giving way for Apple and Samsung to take the lead.
High-end smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S4 and Apple's iPhone are popular in most markets. Nokia's Asha range, which has limited facilities for internet, email access and touch screens, is comparatively cheaper but has helped the company maintain a lead in emerging markets along with keeping up with the smart phone race. Nokia's Windows Phone sales have also sequentially improved in Quarter 1 of 2013 according to Gartner.
Soon after Gartner's research report was out, a blog post in The Times of India opined that Nokia's "big blunder" was not making Android phones, which eventually made it lose out in market share.
The Gardner report mainly attributes the low sales of low-feature phones to consumers' tendency of holding on to their phones longer.
