Nokia execs brace themselves for drop in market share

Windows Phone 7 will not work its magic for some time yet

Nokia's board has admitted that its controversial partnership with Microsoft is likely to shrink its share of the smartphone market in the short term, according to the Financial Times.

The partnership will see Nokia replace its Symbian operating system with Windows Phone 7 on high-end handsets.

The deal is expected to complete at the end of this month, although details on how revenue will be distributed remain vague.

Top execs at Nokia still seem dubious about the move, however.

"[The board] has said explicitly that it expects a lower market share in the meantime with the opportunity to pick up and build on the new concept," said Jorma Ollila, Nokia chairman.

In 2007 Symbian had 64 per cent of the smartphone market.

Apple and Android platforms have since become increasingly popular, however, and Symbian's share shrank to 38 per cent last year.

Gartner expects this to reduce even further to 19 per cent this year.

Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop expressed concern about Nokia's position in the market in a leaked memo a week before the deal with Microsoft was announced.

Elop likened the company to someone "standing on a burning platform".

"The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don't have a product that is close to this experience," wrote Elop.

"Android came on the scene just over two years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes. Unbelievable," he wrote at the time.

Jo Harlow, Nokia's senior vice president of smart devices, hinted heavily at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February that the firm's first Windows Phone device will be launched this year.