Nokia forced to cut price of 'flagship' new smartphone by 50% after shares hit 15-year low

London, July 17 (ANI): Finnish phone maker Nokia has been forced to cut the price of its Lumia 900 by half, just weeks after launching it.

This development has taken place due to the firm's shares plunging to a 15-year low.

The cost of the Lumia 900 Windows phone in the United States is now 49.99 dollars as compared to a previous 99 dollars with a two-year contract, Nokia spokesman Keith Nowak confirmed.

Shares of Nokia closed on Friday at 1.51 Euros, after falling to its lowest since the mid-1990s earlier this week. The firm is to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide by the end of next year as it fights fierce competition in the smartphone market.

The Daily Mail quoted Nowak, as saying that the price cut "is part of our ongoing lifecycle management, which is jointly done between Nokia and carrier customers".

Featuring a 4.3-inch screen, 1.4-gigahertz processor and 8-megapixel camera, the Lumia 900 uses largely untried software from Microsoft Corp.

Nokia took a further hit when Microsoft said current phones would be unable to run its new Windows 8 software, rendering them obsolete.

The Finnish mobile maker said the cuts were part of plans to 'significantly reduce its operating expenses' as it aims to return to profitable growth by sharpening strategy and improving its operating model.

However, the company warned that second-quarter loss from its phone business would be larger than expected, even as it remains focused on its smartphones and feature phones and intends to expand location-based services.

Nokia said it aims to differentiate its portfolio of Lumia smartphones with location-based services, including navigation and visual search applications, such as the Nokia city Lens. (ANI)