Nokia sorry for smartphone gaffe
AAP September 07, 2012 4:34am
Nokia has apologised for the embarrassing PR gaffe of using video shot by a different camera in a demonstration of the new Lumia smartphone's camera. Picture: AP
TELECOM giant Nokia has apologised for a video demonstration that led viewers to believe it had been filmed with its new smartphone but was in fact made with other equipment.
"We apologise for the confusion we created," Nokia wrote in a blog post entitled An Apology is Due.
In the video clip screened on Wednesday at a media conference for the launch of Nokia's new flagship Lumia 920 smartphone, a reflection in a window reveals that the video was not shot using a mobile phone but another type of camera.
"In an effort to demonstrate the benefits of optical image stabilisation (which eliminates blurry images and improves pictures shot in low light conditions), we produced a video that simulates what we will be able to deliver with OIS," it said.
"Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but we should have posted a disclaimer stating this was a representation of OIS only. This was not shot with a Lumia 920. At least, not yet," the Finnish company added.
Nokia, once the world leader in mobile phones, has been struggling in recent years, losing market share as consumers move to smartphones powered by Apple's iOS or Google's Android operating system.
The company enjoyed more than 40 per cent of the global mobile phone market in 2008. It no longer provides its global market share figures, but has reportedly seen the number drop below 20 per cent.
The company launched a new strategy a year-and-a-half ago, phasing out its Symbian smartphones in favour of a partnership with Microsoft.
On Wednesday it presented two new Windows-powered phones, the Lumia 820 and 920. While analysts were generally favourable to the phones, most suggested they would have a hard time competing with Apple's new iPhone 5 due to be launched next week.
The Nokia share price slumped more than 10 per cent after Wednesday's launch, and shed another 3.0 per cent in Helsinki on Thursday.
In June, the company announced 10,000 job cuts would be needed on top of the 12,000 layoffs already announced in the past 18 months, and an additional 1.6 billion euros ($A2 billion) in cost cuts by the end of 2013.
