Nokia’s shares took a battering on the day new CEO Stephen Elop entered office, as it announced a delay in shipping its flagship N8 smartphone.
The vendor has pushed back delivery dates for pre-ordered units from September to October, after receiving the highest number of advance orders in its history, but said that it would commence shipments to carriers by end-September as planned.
However, the firm denied reports that the delay is due to software bugs despite revealing that it has “decided to hold the shipments for a few weeks to do some final amends,” in a previous statement to news outlets.
Markets and consumers reacted badly to the news of further delays in shipping the N8, which analysts say is crucial in spearheading Nokia’s fightback against Apple and Android devices, Bloomberg said.
The vendor’s share price fell 4.7% yesterday to €7.52 and fell by another 10 cents this morning – well below its average range of €8.24 to €11.81 from the past year – and angry customers demanded clarity on when the devices would arrive, as some saw dispatch dates on pre-ordered units leap from around a week to between 31 and 40 days.
In a sign that consumer faith in the brand is melting away, many customers said they have now cancelled their N8 order in favor of rival smartphones, and some claimed the firm was being dishonest.
At least the firm’s staff remain loyal, with one employee stating that Stephen Elop is “very much the man for the job,” as the firm transitions from a hardware to a software and services business.