Sony Ericsson slipped a bit in Q1 as it relates to the mobile phone industry. The company announced a 47% slide in profits as they became fifth in total market share. Primarily the company blamed lack of demand on the fact they tend to sell higher priced models than their competitors.

“We see that the demand on the high end has softened,” Sony Ericsson sales chief Anders Runevad told a conference call, adding that consumers were becoming more cautious.
The company, owned by Japan’s Sony Corp and Sweden’s Ericsson, sold 22.3 million phones in the quarter — up just 2 percent from a year earlier — and lost market share to faster-growing Nokia and South Korean rivals.
Sony Ericsson said it lost 1 percentage point in market share to 8 percent, a fall that meant it ceded the No. 4 spot in the handset market to South Korea’s LG Electronics.

In contrast, Nokia, the number on phone maker, has seen an increase in market share as they’ve catered to the lower end in emerging markets.