HELSINKI – Nokia today said the global cellphone market would fall this quarter and throughout 2009.

The world’s leading cellphone provider dropped its 2008 forecast to 1.24 billion units worldwide, down from 1.26 billion. The handset market volumes and the overall telecom equipment market are expected to fall next year, the company added.

Nokia also lowered its industry outlook for the fourth quarter, forecasting volumes of 330 million, about 16 million lower than the average market forecast revealed in a Reuters poll earlier this month.

In a statement, Nokia said, "In the last few weeks, the global economic slowdown, combined with unprecedented currency volatility, has resulted in a sharp pull back in global consumer spending.” The company later said developed markets will fare worse, and developing markets will fare better.

Smartphones are expected to be the exception in 2009, putting companies like Apple and RIM in a better position versus their peers.