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Shipments rose only 17% to 18.5 million units in January through March, compared with more than 50% growth seen in the previous quarters.

"Demand for mid- to high-tier consumer handsets continues to suffer from the weakening economy in both the US and western Europe," according to Nomura analyst Richard Windsor.

The company, nearly half-owned by Finnish handset maker Nokia, says turnover rose 5% to £43.5

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million in the three months compared with last year, while average royalties per unit fell to $4.10 from $4.50. Symbian aims to keep growing by introducing its software on cheaper models.

"Seasonality and lack of new products slowed growth in the quarter," says Geoff Blaber, analyst at CCS Insight. "Significant new Symbian products from licensees such as Nokia aren't due to ship until late Q2 and early Q3."

And while we await the arrival of new Symbian models, the iPhone has of course been making hay in the high-end consumer market, with the Apple handset now on sale right across Europe - Symbian's traditional stronghold.

Yet despite the disappointing figures, Nokia's Chief Financial Officer Rick Simonson said on Monday the smartphone market would grow about 50% to up to 180 million units in 2008, from 120 million in 2007. "Maybe its 50 or 55 or 45%. Who knows... That market is growing at a fast pace compared to the overall market. I don't see that changing," Simonson said.

Symbian products are used in around 7% of mobile phones worldwide, but it is the dominating software among multimedia phones.