Struggling handset-maker Nokia’s recently announcement of its decision to slash the cost of its new flagship Windows device, the Lumia 900, by half – a move which follows the company’s recent job-cuts – is quite disquieting, especially in the wake of the fact that the company has discounted the much-hyped smartphone barely after three months of its launch.

With the announcement of a 50 percent reduction in its price over this past weekend, the on-contract cost of the Lumia 900 – exclusive to AT&T – has come down to $50 from its original cost of $99.

While Nokia has asserted that the price-cut announced for the Lumia 900 underscored a “normal strategy” which companies generally follow as a repositioning move, it is being speculated that the decision is apparently an upshot of Microsoft’s last-month revelation that Windows Phone 7 handsets – including Lumia 900 – will not be upgradeable to the company’s new Windows Phone 8 OS.

Terming Microsoft’s announcement as a disaster for Lumia 900, most of the industry observers are of the opinion that it will be extremely difficult for Nokia to convince customers to purchase a smartphone which will never be upgraded to Microsoft's much-raved-about next-generation handset OS.

However, about the Lumia 900 price-cut, Nokia spokesman Doug Dawson said that such a move was generally put in place during the life cycle of most handsets; and added that it will “allow a broader consumer base to buy this flagship device at a more accessible price.”