Nokia and Microsoft team up.

[roadbloc]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nokia-unveils-microsoft-partnership-2011-02-11

“Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s not a three-horse race,” Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop said in a statement.

*whispers* I think they are worrying slightly about their future market share in mobile phones. Or more accurately, smartphones. /whisper

 

[314631]

This is a game changer IMO. Nokia's expertise in building great handsets combined with Microsoft's expertise in building great software will really shake the market up. Remember Nokia dominates in many international markets where Apple has next to no presence. This will get Windows Mobile in the hands of an awesome number of new people and motivate more developers to build for its platform.

You only have to look at all the angry comments from Android fans this morning to realise how important this announcement is. If Nokia had gone with Android it would have guaranteed its place as the dominant smartphone platform. Elop siding with his pals in Redmond has just given Microsoft one helluva huge boost in this battle.

I have a feeling Microsoft could end up surprising everyone by taking the lead in market share within the next few years.

 

[Northgrove]

Their shareholders sure didn't find much confidence in this move.
Nokia stock instantly plummets by 9%.

And yes, Nokia is definitely worried. The recently leaked memo cleared up any doubts on that.

The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don't have a product that is close to their experience. Android came on the scene just over 2 years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes. Unbelievable.

...

Why did we fall behind when the world around us evolved?

This is what I have been trying to understand. I believe at least some of it has been due to our attitude inside Nokia. We poured gasoline on our own burning platform. I believe we have lacked accountability and leadership to align and direct the company through these disruptive times. We had a series of misses. We haven't been delivering innovation fast enough. We're not collaborating internally.

I'm not sure whether their stock dropped because of the move to Windows Phone 7, or because drastic changes like these are seen as signs of panic at the company, which I could see would also make their stock shaky. Or maybe it's a combination of both.

 

[talkingfuture]

It has potential to succeed, they just need to make some decent devices now. surely they will look at a tablet as well as phones, a Nokia tablet running an XBox branded gaming service may be very popular if executed well.

 

[AAPLaday]

i love my WP7 device. Prefer it over Android but i can use all mobile OSs very easily and think they are all very good. This is what Nokia needs as symbian has been lagging badly and they seem clueless of how to advance it to 2008 standards, let alone 2011

 

[orfeas0]

do you think microsoft will buy (if not all, a portion of) Nokia?
I really hope nokia doesn't fall again, they were my favourite phones until i got the iphone 3gs

 

[snova]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Something tells me we will hear about Intel being added to this Nokia/MS mix very shortly.

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.2; en-gb; Nexus S Build/GRH78C) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

I'm pleased with the move. Symbian doesn't cut it any more sadly and Nokia hasn't offered anything too compelling since the N95 IMO.

With a solid OS like WP7 and Nokia hardware backing it up, things could work out well for both Microsoft and Nokia. Can't wait to see what they produce.

Edit: I wonder how other Windows Phone oems feel about the news tho.

 

[Northgrove]

I agree with this analysis, from a former Nokian:
http://communities-dominate.blogs.c...-alliance-wow-this-is-good-for-microsoft.html

 

[rdowns]

Microsoft will gobble them up within the year.

HP and RIM appear to be the odd men out.

 

[*LTD*]

One will end up ****ing the other up.

 

[iOrlando]

This is a game changer IMO. Nokia's expertise in building great handsets combined with Microsoft's expertise in building great software will really shake the market up. Remember Nokia dominates in many international markets where Apple has next to no presence.

Expertise in building great handsets? Please cite some examples...

 

[roadbloc]

One will end up ****ing the other up.

Wow... what a new and refreshing viewpoint. You exceed yourself again *LTD*.

 

[ChazUK]

Does anyone know if this will have any implications on the Noka/Apple patent wrangling going on at the moment? Could any of Nokia's Windows Phone 7 handsets end up getting caught up in the legal battles at all?

It looks like the news is not going down so well looking at the stock prices:
http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/11/nokia-share-price-takes-a-hell-of-a-nosedive-down-14/

Quite a dive....

 

[kdarling]

What a coup.

In one move, Microsoft jumps from 3% to 30% of the world smartphones.

They just leapfrogged both RIM and Apple by a factor of two.

WP7 application developers, start your engines.

 

[SmokeyRobinson]

Im looking forward to how this goes. WP7 is an awesome OS and with Nokia picking it up, it will drive the OS further and give it the jumpstart it needs.

 

[elppa]

Does anyone know if this will have any implications on the Noka/Apple patent wrangling going on at the moment?

I imagine with Elop in charge some progress might be made as he is more familiar with Silicon Valley culture and visa/versa.

In terms of Windows Phone, I'm pretty sure Microsoft and Apple have an honourable agreement when it comes to patents and have done for years.

I don't think there will any big battles in the courtroom between Apple and Microsoft again, just in the marketplace. And even then it is only some markets.

 

[neko girl]

In one move, Microsoft jumps from 3% to 30% of the world smartphones.

Well, I would assume market share means phones that are out there already. If you mean % of smartphones sold, then that's different isn't it? Not sure you have any data on how desirable a Nokia WP7 phone is.

 

[chrmjenkins]

Expertise in building great handsets? Please cite some examples...

Read this review, ignore the software comments, get back to us. (this review mentions previous good handsets for you to look up as well)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/14/nokia-n8-review/



On a side note, I haven't seen anything on what this means for MeeGo?

 

[kdarling]

Well, I would assume market share means phones that are out there already. If you mean % of smartphones sold, then that's different isn't it? Not sure you have any data on how desirable a Nokia WP7 phone is.

Yes, that assumes Nokia kept the same % of smartphone sold after a move to WP7.

You raise an good question. Will sales go up? Or down?

Though even if Nokia sales dropped by a huge 50%, WP7 could still be on par with iOS and RIM.

I wonder if any of this is behind the rumors of a cheaper, smaller iPhone, btw. Something to compete more directly with Nokia's world dominance.

 

[chrmjenkins]

Yes, that assumes Nokia kept the same % of smartphone sold after a move to WP7.

You raise an good question. Will sales go up? Or down?

Though even if Nokia sales dropped by a huge 50%, WP7 could still be on par with iOS and RIM.

I wonder if any of this is behind the rumors of a cheaper, smaller iPhone, btw. Something to compete more directly with Nokia's world dominance.

I don't buy it for the same reason Steve said they'd never make a 7" iPad.

The interesting thing about the deal is whether people are loyal to the brand or the OS.

 

[Stella]

Expertise in building great handsets? Please cite some examples...

I'll give you two examples - E71 and N8. They both feel very solid and not at all feel like cheap plastic. The N8 has "gorilla glass" - so difficult to scratch and a very touch casing. If you drop it, its not going to break or stratch much at all.

Generally Nokia are very solid phones hardware wise - great reception.

The UI portion of Symbian is weak - Nokia dragged their heels.. the rest is good - optimized for power management, small devies, good ( real ) multi-tasking. Don't confuse the UI ( weak ) portion that Nokia builds with the core of Symbian.

 

[rdowns]

What a coup.

In one move, Microsoft jumps from 3% to 30% of the world smartphones.

They just leapfrogged both RIM and Apple by a factor of two.

WP7 application developers, start your engines.

A coup indeed.

Tech watchers with long memories -- like Asymco's Horace Dediu -- will recall that this is not the first time Microsoft has found a partner willing to help it try to extend its desktop operating system monopoly into cellular telephony.

How did those deals turn out? The summaries below are excerpted from an item Dediu posted Friday. Click here to get the full flavor of his skepticism.


Ericsson (ERIC). Sept. 2000. What happened?
Ericsson divested itself of the mobile division, forming a joint venture which would go on and make more strategic alliances with Microsoft over Windows Mobile, culminating in a loss of profits and eventual flight to Android.

Sendo. Feb. 2001. What happened?
Sendo, after litigating IP issues with Microsoft, went bankrupt in 2005.

Motorola (MOT), Sept. 2003. What happened?
Motorola launched a series of Windows Mobile phones culminating in the Motorola Q "Blackberry killer." As Motorola hit the rocks in profitability, new management reached for the Android life raft. The company now relies exclusively on the Droid franchise.

Palm (HPQ), Sept. 2005. What happened?
Palm shipped a few Windows Mobile, famously dismissing Apple's potential entry as something "PC guys" could never achieve. A new CEO, a private placement and an acquisition later, the company is a division of HP making its own operating system.

Nortel, July 2006. What happened?
Nortel declared bankruptcy two years later.

LG, Feb. 2009. What happened?
LG made a few Windows Mobile devices but with WinMo uncompetitive, they abandoned the platform and moved to Android, losing years of market presence and all their profits.

Verizon (VZ) Jan. 2009. What happened?
Bing did ship on some devices, but in October 2009 Droid came to Verizon.

And finally,

Nokia. No, not this deal, but the Aug. 2009 plan [announced by then Microsoft business division president Stephen Elop] to bring Microsoft Mobile Office to Nokia's Symbian devices. What happened? Two and a half years later the same Stephen Elop [now CEO of Nokia] announced that Symbian will be deprecated.

Link

 

[elppa]

What a coup.

In one move, Microsoft jumps from 3% to 30% of the world smartphones.

They just leapfrogged both RIM and Apple by a factor of two.

WP7 application developers, start your engines.

Assuming that the new Windows Phone 7 Nokia's will sell as well or better than their current products. We don't know that for certain.

On a side note, I haven't seen anything on what this means for MeeGo?

MeeGo is being developed until one product is released, after which the MeeGo group will be focussing on the future and R&D.

Intel's role in this shake up has been overlooked. Prior to today intel had mobile chips coming and a mobile software strategy as well. Now they can of course continue to develop MeeGo on their own, but without Nokia's experience and resources I think they face an uphill challenge.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Does anyone know if this will have any implications on the Noka/Apple patent wrangling going on at the moment? Could any of Nokia's Windows Phone 7 handsets end up getting caught up in the legal battles at all?
.

Well lets face it WP7 is not going to get pulled into those law suits and if anything it will push Apple to back off because Apple and MS both know that MS has some pretty heavy weapons in its war chest that could and would hurt Apple across all its markets. Chances are Apple would get slammed with a lot of infrenging that are criticle to Apples need. Add to that MS could just yank exchanged out from under them if they really pushed came to server.

A coup indeed.



Link

I noticed Samsung is not on that list. Samsung did really well with its blackjack line.
As for WM even Microsoft announced that 6.5 was nothing more than a stop gap and that was announced when they announced 6.5.
Also WM 6.5 delivered everything MS promised and MS did not promise to much for it. It was exactly what they said it was going to be.

And you are comparing WM 6.5 and down to a complete redone OS that was more or less started from scratch.