Tarmo Virki and Sinead Carew report for Reuters, “Nokia and Microsoft Corp will take the wraps off the struggling European company’s most powerful smartphone on Wednesday, in what may be their last major shot at winning back a market lost to Apple, Samsung and Google.”
“The world’s largest software maker and the Finnish company that once dominated the cellphone market will showcase the device in New York on Wednesday morning and demo it for industry insiders about the same time in Helsinki,” Virki and Carew report.
MacDailyNews Take: By what measure is Microsoft “the world’s largest software maker?” Certainly not by company value: Apple is worth 2.5x Microsoft. Number of copies of a software? People shouldn’t forget that iTunes is software. It’s on some 60 million Macs and hundreds of millions of crappy Windows PCs. iOS is also software. Every iPod ever sold runs Apple software, too. Add it up. Apple is very likely “the world’s largest software maker,” not Microsoft.
“Microsoft and Nokia hope the new Lumia will become a potent weapon in an escalating global mobile industry war,” Virki and Carew report. “Google’s Motorola Mobility intends to show off its latest smartphone on Wednesday, Amazon.com Inc will unwrap new Kindle Fire tablets the day after, and Apple is expected to unveil the latest version of its seminal iPhone on Sept. 12.”
MacDailyNews Take: After September 12th and the rumored-to-follow “iPad mini” event, nobody but the stupidest and cheapest among us will even remember that an internet retailer and a search engine have iPhone and iPad wannabes to peddle.
Virki and Carew report, “The Lumia 920 and smaller Lumia 820 will run on the latest Windows Phone operating software, which Microsoft hopes will rival Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android to become a third mobile platform. If the new phones do not appeal to consumers, it could spell the end for loss-making Nokia and deal a serious blow to Microsoft’s attempts to regain its footing in the market.”
“The stakes are high for both Nokia and Microsoft,” Virki and Carew report. “The Finnish handset maker has logged more than 3 billion euros ($3.8 billion) in operating losses in the past 18 months, forcing it to cut 10,000 jobs and pursue asset sales. Its share of the global smartphone market has plunged to less than 10 percent from 50 percent during its heyday, before the iPhone was launched in 2007.”
MacDailyNews Take: Only Microsoft could screw this up. As the handset assemblers look for legal alternatives to Google’s patent-infringing Android, there Microsoft’s Windows Phone sits, poised to eat Android’s lunch. In a proper world, after everything – legal, workarounds, licensing, etc. – shakes out, iOS should rule, with Windows Phone and Android battling it out over Apple’s table scraps. 65-20-15.
Virki and Carew report, “Samsung Electronics says it will sell its own Windows phone as early as next month… A California jury decided last month that some of Samsung’s hot-selling Android smartphones copied features of the iPhone, which may result in import bans and drive handset makers to put more resources into making Windows-based phones. But for Nokia and Microsoft to exploit that window of opportunity, it must first find favour with consumers, who so far have shown little enthusiasm for smartphones with Windows software.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As more handset assemblers come out with Windows Phone phones, Android will take a big hit and Windows Phone will catch on, despite Microsoft’s efforts at Nokia. If Samsung can manage to move some Windows Phones, they’ll phase out the Android legal nightmare faster than you can say “slavish copier.”
Don’t forget, analysts, Apple collects licensing fees on every Windows Phone phone sold. Killing the Android stolen product while raking in licensing fees should be sweet music to Apple and their shareholders.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
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Apple has licensed iOS design patents to Microsoft with ‘anti-cloning’ stipulation – August 13, 2012
Apple files amended complaint, adds Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note, Note 10.1 to list of patent infringing devices – September 1, 2012
I’m betting on more vaporware…
I don’t think the new Lumias will be vaporware, but I definitely don’t think they’ll be ready to ship until November.
I don’t understand them trying to rush this dog and pony show – trying to announce right BEFORE the next biggest phone launch of all time (that would be the iPhone 5) just guarantees that your “big” announcement today will be forgotten in one week.
Combine that with the fact that these Lumia devices won’t be shipping any time soon, and you have a perfect formula for your “media event” and your devices to be forgotten.
Genius.
First feature NOK is discussing is its camera. One glith in video already. Is camera the best only new feature?
Mr. Market doesn’t like new NOK phone. NOk down over 11%
More demo problems. So much for the 900. Guess MSFT will have to give them away.
The same thing happened at iphone launch day too, in the past.
What, a Microsoft phone screwed up? That I can believe.
You were right. From Blog.
11:22 AM | When is it coming out?
Not announcing pricing or specific release dates. Will launch in Q4 in select markets.
As much as I hate saying it, M$ by its shear numbers of Windows installs has to be considered the largest software company in the world. I don’t think you can judge it on revenue or profit.
Apple is a hardware and software company with 75% of their revenue coming from hardware sales. M$ sell both hardware and software but the revenue source is the other way around.
I would be surprised if the Window phone takes off. The interface appears clunky and the manufacturers will have a hard time making a profit compared to Android. All the profit will go to M$ as part of the licensing fee.
Apple will continue to exert downward pressure with the use of older versions at zero or discounted contract prices.
The Wild Wild West Android ecosystem appeals to freaks ‘n geeks because of it’s ability to be modified and Windows Phone will be much more locked down (unlike a PC) so will not appeal as much to the “I gotta be free” malware embracing & tinkering geeks without a life. So I’m not hopeful for Windows Phone since the rest of sensible humanity would make iOS and the iPhone their first choice.
Android is fucking IOS and iphones.
Iphone 5 has same old boring design with bigger screen.
I will get Luma 920. 😉
Good for you. I hope you’ll both be very happy together. Good luck finding apps for it…
In the medium to longer run, the key thing that matters to Nokia is whether then can make sustainable profits from selling these phones. If the profits fail to materialise, Nokia has no future.
When you bear in mind the fact that Samsung is the only company apart from Apple who is declaring a profit on selling smartphones, and then factor in that Samsung will also be selling Windows phones, there has to be a big question mark over Nokia’s chances of pulling this off. Whatever happens, Nokia are certain to be up against some strong opposition from others on the Windows phone side and we still don’t know what Apple’s next phone will be like.
MDN needs to take a valium as while they are at liberty to have a hate on for Microsoft, they should nonetheless have respect for Apple competitors as failing which look what can happen.
Apple kicks MSFT’s butt (MSFT sat on their lore’s) and the reverse can easily happen to Apple. Business and trend cycles are just that cycles which suggests that you should never take a competitor lightly and particularly a competitor who alongside side Nokia can rake havoc in the market with some cool sizzle and substance at rock bottom prices.
MDN is like a mad dog. I think this website is really run by some mad dogs. These crazy assholes think they are the number one, but they are wrong. They think apple will become #1 after the aunch of iphone 5, but they don’t know that iphone 5 has that same old stupid design with bigger screen.
I had iphone in the past, but because of apple fans abusive language for other manufacturers, I switched to WP. Goodbye apple.
I can understand your reaction to some of the stupid comments made here but that shouldn’t be a reason to hate Apple or the iPhone. There are plenty of abusive, anti-Apple haters on other websites. People are just weird and the internet is their way to mask their inner chid.
At least with the Lumia, MS is not Samsung and MS is doing their part to make their own phone. Gotta give credit where credit is due.
And, iPhone is #1.
‘I had iphone in the past, but because of apple fans abusive language for other manufacturers, I switched to WP.’
Really? You are either a troll or not very bright. Talk about throwing out the baby with the bath water.
Because of Apple fans, you switched from iPhone to WP?
Cut off your nose to spite your face, did you, Gupta?
Hey, if you’re content accepting “almost good enough”, after using the best, then hopefully your therapist will help you find the source of your self loathing.
Best of luck.
And how are you any different than the “mad dogs” and haters that you rant against? Truth is, you are just a hater of a different flavor. I would actually prefer that you use an Android phone.
@ mad dogs:
I’m just telling these mad dogs that if they keep barking, we will spank their asses with sticks.
MDN stands for Mad Dogs News. 😉
In India, people love other brands, and very few people want iphone.
Gupta, you really haven’t spent much time on Internet forums, have you? Ever spent time reading the rabid comments on Android forums?
The iPhone 4/4s isn’t a ‘stupid design’, only the ignorant and uneducated would say that; after all, if it was a ‘stupid design’ why does Samsung spend so much money trying to copy it?
There’s a saying, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’; this is what applies to Apple, only you are too blinkered to see it. They have a design that works perfectly, that other manufacturers fight to copy, so the only thing that Apple need to do is continue to improve it. I want a phone that goes into a pocket, not a bloody great mini-pad that will only fit a coat or a handbag; the iPhone is a classic piece of industrial design, not a fashion item, it does everything it was designed to do, and the 5 carries that on with no significant affect on existing apps. And it fits into my pocket.
Perhaps if you were better educated, you might actually be able to understand why the iPhone is so popular globally.
I hate Windows, but I am sure, Nokia will succeed more than just a little. There are so many Microsoft fanbois still in the enterprises who will prefer a Windows phone by Nokia as their official partner. It will be like in the early days: Buy an IBM PC and you won’t get fired. And there are still a lot of Nokia fanbois around. Sure, they will sell much less than Apple, but I would guess 15-20 million Windows Phone 8 in one year after release. MDN, please ical this for future use! I need to add that I will not buy anything else than the iPhone 5 a.s.a.p., but people are different.
Elop is back on stage, and he brings out Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
Ballmer says its “amazing how far we’ve come in just 18 months” since forming the partnership. Ballmer is here to provide “a little bit broader context” to things. “Make now mistake about it, this is a year for Windows,” he says “Windows Phone, Windows tablets, Windows PCs, this is a year for Windows.”
LOL what a NutBag!
This picture of Ballmer is crying out for a caption contest.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/sep/05/nokia-windows-microsoft
MDN stands for Mad Dogs News.
Whenever there is a new phone with a beautiful design, these mad dogs start barking, and they never try to accept positive things that other manufacturers are offering.
It looks beautiful to maybe a ten year old girl because it goes with her My Little Pony attire.
I can’t wait to see the blue screen of death on one of these Nokia phones