“Over the weekend, persons familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal that several senior Nokia managers are expected to leave the company as part of new CEO Stephen Elop’s plans to revamp the company’s strategy,” Gustav Sandstrom reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“Nokia has hired executive recruiters to find a new head of operating systems and a new head of R&D, one person said, while another said the company has also started the search for a new head of its North American business,” Sandstrom reports. “Exactly who would leave the board remains unclear, as executives themselves won’t be briefed until a day before the company’s strategy update on February 11, the persons said.”
“There is no doubt that Stephen Elop, who took the helm at Nokia last autumn, has a mandate for radical change. Analysts and investors expect the company to announce far-reaching adjustments to its current strategy as it strives to fight back against its fast-growing rivals,” Sandstrom reports. “Over the past few years, Nokia has lost high-end market share to iPhone-maker Apple Inc… Apart from the expected management shake-up, market watchers also believe that Nokia will announce a new software strategy on the upcoming Feb. 11 briefing, including plans to build new smartphones based either on Android or on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: MeeGo down the drain and, if Nokia gives up and shackles themselves to Google or Microsoft, so does their future. Becoming just another dime-a-dozen assembler of pretend iPhones is not a strategy, it’s desperation. Our idea from last September was better: “Nokia should concentrate on their specialty — crap margin, low-end, mechanical-buttoned candy bar cellphones — hope they can coast along on emerging markets while they try to figure out what businesses to try next (kitchen appliances? floor wax? breakfast sausages?) before the money runs out.”
MDN take says it all – Mego take a dump
“Windows Phone ‘07”
Nice subtle suggestion of WP7’s outdated situation…
As I predicted last fall, Microsoft will either buy Nokia or create a strategic alliance with the cell phone giant. Nokia will supply the hardware and access to it’s huge carrier agreements and Microsoft will supply the software ecosystem making the Redmond company an instant player
or they should try getting Avie Tevanian. And other ex Next/Apple… That Faddel guy.
Actually, I think MDN’s take IS what Nokia is going to do. Symbian will continue to drive those crap candybar phones in developing markets. Then, I think they’ll announce this week that they’ll drop Meego for their high-end smartphones, but keep it for their tablets. Their high-end smartphones will get WP7. No, I don’t think it’ll work, but they sure as heck aren’t going to use Android, where they’ll just be late to the party, like LG and Sony Ericsson. They’ll use WP7, because Microsoft needs them, as much as they need Microsoft. The Titanic will still sink, but at least, they’ll think they have a chance to be the 3rd option in this game, where iOS and Android dominate. Someone’s got to be 3rd, and it’s between them, Rim’s QNX and HP’s WebOS, so why not Nokia and WP7? Microsoft isn’t happy that their four vendors all have more invested in their Android businesses, so they’ll be happy to cut a sweetheart deal with Nokia. No more minimum hardware specs, etc. Plus, Nokia can put some of their stuff on the phones. In fact, I bet Microsoft pays Nokia to do it.
Impressive take there MDN, Nokia would do well to heed. Stuff like these differentiate MDN from the rest.
poor Nokia guys have been trying to come up with a competitive plan for so long… LOL
While Elop left MS and jumped ship over to Nokia, the people he’s letting go are happily coming over to MS where we’ll deploy them to the WP7 team.
So MS will end up with some hot sauce Nokia expertise. Not that they’ll be able to polish the turd that WP7 is but at least it won’t let WP7 descend to Zune hell.
Nokia should concentrate of what they do the best and that is build better backbones for our phones. MDN’s take is utterly wrong, Nokia is one of the handfull of companies building our phone systems we depend on for our iPhones.
Mmmmmm… Nokia sausages
I seriously hope he brings the much celebrated office ribbon menu interface to the new Nokia gui. Say what you want about Mr Elop, it’s hard to criticise the guys ability to recognise great GUI ideas when he sees them.
MDN suggested sausages because the Nokia choice is: hmmm, frying pan or fire…let’s see.
BLN,
Dude you are more confusing than normal…
MS employing engineers & executives that failed at Nokia will help MS, how?
AND
Those employees not being able to polish the WP ’07 turd will keep it from going down the same toilet that the Zune (and more recently the Kin) went down, exactly how?
Nokia wants to break into North America where Windows 7 phone has done so well shipping over 2 million licenses.
They should have picked Android where the whole OS will be in the courts for years.
Some choice.
While it had the market share, Nokia should have gone with the strategy of “More Open than Google” – complete lego like assembly of phone parts, swappable anonymous chips, swappable free OS, priced under the typical smartphones and target the emerging markets where tough, inexpensive, DIY phones will thrive. It would out-geek the geeks that prefer Android and differentiate itself in a new niche.
If Nokia had the knowhow, it would have overtaken RIM already. The fact it did not before the iPhone revolution means internally it was already screwed.
Back when it was announced that the Microsoft Crony Elop was taking the CEO job at Nokia I predicted that Nokia would use Windows Phone 7 for all of it’s smart phones. I’m sticking by the prediction. Elop will not move Nokia to Andriod it would be a signal of no confidence in Microsoft and in Windows Phone 7. Elop is a staunch Microsoft supporter and I think he’d rather drive off of the roof of a tall building head first before using any product other than a Microsoft product. With Elop’s reputation as a Microsoft crony I was surprised Nokia picked him to be their CEO.
The choice of Elop only make sense if Nokia were shopping themselves to Microsoft, for a quick sale to Microsoft down the road. Bring in Elop let him switch Nokia to Windows Phone only and sweep out the old Nokia guard, planting new former Microsoft and Microsoft friendly employees into high level positions. Tank Nokia’s value a bit more with unproven Windows Phone OS devices, selling them for little to under cost. Build Microsoft a small beachhead in the market, no matter the cost to Nokia. Then Microsoft sweeps up Nokia for a song in an insider back door deal. Elop remains the head of the new Microsoft Windows Phone division that was formally Nokia. Microsoft wins by getting all of Nokia’s Patents, their product portfolio, their R&D, they remove one of their competitors and they lock up an outlet (a discount outlet true but, an outlet none the less) for their Windows Phone software. If Microsoft doesn’t take over Nokia within 5 years or less they’ll open a big window for Nokia’s board to get smart and dump Elop and hire a real CEO who could very well move Nokia from Windows Phone to Android or the current flavor of hot non-Windows Phone OS in the market, opening the door to a sell of Nokia to any company but, Microsoft or even a fire sell of Nokia’s patents on the open market and a liquidation of all of Nokia other assets. Without an independent OS Nokia will be signaling it’s own demise. Because without that independent OS they become dependent on someone else for innovation but, innovation that is not unique to Nokia. So, there is no market separation between Nokia and any other generic device maker in the market that is using the same OS. It’s what eroded profits in the PC industry (for hardware anyway) Microsoft was locking up all the profits because if you want to sell a PC you had to pay Microsoft or they will cut your legs off and with everyone selling PC’s with Windows the only thing that mattered was price. OEM’s had to cut price to move PC’s to make any profit no matter how small, and that as killed the PC market, except for Apple who can innovate because they own the OS and sell devices at a profit and people buy them because they are not cheap Windows PC.
Elop is there to put things in order and smooth the way for the Microsoft take over. Microsoft will follow Apples lead and try to provide an echo system. This is going to be the talk of techs for the next 6-8 months
Elop is there to put things in order and smooth the way for the Microsoft take over. Microsoft will follow Apples lead and try to provide an echo system. This is going to be the talk of techs for the next 6-8 months
Considering Elop’s history, it will probably be Windows Phone 7. Either way, if Nokia becomes dependent on Microsoft or Google for its smartphone software, Nokia becomes more and more irrelevant.
The smart thing would be to go with Android. It already has market share despite its obvious shortcomings.
But I bet they will go with M$ due to Elop’s relationship with them. That will be disastrous since the platform is not mature enough. And they will have to pay licensing fees.
Demon thinking is correct, however all the back room dealings do not have to take place.
This is a great alliance for both companies and the only shot they have, symbian will be supported till it dies, mego is gone. Microsoft has the cash. If they don’t try it they are both doomed, they both see the future.
Microsoft has correctly concluded that apples echosystem is the model to follow.
People this will not be a hostile takeover, it will either be a friendly buy or a strategic relationship designed to save them both. The deal is done it was done when Elop moved and Balmer will stand up an announce it with a big s**t eating chesire grin on his puss.
While going to Windows would be an expensive fiasco, and Nokia has been bleeding more than any other cell phone maker due to the iPhone’s surge, don’t disrespect a mobile device maker that serves the low end of the market. The planet has 7 billion people, and less than a billion of them earn enough in a year to afford an iPhone. Nokia might not make wads of money, but it is noble of them to offer those cheap mechanical candy bar phones to people who otherwise would have no options except the junk purveyed by HTC, Samsung, and so forth.
Not everyone who drives parks a Bugatti in their driveway either.
Mike
You are right, that’s why both symbian and Windows Phone 7 will be supported. Mike What do think a Microsoft buy out?
Nokia has had since 2007 to do SOMETHING serious.
3+ years in a foxhole waiting for the Magi to appear to senior management has put them generations behind.
At this point, I don’t know if they can resurrect themselves and gain market share.
No matter what, they are in for a rough road.
Consumers expect their cell phones to at least come close to Apple’s iPhone or Android Features along with the easy app store and updates and integration with laptops and desktops. The world has flipped….
Phones are now an extension of your computer system.