Beleaguered Nokia CEO Stephen Elop throws ’embarrassing’ Apple iPhone across floor (with video)

“Nokia CEO Stephen Elop thinks that Apple’s iPhone is embarrassing. So much so that he threw Finnish talk show host Hjallis Harkimo’s iPhone to the ground on live TV,” Alexandra Chang reports for Wired.

“Harkimo had Elop as a guest on his talk show Hjalliksen kanssa (which translates to With Hjallis) on Thursday. When the host brought up the rumored Nokia Lumia 928, asking when it would launch, Elop did as much as he could to avoid the question,” Chang reports. “At one point, Harkimo took out his iPhone. ‘Oh, how embarrassing!’ Elop remarked.”

MacDailyNews Take: Yeah, embarrassing for you, Flop.

Chang reports, “He took the iPhone out of Harkimo’s hand and threw it off camera. You can hear the sickening sound of phone hitting the ground. ‘There, it’s gone,’ Elop said laughing.”

MacDailyNews Take: Yup, gone – just like the 40,000+ Nokia employees axed since the beginning of Flop’s reign of abject incompetence. Old frogface makes Ballmer look like a business genius.

MacDailyNews Take: The stench of desperation reeks from every pore of the the world’s worst CEO, but at least throwing an inanimate device across the floor is better than Elop’s favorite move: Throwing tens of thousands of his employees overboard as he steams the SS Nokia straight for the iceberg.

Related articles:
Beleaguered Nokia axes 4,000 jobs; shifts production to Asia – February 8, 2012
Apple iPhone thrashing Microsoft’s beleaguered Nokia 10-to-1, casting pall over U.S. effort – January 25, 2013
The world’s worst CEO is NOT Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, it’s Nokia’s Stephen Elop – October 19, 2012
Microsoft’s beleaguered Nokia Lumia sales fall 28 percent, North American sales cut in half – October 18, 2012
Beleaguered Nokia to axe 20% of workforce, close only plant in Finland; stock crashes – June 14, 2012
Mossberg reviews Microsoft’s Nokia Lumia 900, can’t recommend it over superior iPhone 4S – April 5, 2012
Beleaguered Nokia axes another 3,500 people; trims manufacturing operations – September 29, 2011
Beleaguered Nokia to shed 7,000 employees – April 27, 2011
Beleaguered Nokia to axe up to 800 jobs in Finland – December 14, 2010
Nokia to cut another 330 R&D jobs – November 20, 2009
Nokia axes 1700 jobs worldwide – March 17, 2009

40 Comments

    1. He wanted to create a moment that would go viral and bring attention to his phone and with that move he succeeded, I’ve seen this video offered on a news headline more than just here at MDN. Will it create a huge wave of switchers over to his phones? Likely not.

  1. Well, first he playfully “tossed” it instead of “threw” it and it probably was okay on the rebound, but Harkimo obviously “wants” a Nokia instead of an iPhone. Maybe it’s a nationalist thing?

    Microsoft threw Nokia under the bus and Nokia still wants to continue with the Windows Platform OS. Wake up Nokia, wake up!

  2. The host should have picked it up and shown him that it still works even after the little temper tantrum of their national company’s eloping CEO.

    Bet it still works!

    1. A phone out of sight is a phone out of mind.

      I am reminded of the ravenous bugblatter beast of traal, which is such a stupid animal that it assumes if you can’t see it, it can’t see you…
      [Credit to Douglas Adams, RIP]

  3. Bad reporting, as usual! First off, he didn’t say the iPhone is embarrassing. It was embarrassing that he had an iPhone on Finnish TV, interviewing the CEO of Nokia. Secondly, it was obviously a setup. He didn’t care that his iPhone was thrown I the floor, and he said he didn’t want an iPhone. He wants a Nokia 928. This is a non-story. Just giving Nokia free publicity.

  4. What a lousy spokesman for a brand, it’s own CEO. He did more harm to the brand than not appearing at all. Anyone else would have been fired representing a brand like this.
    He is lucky he is the CEO. He better enjoy it while he can because it wont be much longer.

  5. I can envision a world where a major war is started based on people’s predilections towards phone brand loyalty.

    Look, they’re all just fine. Use what you want. Quit throwing things. Get your hand out of your pants. Sit up. Pay attention. Wipe that stupid smile off your face.

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