Nokia thus far has seen little commercial success with first devices born out of their Windows Phone partnership with Microsoft, such as the hyped Lumia lineup. Apparently some Nokia executives are beginning to question the decision to hedge their bets on Microsoft’s otherwise cool and smooth Windows Phone operating system and the forthcoming Windows 8.
But what if Windows 8 – the first major release to scale from smartphones to tablets to big screens – doesn’t live up to high expectations? Where does that leave Nokia, the once leading cell phone vendor now on the increasingly similar downward spiral like Canada-based Research In Motion, another telecom on its way to the technology graveyard?
Zack Whittaker, reporting for CNET:
Speaking on his debut television appearance, F-Secure’s founder and former chief executive Risto Siilasmaa, who became Nokia’s board chairman in May, defended the move to Microsoft’s Windows Phone, which replaced the ailing Symbian operating system last year.
But he said Nokia has a “contingency plan” should the forthcoming Windows Phone 8 “fail to live up to expectations,” according to a report by Finnish newspaper Yle Uutiset.
It goes without saying that Nokia and other big companies have contingency plans in place for different scenarios.
Still, it is a little unusual to hint at your plan B publicly just as you’re in the middle of a major platform transition. I imagine the comment upset Microsoft, unless it was made purposefully – to subtly remind Redmond that it must double down on Windows 8.
Maybe NetApplications’ numbers scared Nokia executives? According to the analytics firm, Windows Phone had only 0.61 percent of the marketshare in July. That’s more like a rounding error than a market share.
A leaked Microsoft Research presentation suggest a curved Windows Phone soft keyboard for one-thumb typing. Credit: WMPowerUser.com
I think Nokia’s plan B could call for Android, but that would be like signing own death warrant. Competition in the Android camp is ruthless, there are plenty devices covering all price points, tastest, shapes and sizes.
If I were Nokia, I’d wait until RIM becomes toast and they buy their BlackBerry software and hardware divisions for peanuts, see that the teams finish work on BlackBery 10 and just flood the market with a bunch of BB10-powered smartphones to see what sticks.
Unfortunately, time is running out for Nokia.
The company has certainly seen better days. At this point, I wouldn’t be willing to place bets on their survival in the marketplace. Realistically, I think Microsoft is already putting a little money aside to buy Nokia when just before it crashes completely.
Nokia’s been reporting quarterly losses amid iPhone and Android competition, all the while failing to produce an answer to Apple’s device.
As a result, the once great company said it will lay off 10,000 employees globally by the end of 2013 and shutter research and development facilities in Burnaby, Canada and Ulm, Germany, along with a manufacturing plant in Salo, Finland.
If I were Microsoft, I would immediately give a buzz to Nokia’s Stephen Elop and yell at him,”hey buddy, way to go with that plan B news spoiling my Monday morning!”