Nokia To Use Windows Mobile in Smart Phones

[csmart 472]

as expected Nokia decided to use windows mobile on its smart phone. With ex-microsoft guy at the top, this was expected. android is already crowded, too many players. so only this was left. hope they come out with god handset. this is make or break for Nokia..

Source

Nokia to Use Microsoft Software in Smartphones

By KEVIN J. O'BRIEN

Published: February 11, 2011

LONDON — Nokia, the struggling world leader in mobile phones, said Friday that it would discard its own cellphone operating system in favor of software made by Microsoft, in an alliance of market leaders designed to shore up their halting efforts in smartphones.

The announcement by Stephen Elop, the former Microsoft executive hired by Nokia in September as the company’s first non-Finnish chief executive, was a dramatic admission of failure by Nokia, the proud world leader in handsets that helped define the mobile age in its infancy.

At the same time, the alliance, made before a Nokia investors’ conference in London, is a bold gamble, perhaps a last-ditch effort for both Nokia and Microsoft, which dominates the desktop and laptop software market, to gain a lasting foothold in the booming smartphone business.

Mobile devices like smartphones are expected to surpass desktop and laptop computers this year as the main way to gain access to the Internet, a seismic change that is rewriting the rules for software makers and the Web businesses that depend on Internet contact.

“Nokia is at a critical juncture, where significant change is necessary and inevitable in our journey forward,” Mr. Elop, a Canadian who led Microsoft’s business software division before moving to Nokia, said in a statement. “Today, we are accelerating that change through a new path, aimed at regaining our smartphone leadership, reinforcing our mobile device platform and realizing our investments in the future.”

Mr. Elop described the relationship with Microsoft as a broad strategic alliance that would extend beyond using Microsoft Phone software on Nokia smartphones. Nokia’s mapping software, Nokia Maps, will also be used in the Microsoft Bing search engine, Mr. Elop said. Nokia’s Ovi software services business, a major effort by the company to match Apple, will disappear and become part of Microsoft’s Marketplace application and services platform.

Nokia’s one-year collaboration with the chip maker Intel, called MeeGo, to produce a new generation of Nokia smartphones, will become a long-term open-source project designed to develop new kinds of devices, Mr. Elop said. The collaboration failed to produce a cellphone in its first year. Mr. Elop said Nokia planned to introduce a MeeGo model this year.

In a related development, Mr. Elop announced the departure of Alberto Torres, a Nokia board member and the executive vice president responsible for MeeGo.

He also elevated Jerri DeVard, an American former manager at Verizon and Microsoft, to the executive board. Mr. Elop had hired Ms. DeVard last month as the new chief marketing officer of Nokia.

In his remarks, the new Nokia chief executive made it clear that the future for Nokia lay with Microsoft.

Symbian, Nokia’s own operating system, which has been largely blamed for the company’s declining market share, will continue as Nokia services the 200 million Symbian cellphones in use around the world. Mr. Elop said Symbian would become a franchise business, and Nokia expected to sell another 150 million mobile phones before halting development.

One analyst said the radical changes, while risky, were long overdue. But Microsoft, which has a share of only 2 percent of the global market for handset operating systems, may reap the bigger benefits.

“It’s a big win for Microsoft today,” said the analyst, Pete Cunningham, with Canalys, a research firm in Reading, England. “Windows Phone 7 is no one’s priority. But now Microsoft has a leading vendor committed to use the platform. For Nokia, the big question is how quickly can the company execute on this. That has been one of the major issues.”

Nokia’s share of the global handset market, once more than 50 percent, is now falling rapidly as its rivals close in. According to Gartner, a research firm, Nokia’s global share fell to 29 percent in 2010 from 36 percent a year earlier as Apple and Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, both posted gains.

The Microsoft chief executive, Steven A. Ballmer, was expected to join Mr. Elop at the conference for investors later Friday.

[parin 857]

Still not ready for android and choosing win mo

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

[pasumark 51]

Nokia share plummeted today after this news broke. So everyone is losing hope on Nokia. Let us see if Nokia can pull this.

Why cannot they use both Windows and Android?

Edited February 11, 2011 by pasumark

[confused_follower 12]

They should go for duel boot mode. As has been done by some of the techies

[SumitVerma 187]

^

Lol, Thats like expecting your wife to cheer you up for going night outs with other hotties.

Edited February 11, 2011 by SumitVerma

[rahulmalik_81 1]

This was expected or rather we can say(as said be stephen elop on twitter) "two bicycle makers one day decided to fly"

how far they will fly,let's see

[m.khurana 17]

another big mistake by nokia...!!!

[Sadikk 301]

Hello there,

There is a pertinent story about a man who was working on an oil platform in the North Sea. He woke up one night from a loud explosion, which suddenly set his entire oil platform on fire. In mere moments, he was surrounded by flames. Through the smoke and heat, he barely made his way out of the chaos to the platform's edge. When he looked down over the edge, all he could see were the dark, cold, foreboding Atlantic waters.

As the fire approached him, the man had mere seconds to react. He could stand on the platform, and inevitably be consumed by the burning flames. Or, he could plunge 30 meters in to the freezing waters. The man was standing upon a "burning platform," and he needed to make a choice.

He decided to jump. It was unexpected. In ordinary circumstances, the man would never consider plunging into icy waters. But these were not ordinary times - his platform was on fire. The man survived the fall and the waters. After he was rescued, he noted that a "burning platform" caused a radical change in his behaviour.

We too, are standing on a "burning platform," and we must decide how we are going to change our behaviour.

Over the past few months, I've shared with you what I've heard from our shareholders, operators, developers, suppliers and from you. Today, I'm going to share what I've learned and what I have come to believe.

I have learned that we are standing on a burning platform.

And, we have more than one explosion - we have multiple points of scorching heat that are fuelling a blazing fire around us.

For example, there is intense heat coming from our competitors, more rapidly than we ever expected. Apple disrupted the market by redefining the smartphone and attracting developers to a closed, but very powerful ecosystem.

In 2008, Apple's market share in the $300+ price range was 25 percent; by 2010 it escalated to 61 percent. They are enjoying a tremendous growth trajectory with a 78 percent earnings growth year over year in Q4 2010. Apple demonstrated that if designed well, consumers would buy a high-priced phone with a great experience and developers would build applications. They changed the game, and today, Apple owns the high-end range.

And then, there is Android. In about two years, Android created a platform that attracts application developers, service providers and hardware manufacturers. Android came in at the high-end, they are now winning the mid-range, and quickly they are going downstream to phones under €100. Google has become a gravitational force, drawing much of the industry's innovation to its core.

Let's not forget about the low-end price range. In 2008, MediaTek supplied complete reference designs for phone chipsets, which enabled manufacturers in the Shenzhen region of China to produce phones at an unbelievable pace. By some accounts, this ecosystem now produces more than one third of the phones sold globally - taking share from us in emerging markets.

While competitors poured flames on our market share, what happened at Nokia? We fell behind, we missed big trends, and we lost time. At that time, we thought we were making the right decisions; but, with the benefit of hindsight, we now find ourselves years behind.

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.

We have some brilliant sources of innovation inside Nokia, but we are not bringing it to market fast enough. We thought MeeGo would be a platform for winning high-end smartphones. However, at this rate, by the end of 2011, we might have only one MeeGo product in the market.

At the midrange, we have Symbian. It has proven to be non-competitive in leading markets like North America. Additionally, Symbian is proving to be an increasingly difficult environment in which to develop to meet the continuously expanding consumer requirements, leading to slowness in product development and also creating a disadvantage when we seek to take advantage of new hardware platforms. As a result, if we continue like before, we will get further and further behind, while our competitors advance further and further ahead.

At the lower-end price range, Chinese OEMs are cranking out a device much faster than, as one Nokia employee said only partially in jest, "the time that it takes us to polish a PowerPoint presentation." They are fast, they are cheap, and they are challenging us.

And the truly perplexing aspect is that we're not even fighting with the right weapons. We are still too often trying to approach each price range on a device-to-device basis.

The battle of devices has now become a war of ecosystems, where ecosystems include not only the hardware and software of the device, but developers, applications, ecommerce, advertising, search, social applications, location-based services, unified communications and many other things. Our competitors aren't taking our market share with devices; they are taking our market share with an entire ecosystem. This means we're going to have to decide how we either build, catalyse or join an ecosystem.

This is one of the decisions we need to make. In the meantime, we've lost market share, we've lost mind share and we've lost time.

On Tuesday, Standard & Poor's informed that they will put our A long term and A-1 short term ratings on negative credit watch. This is a similar rating action to the one that Moody's took last week. Basically it means that during the next few weeks they will make an analysis of Nokia, and decide on a possible credit rating downgrade. Why are these credit agencies contemplating these changes? Because they are concerned about our competitiveness.

Consumer preference for Nokia declined worldwide. In the UK, our brand preference has slipped to 20 percent, which is 8 percent lower than last year. That means only 1 out of 5 people in the UK prefer Nokia to other brands. It's also down in the other markets, which are traditionally our strongholds: Russia, Germany, Indonesia, UAE, and on and on and on.

How did we get to this point? 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.

Nokia, our platform is burning.

We are working on a path forward -- a path to rebuild our market leadership. When we share the new strategy on February 11, it will be a huge effort to transform our company. But, I believe that together, we can face the challenges ahead of us. Together, we can choose to define our future.

The burning platform, upon which the man found himself, caused the man to shift his behaviour, and take a bold and brave step into an uncertain future. He was able to tell his story. Now, we have a great opportunity to do the same.

Stephen.

[Sadikk 301]

actually its not about OS, it about eco system... elop have great ideas in mind. and they will do better in coming time for sure.. but the battle is lost now.. Android to lead followed by ios, RIM OS, aur baaki sab peeche.. we have one "langda ghoda" here HP WebOS.

[Karthik R 246]

Two wrongs don't make a right.

[KanagaDeepan 1,084]

Though expected, this move is

NOKIA once said going for Android is like peeing in its pant (temporary relief for cold) and now they have $h!tted in their pants

Symbian is actually a good resource-friendly OS except UI... WP7 is a resource-hungry OS with good UI and nothing else (NO Copy-Paste, NO Multitasking, NO SD support, NO BT File Transfer, NO FileManager support, Limited Customisation --- whereas symbian has all these from Day1 that is from 1999)...

Atleast NOKIA should have bought Palm/WebOS instead... Elop has actually done good for M$ and N0T FOR NOKIA... Now we can expect WP7 phones with SAMOLED-like (CBD) screened phones with super cameras...

May be Elop is one good trojan horse sent from M$ to N0KIA, just like those sent by AirHELL to RC0m...

And like Google's Engineer Gundotharan said TWO TURKEYS CAN'T BECOME AN EAGLE"... SO SOOO TRUE...

But everything has happened for GOOD... I need spend my hard earned money to NOKIA devices ...

[hitman 0]

Good decision .. Windows Phone 7 is not bad at all ..

Windows mobile previous version r somewhat responsible for current windows phone market opinion ..

But their new OS Windows Phone 7 is very good .. Certainly on par with android in every way .. They need to keep developing it cos android keep on improving every few months ..

[sougatadc 358]

By this move, MS will gain the most.

[kkdeep 6]

This is like two very sick patients coming together.

[Greatest 55]

R.I.P Nokia..

Let us all stand in silence for 2 mins..

[Genius 817]

It's like 2 left behind holding hands and running the race to Win - but wait why am I saying this I am still a WinMo fan to root (not android rooted)

[dkaile 1,051]

^

et tu brutus...

[rajanmehta 4,056]

Exclusive: Nokia's Windows Phone 7 concept revealed!

Look what we've found! This is the first image you'll see anywhere of the early fruit of Microsoft and Nokia's budding new partnership. We have it on good authority that the technicolor phones on show are conceptual devices produced by the two companies. You shouldn't, therefore, go jumping to conclusions about retail hardware just yet, but hearts should be warmed by the familiarity of Nokia's new design -- the shape of these handsets is somewhere between its recent N8 and C7 Symbian devices and there is, as usual for Nokia, a choice of sprightly colors. The trio of keys adorning the new concept's bottom give away its Windows Phone 7 ties, but also remind us that the N8 and E7 are highly unlikely to receive any WP7 upgrade love. The best part about this whole discovery, however, might be that it confirms Steve Ballmer's assertion that the engineers of both companies have "spent a lot of time on this already." So, who else is excited about owning an Engadget-blue Microkia device?

Source:Engadget

[csmart 472]

as arum pointed, main idea is eco system. i feel MS will concentrate on OS, software and app development while nokia on app and hardware. both cos are in trouble in mobile space and can a good.. it all depends on app development and support from developers. then will come marketing... lets see. but i am sure users will be benefit from this.....

[raccoon 53]

They seem nice. Hope they can come up with good stuff. Would hate to see the mobile OS space dominated by just couple players.

Just imagine, you have an Android and everyone around you also has Androids only... how boring!!

Besides you don't get to score brownie points against other OSs either...

Edited February 12, 2011 by raccoon

[sgiitk 32]

Neither has anything to lose. Nokia is in big trouble, and Microsoft Windoze is just zzz in the mobile market.

Nokia should be ready for bugs a plenty. Microsoft are still trying to fix the bugs in XP (Vista and 7 are only bug fixes with the temerity to charge users by calling them bug fixes). Even today you see about 15 fixes a month from Microsoft for the bugs.

I will hate to see a lovely hardware platform ruined, but then if someone is bent upon committing Harakiri!

[amit.shippie 135]

Nokia is joining hands with android too...

If you're unfamiliar with who Eldar Murtazin is, first and foremost, he is the editor-in-chief Analyst and manager of Mobile-Review.com, and a very well read and followed fellow. What he's got to say is in regards to this morning news about Nokia teaming up with Microsoft for a Windows Phone 7 handshake heard around the world. As this was occuring, Murtazin was hearing from his inside sources that not only had Nokia made a deal with Microsoft, they'd cut a deal with Google as well at essentially the same time....

This deal, Murtazin says, will have Nokia creating their first Android devices for release in 2012. The original tweet where he lets loose this cannonball can be found here, if you'd like to take a peek. This would also put another nail in the coffin for the idea of Nokia as a mobile OS designer – one or two or three of the other nails also coming earlier in the day with notes such as Google offers sacked Nokia engineers a lifeline and of course Nokia Workers walk out of their Finnish jobs.

source

Edited February 12, 2011 by amit.shippie

[digitalnirvana 646]

Google’s chief executive, Eric Schmidt, says he would welcome Nokia choosing to use Android in the future

Google’s chief executive Eric Schmidt has confirmed that his company held “confidential negotiations with Nokia that were extensive” before the Finnish company chose to sign up with Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform.

Mr Schmidt told the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that “We would have loved that they had chosen Android. They chose the other guys, that other competitor, Microsoft. I think we are pretty straightforward.” He said that Nokia would be welcomed to Android should they reconsider in the future.

Shares in Nokia have fallen by up to 20 per cent since the announcement of the deal with Microsoft, but analysts have observed that the mobile phone company, still the world’s largest, did not have any other options.

Mr Schmidt said that “We would like them to adopt Android at some point in the future and that offer remains open. We think Android was a good choice for Nokia. We are sorry they made a different choice.”

Although Nokia has said that it will ship a Windows Phone 7 handset this year, it is only likely to make large volumes of new smartphones in 2012. Android, Mr Schmidt said, was rapidly growing beyond 300,000 activations per day. He said that 27 manufacturers now used the OS, and that it was available in 69 countries.

The comments were made to journalists after Mr Schmidt’s keynote address to MWC in which he made a wide-ranging case for computers than meant humans were “Not lost, never lonely, never bored”. He said new technology offered the possibility of “a lifelong life of knowledge and entertainment – a pot pourri for all of us to choose from”. Mr Schmidt said his vision was of “A future for the masses not the elites; 2 billion people will enter our conversation who we’ve never heard from will enter our conversation in the next year.”

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

[::Hitesh:: 1,763]

why we are discussing all this, no point in talking about what we are not going to use,

let them use any OS, we (at lest me) not looking at them until they come with some good CDMA sets, which is not going to happen.

[Karthik R 246]

Nokia to push out cheap Windows Phone handsets quickly

Speaking during a meeting with Finnish business journalists, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said the handset maker would produce inexpensive Windows Phone handsets quickly. The ability to produce smartphones with a very low price point was reportedly on of the key factors in selecting Microsoft as a partner for the future of the Finnish company’s mobile platform. “We have become convinced that we can do that very quickly,” Elop said during this meeting on Friday. The final agreement between Microsoft and Nokia should be inked within the next few months and Windows Phone handsets are expected by the end of the year.

The initial response to Nokia’s decision to drop Symbian and adopt Microsoft Windows Phone has been mixed. The Finnish company’s stock dropped more than 20% and many Finnish employees unhappy with the decision took a voluntary day off when the deal was announced earlier this month. A group of stockholders claimed to be staging a coup to unseat Elop, but this Nokia Plan B initiative was later revealed to be a hoax.

Nokia CEO Elop also sold all his Microsoft shares on February 17th and purchased 150,000 shares of Nokia. The CEO came under fire earlier this month when it was discovered he held a large amount of Microsoft stock and none in his own company. The battered CEO claimed regulations prevented him from selling this stock during the negotiation period between the two high-profile companies. Now that the deal is public and close to being inked, the former Microsoft executive sold his interest in Microsoft and rightly invested it in Nokia.

- intomobile

According to The Guardian, Nokia wont be showing off the fruits of its labour until Windows Phone 7 has received its second major update, not expected to land until October. The update, codenamed “Mango”, is expected to launch as Windows Phone 7.5, which explains why Elop has remained tight lipped about releasing “Windows Phone 7″ handsets.