Re: Let's talk Nokia stock!
 

It is true that Nokia is well known for having a big and creative R&D platform, biggest amongst smartphone companies. Some of this has now been cut, though, immediately after they lit the platform on fire. It's understandable since they've lately had trouble getting any sales boost from having such a large R&D cost, and it's double understandable since much of their R&D was Symbian-centric, but it's looking more and more short sighted to depend on Microsoft for innovation.

Re: Let's talk Nokia stock!
 

Stocks up today!

Re: Let's talk Nokia stock!
 

I think that in the 2008 and 2009 Nokia came out as a company with the biggest R&D spending, number of people working in R&D and such - world wide! - taking the Toyota's long-held crown. They had (and still have to some extent) quite formidable R&D centers near every major university grounds and that alone, over the years, granted them their immense IP portfolio. It's quite safe to say that without Nokia the mobile space would be very, very different today, and their efforts and innovations should be looked upon with uttermost respect. But that's all water under the bridge now...

The problem with any actively failing company, especially the one operating in the hi-tech industry, is that the bean counters soon start cutting it based on Excel charts and variable statistics data, with no real vision for the future. It is understandable, tho, as when fiscal problems start to appear an accountant would look upon the data and see that a very big slice of the pie goes to the R&D departments, without getting anything back immediately - and rightfully figure that it has to go until the company stabilizes. When you have current problems, you don't really look that much in the future. But the problem is that once you kill your innovation, you are sentenced to be a follower and to be in the mercy of others. And the others will keep you around for as long as you are useful to them, and not a second more than that.

Nokia, even if they pull out of the dire straits they're in now, will have nothing to offer to top their competition in the future if they let off their biggest talent and kill their future innovations. And they are actively doing just that. All while their competition is grabbing their talent and using them 'against' their former employer. This hurts Nokia far more than immediate loss of sales or the brand value decline - it directly threatens their future. These days everybody and their dog (read it: cheap, low-margin Chinese manufacturers) can create a smartphone like, let's say, the Lumia 900. It really doesn't bring ANYTHING new to the table, far from it. But not everybody can pull the PureView tech - that requires years of R&D with concrete funding and risky outcome, and Nokia used to excel at that which is what was keeping them on the #1 spot. If Nokia continues down this road, even if they survive, in a couple of years they really won't have anything to differentiate from ZTE or Huawei, and they'll eat them for breakfast with low prices. Hell, I'd grab a ZTE-made N9xx-like device rather than Lumia from Nokia even at the same price range, and with ZTE's pricing there would be no contest. I may not be a great fan of Steve Jobs, but he 'saved' Apple and brought it back from the brink of extinction precisely by forcing the bean counters to stay away from the R&D departments - everything else could, and eventually did go, but R&D stayed and created the iPod, then the iPhone, then the iPad... In the hi-tech world you can survive without having your own manufacture, you can survive without having your own retail sales channel, you can survive without having expensive promotions... but you cannot survive without R&D. No tech company survived without that.

In a sense, apart from the major and quite dumb radical strategy shift, Elop has been acting more as a CFO than a CEO - most of his 'work' went onto trimming Nokia as much as he can. And if the m0ronic `burning platforms` memo, and all the hell breaking lose after that, didn't kill Nokia - this forced diet and severe reduction in R&D will. Not immediately - in fact the reports can appear pretty rosy initially after cutting something you've been spending on a lot of money without immediate return - but it will pretty much seal their fate and the chances of having formidable weapons to fight in the future technology wars.

Re: Let's talk Nokia stock!
 

Yearly dividends get posted today right?

Re: Let's talk Nokia stock!
 

Yes, this is what happens, and it is understandable, but it is far from right. The intention is to stabilize the flow of money by cutting the expenses. The problem is that expenses aren't really cut unless you immediately sack large chunks of the R&D, you quite literally have to let people go, your best people, and lots of them. Often the "cuts" are done by transferring R&D people to other departments that are in lack of people, typically doing market related stuff or some production related stuff. The management can report to the board that they have made large cuts in their expenses and strengthened their market division and production division, all dandy and nice. But what has happened is that R&D is gone and the market and production division has become a mess. They have to let people go there as well, and the ones remaining are the R&D people because they are more valuable when "things get better". By the time the management see what has happened, at least 3/4 of the R&D people has left by their own will.

Maybe a bit exaggerated, but the point is, if you get to the stage where you have to cut the R&D (to stay alive that is), you might as well stop what you are doing, and do something else. It is the last and final symptom of ill management at all levels over a long period of time, the company isn't working anymore.

The company may still come back, but not without restructuring of everything, and with new and better product, and not without financial restructuring either.

Nokia is there, at the rock buttom. Elop is just a tool to grind everything down to make space for the new Nokia, and he is doing a hell of a job actually. It's a messy job, and he will be hated by many, but the job has to be done, or Nokia will not stand a chance of surviving. Is WP the right thing for Nokia? Maybe, maybe not, but it doesn't look very bright at the moment. But then again, all that is needed is one single killer device. WP8+PureView might just be it, time will show. WP7 is definitely not it, thats for sure.

Re: Let's talk Nokia stock!
 

Surely you are aware that Harmattan was officially killed by Elop instead of given a chance to flourish? This is like bashing a new born on the head and then saying, "Look, I told you this fellow isn't going to be much."

Re: Let's talk Nokia stock!
 

I agree. If it's good enough to stick the salespeople at the bottom with tying their income to performance, it's got to be good enough for the CEO's at the top, good or bad. Maybe then Elop will feel less like blaming the salespeople for Nokia's blunders.

So then the fair question to ask is... why was he allowed to operate as CEO during that time? How is THAT not a violation of ethics the likes of which the law preventing the sales of said stock was also trying to prevent? (i.e. stock manipulation, outside infiltration from another corporation, etc.).

Appropriately enough, most of the companies you've mentioned have either pulled out completely or greatly minimized their involvement in Windows Phone in general, even WP8. (Also, please don't apologize for your English--some people INTENTIONALLY spell like an obnoxious texting teenager--you have very little to worry about. ...well, unless you go to the tolerance thread where I'll tear into you for it. You know--tolerance and all). :)

H01y cr@p, man! This is a discussion forum, not a place for you to draft your blog or newspaper articles before you publish them! SUMMARIZE. :P Gah! I can't even be bothered to find out whether I agree with you or not or if you had anything to offer. Now--back to picking on people in the tolerance thread... :)

You got THAT much right.
http://cdn-static.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg...rofit-drop.jpg

Re: Let's talk Nokia stock!
 

I think you overlooked how I stated that Harmattan didn't garner support from within - which denotes Elop - and without... no updates for Skype yet and other major 3rd party support plain dried up.

There's no need. That massive patent portfolio is not exactly saving Nokia at this very moment - it's postponing what some folks is inevitable. In fact, pretty much nothing is saving them... past innovations are great and all; today they're failing.

So let's see... first SMS message. Great... let's see if Nokia is around in 10 years.

Re: Let's talk Nokia stock!
 

I will always have faith in Nokia they will turn themselves around just like Ron Burgundy. :cool:

Re: Let's talk Nokia stock!
 

But that's exactly my point! If Nokia CAN'T innovate, due to them not controlling their OWN OS, then they won't be the company they once were