What if..
 

Let's throw out a far-fetched hypothetical here:

What if Anssi Vanjoki (anyone know what he's currently doing?) were to start his own company that would take many of the already and soon to be layed off Nokians to produce phones that run Meego? Would MSNokia be able to stop them? What would happen?

Re: What if..
 

Starting a new brand from zero is no simple matter.

And they will be missing a LOT of elements that they've taken from granted in Nokia.

It's a very risky and costly endeavor, that I'd be surprised if they can get financing for it.

Re: What if..
 

In general yes, but "NOT Nokia, doing MeeGo" could be a very powerfull brand right now.

Re: What if..
 

Definitely risky.. They'd have to convince the investors that Meego was actually the correct way to go. But everyone would know these people are ex-Nokia, not matter what brand they pick.

They would probably only be able to focus on a few models of mid to high-end phones (since Symbian would definitely be out the picture), but they could bring lots of know-how to the table for the R&D.

Re: What if..
 

Yeah, that's not the topic of this thread.

The real question is how can they convince the customers that Brand_X AND MeeGo is the way to go.

We know those people are ex nokia, but a huge majority of customers out there are not like us. They don't follow tech blogs/forums to notice these little details.

Be objective. Take a step back. Don't think the world revolves only around yourself.

I don't know Anssi, but I have a feeling that most of those people will find their way to MeeGo partners anyway; to channel their MeeGo dreams.

Not necessarily risk everything out trying to start their own brand and start from scratch. (And be at disadvantage against the more established potential MeeGo partners).

Re: What if..
 

Nokia still needs the Hardware people to create WP7 phones. So if they only dismiss Software Developers and you hire all of those you're still unable to build a phone.

Re: What if..
 

I asked a similar question in another thread about Alberto Torres, who left as head of MeeGo at Nokia on Feb 10. Anyone know what he's doing?

Re: What if..
 

C'mon folks! I'm starting to wonder if Meego will end world hunger or able to power up your next generation cars...or end iPhone's reign?...No it won't!

Thinking some ex-Nokians will just bet their lives for a Meego start up is not going to happen. Simply because Meego will still cater for the niche market like Maemo - Now compare that with the mass market who just wants a phone and nothing to do with development stuffs. 20/80 already sounds optimistic.

It could become someone's project, but simply not attractive enough for banks to spill out loans for any start ups. Let's not forget where Maemo (perception) failed - marketing and support. Without those, even if you had Meego in iPhones it may also end up the same fate as our N900.

So, let's move on! Get a playstation or something (Sorry, no offense intended, I'm just concerned seeing how many new threads about this got generated since last Friday). I still enjoy my N900 very much and not bother with succession plans yet.

Re: What if..
 

It's risky.
It's costly.

But now there is an opportunity to stablish a new brand based on Meego focused in only one terminal on the very high end (ala iPhone).

That opportunity didn't exist before with Nokia going to Meego.

Re: What if..
 

There are actually many people who do believe Linux could "end world hunger or be able to power up your next generation cars"... and yes, even "end iPhone's reign" but this is not the point of this thread.

I just thought it was interesting (to others as well) to ponder the scenario of ex-Nokians joining up to build an alternative based on a cross-platform open OS. Elop has already announced huge job cuts, if WP7 were to flop they'd likely continue firing some of the hardware crew or even close some branches as well (similarly to Ericsson before its merger with Sony). Some high profile staff might leave on their own and what better place to go than a company run by ex-Nokians?

So you come to the maemo forums and wonder why lots of people are outraged about the fact that they have been stabbed in the back? I wish you strength, Joseph.. ;)

Re: What if..
 

It still needs the ecosystem supporting it. It could utilized Google Maps, but how about navigation? It could also utilize other Google services as it's primary customer targetted services. It's possible to implement support for corporate services There's quite work to be done with e.g. Active Sync and remote management software that corporates want to have in place.

Most of all it needs the support for commercial software development. What will happen to Qt? It's quite risky to rely on that. Maybe a limited API like with Andoid or iOS will do it, but how about decent developer tools with a nice IDE and emulator? What about WebOS approach?

Ok, the list is somewhat endless, but with unlimited resources you could target to launch something special after two years. Befere this two year period you need time to ramp up the organization.

Re: What if..
 

You have all the tools and software needed right now. It's more a question of effectiveness (what Nokia lacks).

Take a look at Canonical, they have millions of users of Ubuntu with a very limited company (of course taking advantage of open source and a strong community). The same could happen in a Mobile OS.

I'm not talking about beating Apple nor any other of the established companies, I'm talking about a startup without too much structural costs. All the hardware should be subcontracted to an Asian company and focus on software polishing (based on open source technologies) and design.

There is no need for such an ecosystem. There are open source alternatives to almost everything, they just need to build a service for monetizing apps with a good Qt GUI (forget OVI) and agreements with other publishers (say Amazon) for media content distribution.

They could partner with Myriad for a fast population of applications at the beginning (with time, there will be more Qt apps, specially when project Lighthouse emerges in iOS and Android).

Just my two cents.

Re: What if..
 

If that was true, then I suppose it justifies all these threads.

I think ex-Nokians would not want anything to do with the company, unless (again) Meego was do darn good and ends world hunger...powers your car...

I don't mean to sound insensitive or offend anyone, but I just feel the amount of frustration since last Friday just won't help anything. We're talking like it's already the end of the world (for our N900) and making succession plans when the N900 is still around. Lucky we're not talking about someone's wife!

I mean, first, is there anything else we can improve with Maemo? Could there be a brighter light out there instead of Meego?

Anyway, if all these ravings and rantings actually will help the community, then it's great, and please count me in. Otherwise...thanks, and I'll go watch a movie instead...

Re: What if..
 

The thing is that Meego is still being actively developed by all the other parties. And since it is Linux it could interface quite effortlessly with all Unix-based services that are already in existence. No need to build a whole new infrastructure for a whole new "ecosystem"..

Obviously the Handset UX was basically in the hands on Nokia until now, but that's where the devs come in: once WP7 sets in they will be 'set free'. I mean, what need is there for an "experimental division" if what counts is the bottom line and costs need to be cut, right?