Thread: Eldar and others: Nokia and Microsoft Discussing WP7
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Crashdamage is offline Crashdamage
2010-12-26 , 15:50
Posts: 670 | Thanked: 747 times | Joined on Aug 2009 @ Kansas City, Missouri, USA
#91
Originally Posted by ericsson View Post
Nokias problem right now is not poor sales or a Symbian that can't compete with Google. Even S60 v5 is competing with Android, and it is doing well in the market segment it is supposed to be competing in.
The problem is they're losing market share and recognition and desirability as a brand in the upper end of the market. Today's high-end device is tomorrow's mid-range mass-market device so eventually this effect will filter down. And I disagree Symbian can compete against Android or iOS, particularly long-term. Sure, Symbian devices still sell well now but they're not really competitive against Android or iOS in features or desirability. Nokia knows it - that's why Maemo/MeeGo/Qt exist. And (partially) why WP7 is a possibilty for Nokia.

...MeeGo is also draining recourses, not nearly as much as Symbian, but much more than the potential benefits would dictate.
The potential benefits of MeeGo dictate Nokia should throw much more - almost everything they've got - at MeeGo. Not less.

MS has one huge headache. WM7 is sold on devices that are too expensive on HW that is second rate in terms of build quality.
Every time M$ introduces a new OS the hardware requirements to run it go up and people complain. Pretty soon hardware prices come down and everyone stops complaining. WP7 is just more of that familiar process.

It (WP7) really has no chance in NA against Google and Apple, and in the rest of the world it has to compete with Nokia as well. In fact, the only place it sell, at least some, is in the NA. Everywhere else people are simply thinking why? Why, when I can get Android or Nokia at a better price, or I could go all Apple.
You're sorely underestimating how much money and effort M$ is willing to put into making sure WP7 succeeds. They'll do whatever it takes and the resources to back it up. And that Windows is also used by over 90% of people world wide, giving M$ a huge headstart in name recognition and familiarity with M$ products.

On top of this, MeeGo is lurking, an OS that potentially could blow MS out of the water all together (if all goes well).
Only if Nokia is willing to stick to the solid plan they've laid out through tough times. They must be as resolute about MeeGo/Qt as M$ will be about WP7.

...they have one thing in common: online services. They both want that very badly, without it they will both be doomed.
That may be the biggest sticking point in a M$/Nokia deal. Who provides services? Both? How do you work that out?

MS can take over the responsibility of maintaining and developing Symbian, the core OS, and do a really good job at it. This will solve Nokias problem overnight, and they can put their best people back into core Nokia stuff.
Maintaining Symbian is not a problem for Nokia. They know it so well they could do it in their sleep. Turning over control of the OS that's running 99% of their phones to a competitor who knows little or nothing about it would be. What makes you think M$ could do a better job with Symbian? They have a hard time with Windows. And why would M$ want to have anything to do with maintaining Symbian?

...Symbian will eventually be left out (in the cold) to the open source community, and Nokia will be all WM core. This may happen very fast, depending on how flexible the new WM core is and how it adopts running on low spec HW.
Symbian will be around for a long time. WP7 and beyond will not adapt to low-spec hardware. Nokia may well drop MeeGo and go WP7 but M$ will have to make a strong financial argument and other concessions, including Qt in some way and Ovi services. Without those Nokia would become just another generic hardware company.
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Last edited by Crashdamage; 2010-12-26 at 16:00.