I know everyone here loves the openness of their phone and they hate the idea of an M$ mobile; however, the Nokia, M$ partnership is basic game theory. The object of the game is to create the most popular mobile devices. Popularity is measured in sales. Thus, two of the weaker players decide that they need to join forces to survive in order to have a chance against the leaders of the game, Google/(their handset makers) and Apple. Hopefully, the two biggest players fight it out and while they are competing, the smaller guys can become competitive. You can't fault Nokia for this strategy at all.

Now some of you Android lovers will make the case that Google is willing to partner with Nokia. That is very true. So why doesn't a little guy partner with Google and join the lead. The problem with that is you have changed your game a bit and now you are partners and enemies with all of the other Android players, so you are only going to get a piece of the Android pie. If you become the dominant Android handset, you help yourself and hurt yourself at the same time, because one of the basic ideas behind Android is that the consumer has choice. If your competing partners become irrelevant Android has a chance to become irrelevant.

It should be obvious to see that if Nokia joins Android, the game gets tricky. However, with the M$ partnership if success comes there is no worry about balancing your success. Both M$ and Nokia may remain egotistical; whereas with Google, Nokia has to be more of a team player.

In the end, it seems like it comes down to this. Apple controls the software and hardware for their products. RIM is like Apple; however, they are dying. If those companies remain competitive, they will make the most money of any player in this game. Google wants to control the core software and provide interoperability which is good for the consumer, but they are reaping almost all of the software benefits. The Google handset makers are fighting for a piece of the Android handset maker pie. If Android practically becomes the only mobile OS option, that isn't a bad deal at all. Finally, you have the M$ and Nokia partnership that is perfect, because when one benefits the other benefits. As long as Nokia is pretty much the only M$ partner that isn't a bad deal and it becomes a lower variance

Give Nokia a break; their CEO made a strong play in this game. Honestly, it would take a lot of luck, a ramp up in resources, and hard work in order for Maemo/Meego to have a chance. Apple and/or Android would have to seriously mess up. There could be quite a bit of reward, but there is also a lot of variance.

I believe that we will be lucky to see the N950. After that we will be extremely lucky to see another phone as open as the N900. We can only hope that Nokia keeps serving our niche market. Nobody likes a whiner, so stop bashing them and start asking nicely and maybe we will get what we want.

Good luck on defending Nokia mate.
Never defending a company that left you out in the cold

Was this "trip" really necessary!?

Good point and well written! I have to say I agree with you!

you lost me with the "little guy" reference....
on sheer number of handsets sold. nokia is still on top.
the ms alliance is nothing more than redmond buying it's way into the mobile market share. E-FLOP openly admitted that the deal would reap them billions of dollars in cash payments over the mext 5 years.

So you reckon Microsoft and Nokia are the 2 weakest huh, you must be out of your skull mate try looking at reality because they are probably the strongest not the weakest and as for defending them well if all we get is Windows mobile OS then i think they will be even hated more.

Nokia just dropped everyone in the shite after dropping Maemo AND MeeGo so how the hell can you defend such actions?.

As for BASHING them, i say bash them with everything you got because nothing good has happened so far apart from more letdowns.

Many just do not share your sentiments sorry to say.

PS this will probably turn into a hate thread !!!.

In a same time Android could not have ever been able to offer special treatment to Nokia like Microsoft and the field is overcrowded. With the likes of Motorola with good products tanking at the moment. Only real winners being HTC, Samsung and chinese cheapo manufacturers, there's no room for others.


As a huge Harmattan and later MeeGo fan i'm not happy about the direction, but MeeGo was moving way too slowly and was missing real mass behind it.
It's mostly the old time hardcore Nokia fans that are left complaining and really, those are the last people Nokia needs to listen at this point imo.

too right abill.
you forgot to mention the extra 7000 of their own employees that they just dropped in the shite as well old son.
i noticed the big talk up on the BBC news site gobbing off about the 3% rise in Nokia shares since the takeover..... err alliance. they didn't mentipn the near 15% drop that took place before.
yep. the right decision. the market and shareholders didn't think so.

Your kidding right? Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about with this reference.

RIM is the LEADING business phone provider. I don't know ANY large corporations that dont give all their employees blackberries!

Dont mention things that you clearly don't know...

Go take a walk into the business district of your city, and you will see hundreds/thousands of people wearing suits checking their blackberries!

They are FAR from dying..

And i bet the reason Nokia have dropped 700 empoyee's is a Microsoft decision as now you will see Nokia being controled by the strongest link this world has at the moment MICROSOFT.

The comments made by anyone in favour of the OP need to go see a doctor in my opinion.

Thank god MeeGo has been taken up and pushed forward is all i can say.

The more i read on this thread the more my f.ing blood boils ... what a load of utter crap.