News

In Company-Wide Memo CEO Admits Android, iOS Beating Out Nokia, Change is Needed

30

Today Nokia CEO and former Microsoft exec Stephen Elop sent out a company-wide memo on the current state of the brand and its future. In the rather long memo (you can read a full version by following the source link at the bottom), Elop calls Nokia “years behind” Android and iOS, and points to the ecosystems those platforms have developed as the reason for their success. He pines that Nokia got too caught up in their own ventures and missed the boat, especially in newer markets.

He put it pretty simply:

“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.”

Those last three words up there have to get Android users that find themselves fans of Nokia’s hardware salivating a bit. But all recent rumors point to Windows Phone 7 as the ecosystem Nokia will most likely join. You will notice there is no mention of WP7 in the memo, which could be read as a sign that Elop doesn’t want to frame a new ally as a direct competitor. It could also be that WP7 was left out simply because it isn’t much of a competitor at this point.

Adding to the fire, the company is apparently killing off its first MeeGo device before it even launches, signaling some sort of significant change in their smartphone endeavors is on the horizon. Until Nokia comes clean this Friday at a press event detailing their future plans we won’t know for sure, but for the next couple days we can hope and dream of a world full of Nokia Androids.

[via AllThingsD]

Kevin Krause
Pretty soon you'll know a lot about Kevin because his biography will actually be filled in!

American Airlines Android App Ready for Takeoff

Previous article

Google’s Gundotra On Nokia/Microsoft Rumors: “Two Turkeys Do Not Make an Eagle”

Next article

You may also like

30 Comments

  1. Android baby.

  2. It would be silly to go with windows mobile as meego & android are linux, so Nokia already have linux programmers so “if”!!! they started using another OS, then android would be far more successful.

    Also Windows mobile 7 is a closed system like iphone whereas nokia has moved to open systems just like Android.

  3. Who needs Nokia when you have companies like Kyocera pumping out slam dunks like the Echo?

  4. “for the next couple days we can hope and dream of a world full of Nokia Androids”

    Why should I even care what Nokia does? Yes, I might be slightly interested to see what they decide to do but it won’t affect me either way.

  5. I first found this here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12403466
    What I dont understand is why Nokia considers Android “competition” I mean aside from the obvious fact that they dont make Android phones; but nothing is stopping them from jumping on the Android bandwagon. iOS, yes, as there is only one iPhone iteration being manufactured at a time. Even if they choose to build WP7s, nothing is stopping them from making Android phones (except stupidity). I was stunned when I read in an article last week that they were going to wp7 with no mention of Android.
    Of course, Richard will be along shortly to tell us all in that severe downs syndrome, frothing at the mouth psychotic evangelist, ballistic approach to capitalization way of his that these are all moot points since the EVO was the best phone ever made and nothing will ever beat it, and how we are all stupid and dweebs (dweebs,lol how 1986) and something about sex with waterfowl. All the while spouting some nonsensical bullshit about Sprint being so great the GPS warps spacetime so you dont even have to travel, you get coverage even on Pluto, and a Sprint rep comes out and daily to blow him while farting rainbows.
    Back to the point: come on Nokia! Get your head out of your ass! We know you can make great phones, lets see what you can do with Android.

  6. “Two turkeys do not make an eagle.” Vic Gundora He posted this to Twitter so that means no Android and Nokia.

  7. That’s bad news jdog. At least I hope it doesn’t mean they’re going with WP7. Meego is still a much better option, and it could run Android apps with the Alien Dalvik VM. I think one proprietary closed platform at the top is enough. I’d rather see 2 open and 1 closed, than 2 closed and 1 open.

  8. Evrica :D

  9. I dream of a day when every phone hardware manufacture, including Apple, will ship devices with Android installed.

    If you can’t beat’em, join’em.

  10. Android or WP7. Its the only way right now.
    .
    Paul makes a good point.

  11. I’m obviously biased or I wouldn’t be commentign here but I can’t understand why Nokia would want to go with WP7.

    Clearly Meego is dead in the water so they have to go somewhere else but Microsoft control what can be done with the WP7 platform so tightly there’s no opportunity for Nokia to create the kind of really distinctive handset that would attract attention particularly in the US market where Nokia isn’t a big player.

    Personally I hope Nokia can come back as they’ve arguably done as much as apple to develop the concept of the consumer orientated smartphone, but becoming just another me-too manufacturer on the WP7 platform isn’t the way I think that will happen.

  12. If Nokia was even remotely smart they’d play all platforms – work with apple for a Nokia-made iOS product, work with android for an android product, and work with WP7 for a WP7 product. Why be so stupid as to sell yourself short?

  13. Matt,

    IMHO they need something quickly and that means concentrating all their development effort on a single platform for now.

    Later they could branch out, but right now if they don’t stop haemoraging market share in the next 12 months they could well just get eaten up by a competitor or leave the market entirely

  14. It’s all about the money, and most likely, Microsoft is providing a LOT of it. Microsoft knows WP7 is a flop, and the current handset makers that currently ship a WP7 phone are more heavily entrenched in Android. MS needs a hardware partner that is solely focused on them, even if they have to pay for it. In that respect, Nokia is the perfect partner. Besides, did you really expect a former MS exec. to chose something other then WP7?

  15. they could whip an android phone up in a week. use there existing hardware, 4-5 developers work on integrating it..done! and be at MWC…IT COULD HAPPEN lol

  16. Well nobody can deny the fact that Nokia makes great hardware, besides the fact that the Nokia N95 was doing things 4 years ago that other companies are only getting to now, their hardware is tough as nails. That said, I would love to see Nokia team up with Android, would be a sweet all around device.

  17. My first phone was a nokia.

  18. nokia isn’t tied to any platform.

    by jumping to all of them, like I said above, they win no matter who leads the market. That’s why you do it.

  19. why would you not go with android. Apple got ios and probably wont let any one else touch or carry it on another device other than the iphone . IF YOU ARE SMART NOKIA YOU WILL GO WITH ANDROID >>>>>

    OR if you dont you will be setting yourself for FAILURE .

  20. Don’t really understand why they killed off Meego, it was just as open to growth and potential as Android is. It will be interesting to see how this pans out because if they do partner with WP7, it’ll be a waste of time. WP7 is about as closed a garden as IOS is, they even dictate non-removable sd cards to the OEMs it’s so bad. Seems like a lot of contradictions to logical decisions.

  21. Could I speculate that there might be a deal with HP and make a WebOS phone? It would be good for HP to get that active again and Nokia could be a perfect partner to that end.
    But, I agree with something said on TWIT podcast, since the CEO is ex Microsoft, if they go with anything else but WP7 it would be like stabbing his old company in the back.

    Android would be best choice if you want to “Advance to go” and still to be able to customise the OS

  22. Webos died before palm shipped to sprint. Market doesnt need another propriatory OS.

  23. meego was ‘supposed’ to be the ultimate purest open source OS ever but Nokia was just teasing the linux community. Now the choice is clear. If you want to see an open source OS take over, then Android is what you want to develop for.

  24. If I was Microsoft, I’d make my own phone and call it the X Box phone (and an xbox ‘pod’ and ‘tab’). That’s a brand that people actually love. Not Windows and certainly not Zune.

    For some strange reason, they decided to outsource the job to OEM’s who will have more flexibility with Android.

  25. If their smart they would either go with Android or ask HP to borrow WebOS because both are very potential. I have to be honest and say that WebOS has many advantages on Android Froyo but Gingerbread & Honeycomb is making the situation better. Honestly if WebOS gets a PERFECT hardware they can honestly pass up Android by partnering with Nokia. But if both of Android and WebOS goes with Nokia u better believe all those whack ass other OS’s will disappear. But if Honeycomb comes to Android phones and WebOS goes with Nokia and gets great hardware; Android and WebOS would be in the league going head to head. iOS and RIM wouldn’t have to ever worry about becoming number 1 or coming close to number one ever again. So it all boils down to this:
    *If Android gets better multitasking and features
    *If Honeycomb comes to phones
    *If WebOS goes with Nokia and Nokia goes with WebOS they both would get an advantage of everything
    *Or if Nokia goes with both iOS and RIM will loose completely
    Nokia bytes pull a HTC or Samsung and go with WP7 and Android, or WebOS and Android

  26. **Or if Nokia goes both with WebOS and Android; iOS and RIM will loose completely

  27. All I can say is if that ugly ass man goes with Windows Phone 7, instead of Android or WebOS, he a FUCKIN FOOL and he will bring that company down completely! He betta get his mind right. Windows Phone 7 isn’t even really getting that many consumers.

  28. Android picked Motorola up and I’m positive It can do the same for Nokia

  29. First of all feel really terrible for Nokia. They are melting down with the competition from android and ios. The only option left for nokia is to quickly adapt to android by losing their ego and agreeing to the fact that they failed literally with the competition.

  30. I read recently that MS might let Nokia customize WP7…I dont think that will sit too well with Samsung, HTC, etc.
    .
    This deal is shaping up to be even more of a gamble if that happens. Are they about to pull off an iPhone and just have one manufacture for WP7?

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in News