By 
A couple years ago, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said they wouldn’t use Android because it was like being a Finnish boy that pees in his pants to stay warm throughout the winter. The latest rumors suggest the company might do exactly that and now further speculation is being made based on a comment Elop made himself that apparently leave the Android door open (and zipper down?).
“In the current ecosystem wars we are using Windows Phone as our weapon. But we are always thinking about what’s coming next, what will be the role of HTML 5, Android… Today we are committed and satisfied with Microsoft, but anything is possible.”
It was one of our 12 predictions for Android in 2013: Nokia ends Microsoft partnership and embraces Android. Sure it sounded like a long shot — what with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop’s harsh words about the Android platform. But it seems lackluster sales and a not-so-bright future could signal the end of their exclusivity agreement with Microsoft.
Nokia’s sword is definitely getting duller and turning to Android may be their last hope at giving the company their edge back. The Nokia 920 running stock Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is a mighty fine proposition and Android could always use another player entering the market. It’s no fun having Samsung dominate the industry.
Naysayers will point to the comment and say a Nokia Android phone is hogwash, claiming a high profile company exec needs to maintain neutrality to some degree; playing it safe is a classic PR move. That luxury would normally be granted, but when you’ve likened an operating system to pants peeing, and then later to decry said pants peeing platform, you’ve got to wonder if that Microsoft Gerber 8 did something to baby Nokia’s belly.
If Stephen Elop and Nokia do enter the Android space, I’ll welcome them with open arms. After all, I am a huge Billy Madison fan:
And if peeing in your pants is cool… I hope to consider Nokia as Miles Davis.
[via WinSource]
some wp fans from last year said WP will save nokia… i really want to look at their face.
Can you pluralize the one windows phone fan from last year?
lol me too
Why are you guys all bashing WP? I actually hope it succeeds, it’s a good, fast, stable OS.
hahaha! Because it is a commericalized closed crap. Android is based on Linux. So it is free and you can own it, share it and modify it.
Yeah maybe so, but I still think it’s better then anything iOS ever did. It wasn’t worth giving a negative vote anyway, it’s not like I criticized anything.
I thought Nokia was supposed to save WP?
So they’d rather sit on some poo to keep warm instead?
At least when it dries you can burn it for fuel I guess.
If an android Nokia phone does come about, if it has top specs and it open, i’m going to most likely have a nokia android phone. :)
I’ve said it a thousand times: Had Nokia (or RIM) — with their near-limitless budgets — jumped on the Android bandwagon when it became clear to the rest of us that this was a 2-horse race, they would absolutely OWN the Android experience. They could have outshined Google a year before Jelly Bean brought Android to parity with iOS.
Instead, they put their heads in the sand and got exactly what they deserved.
Jelly Bean’s project butter did make the OS a lot smoother. Glad they finally did something about that, but lack of it was not worth switching to iOS back then.
I agree with what you said about Nokia being able to outshine Google as well; for the same reasons you list as well. And now that I think about it that could have been dangerous, could Nokia have gained too much control? I guess no but it certainly would have changed things dramatically. Maybe Nokia didn’t see that because they didn’t have it in them though. It takes special talent, knowledgeable and driven people to get the job done and get it done right.
This is great news though, go Nokia.
i saw enjoyed so much reading “got exactly what they deserved”. that’s exactly what they deserved for being MS bitches
Who really cares if they do. Their phones are really ugly.
? I really like their Lumia phone – how much that is down to Nokia or Wp requirements idk. ?
I think it’s more of a Windows Phone suggestion, looking at the 8x by HTC it has a very similar look and feel to the Lumia.
Actually they used their design from their linux based Meego Os phone the n9.Before they released any lumia phone.And were already had different color options with the symbian N8.So no its not a windows thing.Which they actually help with microsoft build the wp8 OS because of the agreement.
It does. I prefer the look of the HTC phone.
I don’t care for massive bezels and especially for phones that don’t have a full plate of glass on the front of the phone. Also, their phones are really thick.
Are you kidding? That’s one of the reasons they’re so unique, they look beautiful.
No.
To each his own. Just because you don’t like the hardware doesn’t mean everyone else hates it too.
Other than the look of Nokia phones, what makes them so special?
Nothing. But the style and quality of the build does appeal to some people.
Same difference as comparing similar spec cars, one look appeals to some, another look appeals to others.
It’s a pointless argument.
But its what all the cool kids are doing these days!
Elop is just teasing crapdroid fans to pee in their pants waiting is if there is something coming. Wp growth maybe slow but blind people are opening their eyes now for adaption that wp os is smarter, clean and beautiful than the messy Android.
Hey “guest”, I think you may want to have someone check your ego and brain out for damage.
Agree. :)
Actually WP does really well in markets outside the US and is increasing in the US. That being said, I think a Nokia android offering would probably just lay waste to the competition. While not the sexiest phones they are good solid phones with excellent support.
I’d like to see where these markets are. It may have a few percent more in some places, but I’ve never seen WP7/8 phone over here across the pond in someone’s hands except a shopkeeper’s.
Ditto, I’ve only seen one WP phone in the wild (i work throughout the middle east). The UI aside, the 920 feels like a brick.
They’d have a job laying waste to Samsung these days. Samsung are just on a different level to the rest of the Android market at the moment – their high end phones are the most popular, as well as very arguably the best. And they have a phone to fill every other price point (low and mid), as well as carving out new niches (Note). IF Nokia could get something to market, I really just see it being an Android version of their WP line, and I don’t see that being as runaway popular as Samsung’s offerings.
Messy? LOL what does that even mean?
You and the 5 other WP users must be keeping yourself awake at night at the thought of Nokia adopting the Android platform :P
P.S. I like WP, you’re just a douche though.
Why then is the WP user base still on the decline instead of going up? Not really sure who’s opened their eyes but its not anyone with cash in their wallet…
Nokia with Android?
Yes please :)
Just to clarify, it wasnt Stephen Elop who said that comment, it was Nokia’s ex CEO. Corrections#
No, it wasn’t. It was Stephen Elop himself: http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2013/01/04/actualidad/1357311412_694701.html
Doublecorrections#
Oh I think you’re wrong! http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/21/ce-oh-no-he-didnt-anssi-vanjoki-says-using-android-is-like-pe/ re re correction enjoy!
Now I understand, i thought you meant that Anssi Vanjoki said “anything is possible”. Cheers ;)
Elop didn’t say that, it was Anssi Vanjoki, and he was never the CEO of Nokia(which is why he left).
El Paìs has interviewed Stephen Elop in person. It’s Elop who said that phrase. http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2013/01/04/actualidad/1357311412_694701.html
The article title was referencing the “Peeing in your pants for warmth” comment. Elop didn’t say that. Anssi Vanjoki did. The referenced article makes no mention of the that phrase, which was first uttered back in September 2010, the day Elop took the reins of Nokia.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/nokia-using-android-like-peeing-in-your-pants-for-warmth-in-winter/9772
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20017114-71.html
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/21/ce-oh-no-he-didnt-anssi-vanjoki-says-using-android-is-like-pe/
And check it out, they’re all in English…
Rob’s getting sloppy trying to warm this story
No it was Obama !
Nokia + android would be sweet
I like Nokia and would love to see them make Android devices but Elop needs to go bye bye. He is the worst thing that has ever happened to phone industry since ever. Bye Bye Stephen and let Nokia rebuild. This guy is like plague for any company. He does nothing but bankrupt businesses.
If Nokia launched an Android device, I’d definitely give it a hard look. Maybe they could differentiate themselves by just running stock Android only no skins, ok maybe a few tweaks for camera and other minor features.
You mean like Motorola? My Razr HD is virtually stock android. That’s why I got it. 4G stock experience.
Motorola are liars. They’d have to release some sort of super-phone that no other manufacturer could even touch for a year before I’d consider buying from them. #NeverAgain
I had the Motorola Razr, it was terrible. I sold it and bought the Galaxy Nexus. No regrets.
I hate to say this (not really) but I, too, ditched my favorite Motos and went Galaxy Nexus. From the original Droid to the Droid 4 and everything in between. NONE of these handsets even remotely compare to the Galaxy Nexus. Hearing that they pointed the finger at VZW along with Google makes me very happy. Now where’s my Moto Nexus?
I don’t understand your implication that they’re liars in regards to what I said. The original point was that it’d be nice if Nokia stood out with stock Android, and Motorola nowadays runs on stock Android already. It Razr HD is kickass, it’s faster and more efficient than my Gs3 which I ditched for it. Not sure how they lied in response to that testimony.
This is great! A stock Android competitor would be pretty amazing. Hopefully Nokia can contribute in other ways as well. The next place that needs a big change is the wireless carriers: lower prices and better plans.
Ha! Good idea with the video! I love Billy Madison.
I don’t care nokia could sit in their Microsoft poop for all I care!
I understand this is an Android blog, but please put this into more context. This was in reference to “can we expect an Android phone in the future?” and his response started stating they don’t have any immediate plans. But that anything is possible and they’re going to continue to monitor the future of mobile technology. Yes, the door is open, but he didn’t state they’re considering it specifically.
Oh, there you go reading and thinking clearly. Wrong place for that. The way posters here write, think, and support the Google you would think it is their middle school football team. Behemoth companies battling each other, and Phandroid sees them as black hat/white hat video game. Geez. What I do know though is that WP 8 is very nice. The HTC8x and Nok 920 are beautiful. I have watched people at Verizon say “nah” to the iPhone, the GIII, DNA and say “this Microsoft phone is perfect”. Granted these people don’t hang out on geek blogs or want to root their phone. They, like the majority of users, want their phone to be their phone–not their hobby. As an unaligned consumer, I could care less about companies, logos, or brand loyalty. If Swiftkey was available for WP8 I’d have no trouble letting go of Android.
Actually. I would love to see them embrace Ubuntu OS.
That’s an interesting thought right there.
It’s all about the apps. If Ubuntu phones will run Android apps (and port the Play Store), then they could be successful. Nobody wants a phone without apps to install.
I would like that. Great idea.
Yeah, a pipe dream inside of a pipe dream but what I would not give for some of those innovative Nokia hardware keyboards on a high end Android.
I’ll take Windows Phone over Android any second. Paid $580 for my Sony Xperia T and the shitty flagship thing lags..My Lumia 800 still works like magic
sounds like a very cold windy winter is up on Nokia, they better drink lots of liquid,hahaha.
F this guy. As much as I loved Nokia, I want to see the day he shuts down the company and says he fucked up as he cries in the shareholder’s meeting.
Nokia could, in well under a year, easily provide some head-to-head competition for Samsung. I love competition (well, as long as I’m not one of the competitors I love it).
I’ll get one, please. kthx.
I will LOVE a NOKIA Google Nexus………yes plz
I knew it would happen, it was just a matter of time.
Nokia realized Samsung has took all the money they could have made with us.
Elop should screw android and go for Ububnu mobile on his phones… Now THAT may make me consider leaving android!!
take out the “Satisfied with microsoft stuff” and this is the most sensible thing Elop has said all decade! ;)
Microsoft’s money has run out it seems
Come in Stephen, it’s chilly out there. Warm yourself by the fire. Here’s a Gingerbread cookie. There’s Cupcakes, Donuts, and Eclairs in the pantry. We also have Frozen Yogurt and Ice Cream Sandwiches in the ice box. The Key Lime Pie is still in the oven. Its taken you awhile to get here but you’re always welcome, here, have a seat.
+100000000000000 Amazing use of words!
And if frozen yogurts and ice cream sandwiches are too cold for winter, we have jelly beans!
Stephen Elop, the dirty Microsoft’s virus, will never allow Android on Nokia phones. He will loot Nokia to the fullest possible extent in order to increase WP sales.
The whole world knows how dirty Microsoft played the dirty game with Nokia by sending its virus Elop to Nokia, and forcing it to kill Symbian and go with WP-only strategy though this ugly OS has hardly 2% market share.
Elop has always been acting as MS servant than Nokia’s master.
Finnish Govt must extract all Nokia’s losses from this dirty guy and MS and kick him out of Finland. Then only Nokia can be saved.
Actually it was Anssi Vanjoki, EVP that said switching to android was like finnish boy peeing his pants for warmth
I doubt they’d go Android anytime soon at least not this year.If anything they would start adding Sailfish OS to their lineup.Wp8 would have to bomb or be a big success with ios going down and android remaining big for Nokia to join.As of now wp8 is doing better than you think and gaining market share mostly because of nokia.
He didn’t say they would use Android. What if they released a phone based on Ubuntu?
If this does come to pass, I would be very happy. Nokia are a *hardware* manufacturer. They make great hardware, and would absolutely shake up the Android scene with their industry leading partnership with Carl Zeiss optics.
I have been bleating on for ages that some forward-thinking Android hardware manufacturer needs to partner with Carl Zeiss, but if Nokia comes on board to Android, then I’ll (sit on the fence until the XDA legends root the handset, then) totally buy their hardware.