Windows to replace Symbian as Nokia's main smart phone platform

Dinesh · 11 Feb 2011

Oh my... So Nokia quietly accepted its defeat infront of iOS and android. They could have tried to develop Symbian OS but failed.

yowanvista · 11 Feb 2011

Dinesh said:

Oh my... So Nokia quietly accepted its defeat infront of iOS and android. They could have tried to develop Symbian OS but failed.

They won't totally kill Symbian but Nokia will continue to support it
"Symbian software will become a "franchise platform"

Dinesh · 11 Feb 2011

I agree, but instead of merging with Windows phone OS, they could have tried developing Meego as their main mobile OS.

Anyways, I have had some really bad experience with Nokia in the last year and would never buy a Nokia again.

My N97 mini screen just gave up and the side lock just fell off. When I went to the Nokia repair center, the total charge for screen and lock change is Rs. 5000/- inc taxes. I went to a local repair center and they changed the screen and lock (original parts) for just Rs. 1000/-.

Everlong · 11 Feb 2011

Bill2 said:

I like Symbian.

And why windows, why not android?

Nokia said if they went with Android, they'd just become another Android phone supplier and with WinMo they'd get more opportunities out of it or something like that.

Microsoft have let Nokia have a lot of customisable options with WinMo though, which is odd because they didn't let HTC even put HTC Sense overlay in to WinMo.

Kari · 11 Feb 2011

Everlong said:

Microsoft have let Nokia have a lot of customisable options with WinMo though, which is odd because they didn't let HTC even put HTC Sense overlay in to WinMo.

Stephen Elop, the CEO of Nokia, was previously the head of the Business Division in Microsoft, and is a personal friend with Ballmer. I think this was agreed already before Nokia announced hiring Elop.

Kari · 11 Feb 2011

Everlong said:

Microsoft have let Nokia have a lot of customisable options with WinMo though, which is odd because they didn't let HTC even put HTC Sense overlay in to WinMo.

Stephen Elop, the CEO of Nokia, was previously the head of the Business Division in Microsoft, and is a personal friend with Ballmer. I think this was agreed already before Elop came over to Nokia.

yowanvista · 11 Feb 2011

Dinesh said:

I agree, but instead of merging with Windows phone OS, they could have tried developing Meego as their main mobile OS.

Anyways, I have had some really bad experience with Nokia in the last year and would never buy a Nokia again.

My N97 mini screen just gave up and the side lock just fell off. When I went to the Nokia repair center, the total charge for screen and lock change is Rs. 5000/- inc taxes. I went to a local repair center and they changed the screen and lock (original parts) for just Rs. 1000/-.

Been using my N97mini for almost 5 months without any problems :)
But I'm considering to switch to a Nokia based WP7 phone when it will be released

whs · 11 Feb 2011

Kari said:

kristalsoldier said:

...bulk of Nokia's sales come from the non-smart phone categories (low-end, low-cost, basic features devices for the emerging markets)

Very strange comment... So Scandinavia, Europe and other parts of the world outside United States are "emerging markets"? Only America matters?

It's true Nokia has not found it's place in USA, but calling the rest of the world "emerging markets" is something I do not understand. Nokia still is the worlds biggest mobile phone manufacturer with almost 40% market share.

Same thing with "low-end basic features". You call Nokia N and E series low-end? Those phones are very high-end products, bringing in over third of Nokia's sales, not to mention other high-end models. .

If Nokia really moves from Symbian to Nokia, HTC and other Windows Phone makers get a really remarkable competitor.

Kari

I think he has a point if you look at Symbian as an OS and then the total WW sales of portable devices. And yes, the bulk of those go to Asia. Here is one of the charts I show in my latest presentation on Smartphones and Tablets. Compare the OS numbers to the Total numbers. Also note that Symbian is also used by many other manufacturers, not only Nokia

Kari · 12 Feb 2011

Exclusive: Nokia's Windows Phone 7 concept revealed! -- Engadget

JMH · 14 Feb 2011

Earlier, Ryan Paul was rather down about the announcement that Nokia and Microsoft were partnering, and that Windows Phone 7 would be Nokia's primary smartphone platform. It might work out well for Microsoft—it gives the software company a strong hardware partner with substantial international reach. But, for Nokia, he felt it meant the loss of control over its own destiny: Nokia is going from a vertically integrated supplier, building hardware, software, and online services, to just another handset builder, like HTC, Samsung, LG, or even Dell. A huge step backwards.

I'm not so sure. In fact, I think he has it backwards. I think that the advantages to Nokia are clear. Given the scant details revealed so far—perhaps no surprise given that nothing has been formalized just yet—Microsoft is the company in the more difficult position, and it has a lot of questions to answer.

Nokia needs a modern operating system

Nokia, in spite of consistent poor performance in the North American market, is a cellphone powerhouse. The biggest seller of cellphones in the world, it's a consistent technology innovator (for example, Nokia has had phones supporting NFC for several years: technology that other handset companies are only just beginning to integrate). It's also something of a smartphone pioneer; the Nokia Communicators were legendary, and even today the company's smartphone business is substantial.

Nokia and Microsoft: good for Finland, risky for Redmond