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All posts tagged "partnership"


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Microsoft to Purchase Nokia? No Good Reason According to Nokia CEO Elop

Posted by Nelson Ocampo in "Windows Phone News" @ 10:30 PM

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/...E72H0QC20110318

"Work has begun on the first Nokia smartphones based on Microsoft software following the partnership announced by the companies last month, Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop told Reuters. Elop was recruited last year to rescue Nokia from increasing irrelevance at the high end of the market, and is under huge pressure to produce results from the partnership. Elop, who left a Microsoft executive post to join Nokia last September, also said he could see no good reason for the speculation that Microsoft might try to buy Nokia."

Elop went on to state that the partnership between the companies already gives Microsoft all it needs from Nokia. And if Microsoft purchased Nokia, they would open themselves up to unwanted anti-trust investigations, without an added benefit to make it worth the trouble.

He also went on to state that because of the partnership, Nokia is already able to start work on Windows Phone devices. While if there was an acquisition, such a swift start would not be possible.


Thursday, February 17, 2011

Second Look Analysis of the Microsoft-Nokia Alliance

Posted by Richard Chao in "Windows Phone News" @ 08:00 AM

http://www.winsupersite.com/article...c-Alliance.aspx

"Now, stepping through a second take on this announcement, I'd like to offer up some thoughts about what this means, and how I think this will impact Windows Phone going forward."

Paul Thurrott has written a very insightful and well thought out analysis of the Microsoft-Nokia Strategic Alliance and concluded by stating, "Windows Phone is the most innovative smart phone platform on earth. Hopefully adding Nokia to the mix will only make it better. My guess is that it will."

I agree with Paul that Windows Phone is the most innovative smart phone platform on earth and adding Nokia to the mix could potentially make the platform better, my biggest concern is the whole fragmentation issue. Paul mentions the fragmentation between WP7 devices in its current state as a luxury device and potential future entry market devices by Nokia. But, the fragmentation I'm mainly worried about has to do with the fact Microsoft's initial strategy with Windows Phone 7 was the baseline OS would be controlled by Microsoft itself and customizations were limited to added on apps and/or hubs. Thereby allowing OS updates to be pushed to each and every Windows Phone at the same time. A strategy that has been hugely successful for iOS as it avoids the fragmentation problem that currently plagues Android OS.

Read more...


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Engadget Interviews Nokia CEO Stephen Elop

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 02:49 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/15/...alks-microsoft/

"We had a chance to sit down for a few minutes with the man who's arguably stolen the show here at Mobile World Congress this year -- Nokia CEO Stephen Elop -- to talk about everything from his time at Microsoft to the potential for a multi-billion dollar platform partnership with his former employer that he's hoping to foster over the coming years."

A worthwhile ten minute video: Elop explains more about the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft, clarifies that Microsoft isn't paying Nokia billions of dollars to use Windows Phone 7, and stresses again that Nokia sees tremendous opportunity to put Windows Phone 7 into new price segments based on driving down the cost through volume. He also states that while he'd love to see a Nokia Windows Phone 7 released in 2011, it's too soon to tell; while Microsoft and Nokia engineers have been working together for months now, they won't know how quickly they can bring a phone to market for one or two months.


Monday, February 14, 2011

Nokia's Stephen Elop and Microsoft's Steve Ballmer Q&A

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 02:00 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irXEA7k67aM

This video is worth watching - Elop stresses that one of the key benefits Nokia brings is the ability to get Windows Phone 7 into markets and price points where it isn't currently. The "price points" is an important factor; we know that HVGA (480 x 320) is in the cards for future Windows Phone 7 devices, and you can bet that Nokia will be all over that: they're great at building both low-cost and middle-of-the-road hardware to serve a variety of markets. I can see a small HVGA Windows Phone 7 device hitting the market in late 2011/early 2012 that would allow Microsoft to reach new markets.

This is definitely the biggest announcement yet made for the fledgling Windows Phone 7 platform.


Those Nokia Windows Phone 7 Photos are Legitimate

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 01:35 PM

http://conversations.nokia.com/2011...ess-conference/

Over at the official Nokia blog there are two high-res photos of the design mock-ups Engadget showed last week. I'm digging the white and the yellow versions - unfortunately there's no sync/charge port on the bottom, but it's hard to judge a mock-up so I'll hope they put the sync/charge port there.

Also worth noting is the Nokia keynote highlights video below - it explores some of the reasons why Nokia made this move. Android is clearly in Nokia's crosshairs: they want to take out what is now the world's #1 smartphone platform.


Friday, February 11, 2011

Microsoft & Nokia's Open Letter

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 03:00 PM

http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsof...-microsoft.aspx

"Today in London, our two companies announced plans for a broad strategic partnership that combines the respective strengths of our companies and builds a new global mobile ecosystem. The partnership increases our scale, which will result in significant benefits for consumers, developers, mobile operators and businesses around the world. We both are incredibly excited about the journey we are on together."

Want to read more about what synergies Microsoft and Nokia see with this partnership? Check out the open letter from the CEO's of both companies. Time will tell if this partnership bears real fruit against the twin juggernauts of iOS and Android. RIM is in the mix too, but I see their positioning waning over time unless they do something just as drastic...


Nokia & Microsoft: We Called It in 2008

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 02:30 PM

Darius Wey reminded me of his post from back in 2008 about Nokia releasing a Windows Mobile phone - sure, it was an April Fool's Day post, but even back then I felt Nokia would one day be Microsoft's partner. The world has been moving toward consolidated smartphone platforms for years now, and I felt it was only a matter of time until Nokia partnered up with Microsoft. Back then Android didn't exist yet as a viable platform, so it was almost their only option. They could have gone with Android, but the question is could they have stood out amongst all the competition? In Microsoft they found a partner that was willing to work with them. I look forward to seeing what happens with this partnership this year and next.


Nokia and Microsoft Announce Plans for a Broad Strategic Partnership to Build a New Global Mobile Ecosystem

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 08:03 AM

More analysis of what this means will come later, but for now, here's the official press release.

LONDON - Feb. 11, 2011 - Nokia and Microsoft today announced plans to form a broad strategic partnership that would use their complementary strengths and expertise to create a new global mobile ecosystem.

Nokia and Microsoft intend to jointly create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity. As each company would focus on its core competencies, the partnership would create the opportunity for rapid time to market execution. Additionally, Nokia and Microsoft plan to work together to integrate key assets and create completely new service offerings, while extending established products and services to new markets.

Read more...


Thursday, February 10, 2011

Will Nokia Announce a Windows Phone 7 Partnership Tomorrow?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 07:50 PM

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011...windows-phone/#

"Microsoft and Nokia are close to cementing a partnership to produce mobile phones together, according to multiple reports. It's like that celebrity couple you never expected to hook up, but who somehow did. Even a former Nokia employee was betting against the prospect of the phone maker working with Microsoft, which would involve shipping Nokia hardware with Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 operating system."

Will Nokia drop a bomb on the mobile world tomorrow and announce that they'll be partnering with Microsoft on a Windows Phone 7 device? My Magic 8 Ball says "It's looking good." Nokia is in a tough spot, having made little to no ground with home-grown MeeGo, and in a year lost over 10% world-wide market share. Nokia makes excellent hardware, but I've personally found their software to be utterly lacking, and their attempts at building an ecosystem have been mixed at best.

I could see Nokia pulling a Palm - build a Windows Phone 7 line for a generation or two, then when their own software is ready, they ditch Microsoft. Of course, we saw how that worked out for Palm...yet Nokia is bigger and has a lot more money. We'll see what happens tomorrow - but I for one would welcome the excellent hardware designs of Nokia into the Windows Phone family.


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