So that’s what I tweeted. Why?
Well, lets break it down:
#Nokia – #wp7 tanks
Both Microsoft and Nokia are companies that have had huge success but both of them are struggling to compete in the smartphone arena with the iPhone and various Android handsets. Nokia spent a huge amount of time and money developing MeeGo in collaboration with Intel and Microsoft have spent an equally huge amount of time on Windows Phone 7.
Then came Stephen Elop’s “Burning Platform” speech (more on that later) and MeeGo was ditched in preference of Windows Phone 7. The reasoning for this was that MeeGo was too slow and Symbian was past its sell by date. I think at least the first of these is debatable and really, Windows Phone 7 is not much further ahead or in any way proven. Many accused Elop of being a “Trojan Horse” as he was a Microsoft exec and is/was a big Microsoft shareholder.
Why won’t it work?
Well, they have to get some customers and these must either be converts or new smartphone users. These days most people that would consider a smart phone already have one. New customers are essentially children and will go with what they see their friends with – iPhone and Android mostly.
They could gain converts from other platforms. The Apple-Microsoft conversion rate is pretty low to start with, almost as a religious observance. Android users, ok some will move across but Samsung will be fighting all the way (if Apple let them) as will all the other various manufacturers. But, this is where the partnership falls down. Windows Phone <7 was known as a business device. Nokia devices of yore were known as being very user friendly, especially for the lay-person. These two identities partially complement each other but I think that each does the other more harm than good here.
What really matters is whether Nokia manage to produce a few truly iconic and desirable products. They did pretty well with the N9 (much to Stephen Elop’s chagrin) so who knows. But I still think the mountain is too high.
#Microsoft remember business customers and buy #rim
So, we assume that Nokia-WP7 flops. There are other device manufacturers who will make Windows Phone 7 devices but if the platform does not gain significant traction the natural step for Microsoft is to look to where they had previous success with mobile devices – business users. At current this space is firmly occupied by the Blackberry but RIM is on the slide. RIM also have a valuable patent portfolio that Microsoft could use to bludgeon Google or Apple with and there is currently an OS transition underway on Blackberry devices. Given RIM’s value, BBM’s popularity and access to a proven market for Microsoft this is a sensible thing for them to do.
@selop fired
This is a simple one. Nokia-WP7 tanked. It was Stephen Elop’s idea. Nokia’s share price plummeted the day the partnership was announced and has not recovered since. Just remember to buy Nokia stock the day before he leaves!
#samsung buy nokia for patents & #Meego
Ok, I’m going out on a limb a bit here. There have been numerous rumours about Samsung using MeeGo and it makes sense in that they have such a broad range of device types. MeeGo can run on smartphones, netbooks, TV’s, in car ‘infotainment’ (whoever thought of that word needs a couple of body parts removing incidentally) and embedded systems. So your Samsung / MeeGo fridge could talk to your Samsung / MeeGo TV, your Samsung / MeeGo netbook and your Samsung / MeeGo phone – get the picture? Nokia still have a MeeGo team and if Samsung go down this route they will want expertise and Nokia also have a bunch of valuable patents to similarly bludgeon everyone else (mainly Apple) with.
That’s just me though. What do you think?