smartphones Only Android can refloat Nokia

[Boz]

Finnish handset maker Nokia has suffered a massive Q2 operating loss totaling over $1 billion, a fourfold increase over the loss the company suffered in 2011.

Nokia has been in trouble for a long time, but the company's shares have lost around 80 percent of their value since February 2011 when the company chose to drop its Symbian platform in favor of the Microsoft's Windows Phone platform.

The problem with Nokia is not the hardware -- the company makes some of the most solid and reliable handsets available today -- the problem is the operating system. Choosing Microsoft's was a massive gamble, especially given that no other company had managed to take the platform mainstream.

European carriers have already said that Nokia's flagship Lumia handset would be much easier to sell if it ran Android rather than Microsoft's Windows Phone platform.

"No one comes into the store and asks for a Windows phone," said an executive in charge of mobile devices for one European operator. "If the Lumia with the same hardware came with Android in it and not Windows, it would be much easier to sell," he added.

And things look bleak for Windows Phone. Yesterday, market research firm Strategy Analytics predicted that 123 million smartphones would be sold in the U.S. during 2012, but Windows Phone would power only 4 percent of those, or less than 5 million.

"Microsoft is making a determined push to crack the United States because it is the most valuable and influential smartphone market in the world. However, Microsoft's U.S. smartphone market share remains relatively niche at present and breaking the stranglehold of leaders Android and Apple will not be easy," Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston said.

Unless Microsoft is either going to continue bailing Nokia out, or is looking for the company to hit rock bottom before making a move to buy it, then Nokia really needs to figure out how it can kick-start smartphone sales. The quickest and easiest way for the company to do that would be to embrace Google's Android platform. It's clear that its partnership with Microsoft it not paying off and has taken a floundering, yet overall promising, company and driven it into the dirt.

It's unclear at present whether there exists a space for a third player in the mobile operating system market space. RIM's BlackBerry is floundering and Microsoft's Windows Phone is spinning its wheels. The market is owned by Google's Android platform and Apple's iOS , and the only route open to Nokia is to embrace the open source platform, or die a painful death -- clinging onto the hope that Windows Phone will go big.

...

http://www.zdnet.com...hip-7000001212/

and another take on it from a different source (that produces alternate choices but scenario doesn't seem bright)

How do you solve a problem like Nokia?

Keep simplifying

One of the brutal-but-necessary cuts that Stephen Elop made was chopping back the mess of systems and services Nokia was trying to balance. After his burning platform memo laid out the situation ahead of the company, the plug was pulled on MeeGo, and Symbian while not quite dead was put on life support.

Look to the past

Plenty of people think that while Nokia?s previous strategy was not perfect, it at least had it in control of the full stack: hardware and software. For some that means that there is still a chance that MeeGo, the Linux-based OS that emerged from work done by Nokia, Intel and others. The MeeGo-powered N9, for example, had a lot of fans.

Go Android

Nokia has already said in the past that it considered working with Google but decided against becoming just one of dozens of manufacturers building on Android. And in a situation where it has, that argument makes plenty of sense ? after all, why become yet another Android supplier when you can work closely with a software provider (in this case, Microsoft) in a productive, close relationship?

Except here?s the problem, Microsoft is not proving to be the partner Nokia expected: the appearance of Microsoft Surface tablet PC shows its apparent willingness to **** off OEMs, while the decision to make Windows 8 incompatible with previous versions left Nokia having to rapidly discount Lumia handsets.

That?s left plenty of people suggesting that maybe Android will be the way to go

Get rid of Stephen Elop

Like many former Nokia staff, Tomi Ahonen ? now a prominent mobile industry analyst ? is bullish about the company?s fortunes? if it chooses the right path. But right now, he suggests, what is happening is ?carnage?, as the business jettisons its strengths in order to chase. The answer? A change at the top.

In a blog post on Thursday, Ahonen pointed out that the former Microsoft man has presided over a massive decline and suggested his removal would be best for the company

http://gigaom.com/eu...lem-like-nokia/

[.Neo]

The main problem with Windows Phone is its name. Microsoft singlehandedly destroyed the reputation of both the Windows Mobile/Phone and Internet Explorer brands. People simply aren't quick to forget what happened in the recent past. The company could have had a fresh start by calling it Metro Phone with a different logo and a proper international launch. They failed at doing both and screwed up on many levels. Real shame and quite frankly unbelievable for a company the size of Microsoft.

So far I'm absolutely loving my Nokia Lumia 900 and the Windows Phone experience. I have no plans buying a Nokia phone again if they decide to switch to Android.

[still1]

sad that they are killing wp7 like wm 6..

i wonder when wp8 will be killed like usual.

[M_Lyons10]

The main problem with Windows Phone is its name. Microsoft singlehandedly destroyed the reputation of both the Windows Mobile/Phone and Internet Explorer brands. People simply aren't quick to forget what happened in the recent past. The company could have had a fresh start by calling it Metro Phone with a different logo and a proper international launch. They failed at doing both and screwed up on many levels. Real shame and quite frankly unbelievable for a company the size of Microsoft.

So far I'm absolutely loving my Nokia Lumia 900 and the Windows Phone experience. I have no plans buying a Nokia phone again if they decide to switch to Android.

It's a great OS and will certainly be taking market share as the platform grows.

And I really don't understand how people can be so short sighted... I guess it's a good thing these people aren't running companies, they wouldn't be around for very long. If Nokia went Android, they would have all of that OS development again AND wouldn't be able to differentiate as well. AND, their handset sales and financials are improving under WP. Something people like to ignore.

sad that they are killing wp7 like wm 6..

i wonder when wp8 will be killed like usual.

And they are not killing WP7. If you actually paid attention instead of making nonsensical posts, a lot of the improvements in WP8 are hardware related. How do you put that update on a phone without that hardware? It would be stupid and inefficient. They are instead, being smart about it, and shipping 7.8 for those devices, which contains features that were software only...

[Praetor]

if Nokia made the choice of using Android as the flagship OS instead WP, it could beat Samsung as worlds Android top provider; good hardware and good branding but Windows Phone? not saying that it's bad, not at all; it's just it's late in the race and the low quantity of apps isn't getting more sales.

[Xilo]

It's over. Nokia is finished.

The company could have had a fresh start by calling it Metro Phone with a different logo and a proper international launch.

Calling it Metro Phone would do even more harm than calling it Windows Phone had done.

[Rudy]

The main problem with Windows Phone is its name. Microsoft singlehandedly destroyed the reputation of both the Windows Mobile/Phone and Internet Explorer brands. People simply aren't quick to forget what happened in the recent past. The company could have had a fresh start by calling it Metro Phone with a different logo and a proper international launch. They failed at doing both and screwed up on many levels. Real shame and quite frankly unbelievable for a company the size of Microsoft.

So far I'm absolutely loving my Nokia Lumia 900 and the Windows Phone experience. I have no plans buying a Nokia phone again if they decide to switch to Android.

Not only that but they really screwed the few people who gave them a chance

[BajiRav]

Ahonen pointed out that the former Microsoft man has presided over a massive decline and suggested his removal would be best for the company

This is such a simplistic view of what went wrong at Nokia. They were in decline regardless of the actions of Elop.

[Praetor]

And they are not killing WP7. If you actually paid attention instead of making nonsensical posts, a lot of the improvements in WP8 are hardware related. How do you put that update on a phone without that hardware? It would be stupid and inefficient. They are instead, being smart about it, and shipping 7.8 for those devices, which contains features that were software only...

killing WP7? no, of course not! just because WP8 is getting out and it's unsupported in every Lumia released today, not even the so-fresh 900. Definitely a sales booster /s

besides, i doubt Nokia could ditch Windows and go Android. I mean, they have contracts with Microsoft..

[Orange Battery]

Nokia is not finished, they make better phones than pretty much every other company.

The reason I haven't purchased a Nokia handset in the last few years is Symbian had fallen behind others when my N73 contract ended so i got a HTC Desire and then all the latest Nokia's had WP7 on them so I got a HTC One X after that.

Nokia should embrace Android and also work on their own OS, the should also stock WP8.

Imagine Nokia hardware with Android software - nobody could compete.

[thealexweb]

Nokia went to all the effort and cost of developing MeeGo, it should not have been cast aside so hastily, the N9 got great reviews and sold relatively well considering not being brought to major markets or being advertised at all.

[still1]

It's a great OS and will certainly be taking market share as the platform grows.

And they are not killing WP7. If you actually paid attention instead of making nonsensical posts, a lot of the improvements in WP8 are hardware related. How do you put that update on a phone without that hardware? It would be stupid and inefficient. They are instead, being smart about it, and shipping 7.8 for those devices, which contains features that were software only...

when wp7 no longer support wp8 apps then its called killing just like wm6... wm6 still sells but it considered dead because of no support for apps,... wp7.8 might be released but doubt there will be other update except security/bug fixes.

iphone 3gs still support apps for latest iphone...

[efjay]

Android doesnt seem to be helping HTC that much nowadays, is it?

[thealexweb]

Android doesnt seem to be helping HTC that much nowadays, is it?

As a HTC owner it's not Android itself that's the problem, it's their confusing range of similar phones, the One series started off as three phones now it's five and there are other new non-One series phones too. Also things like the Desire HD update u-torn fiasco damages consumer trust. Samsung isn't much better on the update front but somehow has shown it can be successful with Android.

[BajiRav]

when wp7 no longer support wp8 apps then its called killing just like wm6... wm6 still sells but it considered dead because of no support for apps,... wp7.8 might be released but doubt there will be other update except security/bug fixes.

iphone 3gs still support apps for latest iphone...

so why can't 3GS do Siri then?

[.Neo]

Calling it Metro Phone would do even more harm than calling it Windows Phone had done.

Hardly. "Windows" just doesn't speak to the imagination as being something cool and fresh. Next to that Microsoft poisoned the name. I hope you do understand "Metro Phone" was just an example, rather than something I really expected them to pick?

[Boz]

It's over. Nokia is finished.

Sadly I'd have to agree.. they are looking more and more like RIM.

Android doesnt seem to be helping HTC that much nowadays, is it?

it has nothing to do with Android and everything to do with companies themselves. Samsung seems to be breaking all kinds of records and outselling Apple 2-to-1 with MONSTER profits thanks to Android. So the point is moot. It just shows it's not Android, it's the company making the hardware.

Nokia is more like Samsung rather than HTC.

[Xilo]

Hardly. "Windows" just doesn't speak to the imagination as being something cool and fresh. Next to that Microsoft poisoned the name. I hope you do understand "Metro Phone" was just an example, rather than something I really expected them to pick?

Well obviously. I'm just saying Metro Phone is even worse than Windows Phone...

[TheElite]

I would definitely buy a Nokia phone with Android on it.

[.Neo]

Well obviously. I'm just saying Metro Phone is even worse than Windows Phone...

Again, it was just meant as a placeholder to get my point across.

[+Fahim S. MVC]

Yes, Nokia will fail because a bunch of analysts said so....

Just like the analysts said Android was going to fail...

hang on a minute.....

[ahhell]

ZDnet was one of the sources so this has ZERO credibility.

[+Fahim S. MVC]

ZDnet was one of the sources so this has ZERO credibility.

And the other published an article on how Metro would help Microsoft wipe out Android...

http://gigaom.com/mo...y-kill-android/

Zero credibility - just trying to get hits

[Gaffney]

sad that they are killing wp7 like wm 6..

i wonder when wp8 will be killed like usual.

Erm what? That's like saying Apple killed iOS 3. Microsoft isn't killing anything, they are adding support for newer hardware. WP8 add support for hardware, WP7.8 adds software updates.

[Ridiculous]

Nokia need time. WP need time. Android is not the way to go. Popular, but is it perceived secure? BTW Nokia Stock +50% the past 6 days.