Top 5 rumours to confirm/dismiss at Nokia’s Feb 11 strategy briefing
Nokia is poised to unveil a brand-new strategy at a February 11 briefing to investors in London. Rumour has it the Finnish mobile giant is set to announce some dramatic changes tomorrow morning.
Big announcements are expected at least according to recent buzz partially based on a leaked internal memo, titled “Standing on a burning platform,” in which Nokia executive Stephen Elop says Nokia is being attacked on all fronts -- by Apple from the high-end, Android from the middle and MediaTek from below.
Here are top 5 five rumours expected to be confirmed or dismissed at tomorrow's briefing:
1. Nokia to partner with Microsoft to make Windows Phone 7 devices
Rumours of such a Microsoft-Nokia deal have been rife ever since analyst Adnaan Ahmad of Berenberg Bank in Hamburg wrote an open letter in the Financial Times suggesting that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and top Nokia executive Stephen Elop (a former Microsoft exec) form a partnership.
The arrangement could boost Windows Phone 7 sales in Microsoft's attempt to gain against Android and the iPhone, and help Nokia, the one-time U.S. market leader, which has fallen to only 2 percent of the U.S. market.
2. Nokia to reorganize its board
Reports say Nokia is looking for new people to head up operating systems and R&D. The head of the mobile-phones unit will also be probably be shown the door. Reuters quotes the German weekly Wirtschaftswoche as reporting that Mary T. McDowell, in charge of Nokia's mobile phones unit, and Niklas Savander, the manager of the markets unit, may both be shown the door. Chief Development Officer Kai Oistamo and Tero Ojanpera, the manager responsible for services and mobile solutions are also possibly on the chopping block.
Given that these are the people in charge of the strategy that has led to Nokia's current woes, it would make sense if they were to go if a Microsoft deal were in the works, according to Preston Gralla of Computerworld.
3. Nokia abandoning MeeGo
Reuters reported Nokia has ended development of its first smartphone using its new MeeGo operating system before it was ever launched, two industry sources close to the company said. A spokesman for Nokia declined to comment.
The yet unproven MeeGo software platform, seen as a key weapon in Nokia's battle against Apple and Google in the high end smartphone market, was created early last year from the merger of Nokia and Intel's Linux-based platforms Maemo and Moblin.
MeeGo could have been Nokia's choice for its smartphone platform, but since it hasn't announced any MeeGo phones yet—and the first MeeGo device was supposedly cancelled—it appears Nokia no longer puts much faith in the OS it co-founded, according to Peter Pachal of PCMag
4. Nokia moving to Silicon Valley
A report by Andrew Orlowski at The Register says that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop plans to move the “executive center” of the company to Silicon Valley, where a “virtual HQ” is planned.
In order to more strongly focus on America, Elop is rumored to be doing a lot of things, including moving the company headquarters to California, where Nokia’s board of directors would be able to more easily hob-nob with other Silicon Valley execs.
5. Nokia to make Android devices
Calls to at least consider Android are growing asNokia has been steadily losing share to not only Android phones but also the iPhone, which has been impacting Nokia's footprint since launch in June 2007.
If Nokia is desperate for an OS partner for its smartphones, open-source Google Android is the only other logical contender than Windows Phone 7.