Nokia and Microsoft have been working together on Windows Phone for a couple years now. Nokia committed to make the OS their “primary smartphone strategy,” but unfortunately the global adoption for Windows Phone has yet to peak. The rise of Apple’s iOS and Google” Android OS have dominated the past several years and Nokia has outwardly declared they have “no plan B.”
There might be some tension rising, or at least second guessing, within the ranks of Nokia as a recent SEC filing indicates “we may not be able to make Nokia products with Windows Phone a competitive choice for consumers unless the Windows Phone ecosystem becomes a competitive and profitable global ecosystem that achieves sufficient scale, value and attractiveness to relevant market participants.” Analysts have been saying this for months. Nokia hardware is beautifully built and well manufactured. They have a full range of hardware devices that differ in price, topping out at the LTE-enabled 1.5 GHz dual-core Nokia Lumia 920. It’s the OS that some believe hinders the experience.
Another point of contention is the possibility of Microsoft launching a “Surface Phone,” similar to the Surface Tablet. In the filing Nokia stated “Microsoft may make strategic decisions or changes that may be detrimental to us. For example, in addition to the Surface tablet, Microsoft may broaden its strategy to sell other mobile devices under its own brand, including smartphones. This could lead Microsoft to focus more on their own devices and less on mobile devices of other manufacturers that operate on the Windows Phone platform, including Nokia.”
Of course, this is not confirming the existence of the rumoured Surface phone, but gives a good indication that there is truth to the rumour. Last October there was a report that Microsoft was testing the Windows Phone powered Surface Phone at their Redmond campus, but nothing has surfaced since, or been announced.
Perhaps Nokia should consider having a plan B, maybe Android or BlackBerry.
Source: Nokia SEC Filing
Via: The Verge & ZDNet
Image: Jonas Daehnert
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