Ouch! That hurts. At least to me, having been a Nokia loyalist for the 7th year running. There was a time when all we used to hear about mobile phones was model numbers like 1100, 3310, 2300 et al. Nokia was once the unchallenged and undisputed leader in the mobile phone market with nearest competitors actually ‘miles’ away.
People were just in love with the Symbian platform which had some great features and was touted to be the best mobile user experience in the market. But after the introduction of Android and iOS mobile platforms, people started realizing that there is something better than the ‘best’.
Apple iPhones running on the iOS platform were a hit, with even celebrities lining up to procure them while the Android phones found a huge user fan base with their easy rendition of basic mobile computing tasks apart from great special features.
Suddenly, Nokia found itself in a triangle competing with Android devices and Apple iPhones. And gradually it started loosing user base, with 31st May 2011 reporting to be the day when Nokia’s shares tumbled nearly 20%, the lowest in 13 years.
Microsoft had entered rather late in the smartphone market and were looking for a quick way to get the numbers.
Keeping the present scenario in mind with ever-reducing user interest, Nokia joined hands with Microsoft to develop its mobile devices on the Windows Phone 7 platform, the hugely promising and exciting mobile OS from Microsoft.
Promising to dish out the first Nokia mobile device on the Windows Phone 7 platform later this year, Nokia, today, abandoned the hope of meeting targets just weeks of setting them, raising speculation whether its new CEO, an ex-Microsoftie Mr.Stephen Elop can fulfill the promise of an overhaul of Nokia’s phone business, as set three months ago.
“Strategy transitions are difficult. we recognize the need to deliver great mobile products, and therefore we must accelerate the pace of our transition,” Elop said in the filing. “Our teams are aligned, and we have increased confidence that we will ship our first Nokia product with Windows Phone in the fourth quarter 2011.”
Nokia is in a soup at present. But what needs to be watched out is whether the ‘ingredients’ provided by Microsoft will help in changing the soup from ‘sour’ to ‘sweet’.
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