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Sometimes when I'm in the mood for a little self-congratulation, I look back on a blog piece I wrote shortly after the Burning Platform memo and subsequent move

Sometimes when I'm in the mood for a little self-congratulation, I look back on a blog piece I wrote shortly after the Burning Platform memo and subsequent move towards Windows Phone: http://weston.canncentral.org/writing/index.php?2011/02/18/00:00/Why-Nokia-is-Doomed http://weston.canncentral.org/writing/index.php?2011/02/18/0... I was pretty ignorant of the rest of Nokia's business outside of mobile devices, and there are some particulars that differed a bit, but I think I called basic trajectory they traced in the mobile market from that point pretty well: premier hardware maker loses lead in market shift, turns to Microsoft for software partnership, finds itself still struggling in a competitive market, now working with another failing software platform whose destiny it can't control on top of its other problems, eventually is "married" by Microsoft. Now divorced, and looking to make a new life, it would seem.

jpalomaki 9y ago
Can't help thinking that selling the phones to Microsoft was the plan-B all along and one of the reasons why they brought in Elop and decided to go with Windows. Selling to Microsoft when things went bad was a pretty big thing. If they had not been able to sell the mobile phone business for decent price, it might have taken down the whole company. Considering what happened, the outcome for Nokia was (IMHO) pretty spectacular.
- rbanffy 9y ago
  I have the feeling it was plan-A for Microsoft all the time. Shuttling someone loyal to your company to the top job of a struggling acquisition target is a genius move. Nokia was struggling to differentiate itself by making their own OS, which is, in retrospect, a huge mistake. Had they gone with Android, they'd leverage all their knowledge of the Linux kernel on their own hardware. Getting Android to run on the N9 would probably have been trivial and they would have a compelling product in no time. The whole model of the handset market changed - instead of courting telcos, they needed to court end-users and they totally blew that up.
  - hajile 9y ago
    The N9 was probably the most successful unmarketed and unavailable (not in any primary markets that could afford it) phone in history. It's big brother was only available as a dev device. There's plenty of evidence that there was demand. I'd love to see them relaunch a similar device with updated specs today. I'd certainly get one.

jpalomaki 9y ago

Can't help thinking that selling the phones to Microsoft was the plan-B all along and one of the reasons why they brought in Elop and decided to go with Windows. Selling to Microsoft when things went bad was a pretty big thing. If they had not been able to sell the mobile phone business for decent price, it might have taken down the whole company. Considering what happened, the outcome for Nokia was (IMHO) pretty spectacular.

rbanffy 9y ago
I have the feeling it was plan-A for Microsoft all the time. Shuttling someone loyal to your company to the top job of a struggling acquisition target is a genius move. Nokia was struggling to differentiate itself by making their own OS, which is, in retrospect, a huge mistake. Had they gone with Android, they'd leverage all their knowledge of the Linux kernel on their own hardware. Getting Android to run on the N9 would probably have been trivial and they would have a compelling product in no time. The whole model of the handset market changed - instead of courting telcos, they needed to court end-users and they totally blew that up.
- hajile 9y ago
  The N9 was probably the most successful unmarketed and unavailable (not in any primary markets that could afford it) phone in history. It's big brother was only available as a dev device. There's plenty of evidence that there was demand. I'd love to see them relaunch a similar device with updated specs today. I'd certainly get one.