4 ms·

Wow, the comments here are just, well not very hacker new'sish. Lots of glib one liners about mistakes with no actual commentary as to why its a bad idea. Or j

Wow, the comments here are just, well not very hacker new'sish. Lots of glib one liners about mistakes with no actual commentary as to why its a bad idea. Or jokes about how Microsoft is a negative brand, or the devil. Here's the thing. 1) Microsoft didn't buy permanent use of the Nokia brand so they need to brand as something. 2) the Microsoft brand is very strong and positive with most demographics. Heck most people in tech that I respect now admit that Microsoft is a pretty good company now, both to work for and for their products. If you have a problem with the brand, then layout your point but putting out a single sentence isn't very helpful.

hga 13y ago
Per http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/sep13/09-02announcementpr.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/sep13/09-02an... they did buy use of the brand, but only for current products. So if they want to come out with anything new, it's got to have a Lumia or Asha brand, which they bought outright, or something else, like Microsoft.
Zigurd 13y ago
OK, here is why this is one of the worst, yet completely willful deals ever in tech: 1. Microsoft does not need Nokia. Anyone can work with an ODM to develop and manufacture a high quality smartphone, tablet, or PC. 2. Microsoft didn't even get "Nokia." After a short transition, the brand stays with the rest of Nokia. 3. Microsoft didn't get the patents. 4. Microsoft didn't get the ecosystem. No maps. No Music. No app store. 5. Microsoft got only a very short period of exclusivity. In 2016, around the time Jolla will have matured their business enough to spin back in to Nokia, which is still a large telecom company, Nokia gets to go back into making phones. Meanwhile, Jolla is where you will see Nokia's ecosystem on phones. 6. Microsoft gets ALL of Nokia's legacy phone business. Series 30. The briefly prospering and now dying Asha. Old Series 40. And the factories that make these devices. "Here ya go, Satya. Have fun with this. I'm outta here!" 7. Microsoft gets an interesting but under-developed Android -based successor to Asha. Microsoft will kill it. But they should keep it and allow it to compete against Windows Phone. The important thing is for Micrsoft to have an attractive ecosystem, and an internal competitor to Windows Phone that drives development of a Microsoft ecosystem accessible to Android users would be good for Microsoft. Maybe Satya Nadella is daring enough to keep it. But I would not bet on that happening. 8. It was a shotgun wedding. It was all about the downside of Nokia abandoning or de-emphasizing Windows Phone. Windows Phone isn't worth saving. Bringing the Microsoft ecosystem to many phone platforms is what should be happening.
- pessimizer 13y ago
  >5. Microsoft got only a very short period of exclusivity. In 2016, around the time Jolla will have matured their business enough to spin back in to Nokia, which is still a large telecom company, Nokia gets to go back into making phones. Meanwhile, Jolla is where you will see Nokia's ecosystem on phones. If only. The thought of this possibility will cheer me up all day today.
- anjc 13y ago
  Microsoft seem to have been moving towards an Apple-like vertical integration strategy, and the buyout of Devices & Services seems consistent with this. As part of the buyout, Microsoft have bought the rights to use the patents, and have the option of extending these rights in perpetuity. Why would Microsoft want a Microsoft ecosystem accessible to Android users? Windows Phone market share has increased year on year, why isn't it worth 'saving' (I don't think it needs saving, but rather, cultivating)?
- cwyers 13y ago
  I don't get this line of thinking. Microsoft should pack up their efforts to build their own full-service ecosystem and commit to being a player on Google and Apple's ecosystems, but Nokia should commit themselves to putting their entire ecosystem on freaking JOLLA? If Windows Phone is a failure, Jolla is a conga line of ten failures walking straight off a cliff.
pekk 13y ago
HN has changed, the new normal seems much more similar to Slashdot. The huge political slant, for one. But I sympathize with your complaint.

hga 13y ago

Per http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/sep13/09-02announcementpr.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/sep13/09-02an... they did buy use of the brand, but only for current products. So if they want to come out with anything new, it's got to have a Lumia or Asha brand, which they bought outright, or something else, like Microsoft.

Zigurd 13y ago

OK, here is why this is one of the worst, yet completely willful deals ever in tech: 1. Microsoft does not need Nokia. Anyone can work with an ODM to develop and manufacture a high quality smartphone, tablet, or PC. 2. Microsoft didn't even get "Nokia." After a short transition, the brand stays with the rest of Nokia. 3. Microsoft didn't get the patents. 4. Microsoft didn't get the ecosystem. No maps. No Music. No app store. 5. Microsoft got only a very short period of exclusivity. In 2016, around the time Jolla will have matured their business enough to spin back in to Nokia, which is still a large telecom company, Nokia gets to go back into making phones. Meanwhile, Jolla is where you will see Nokia's ecosystem on phones. 6. Microsoft gets ALL of Nokia's legacy phone business. Series 30. The briefly prospering and now dying Asha. Old Series 40. And the factories that make these devices. "Here ya go, Satya. Have fun with this. I'm outta here!" 7. Microsoft gets an interesting but under-developed Android -based successor to Asha. Microsoft will kill it. But they should keep it and allow it to compete against Windows Phone. The important thing is for Micrsoft to have an attractive ecosystem, and an internal competitor to Windows Phone that drives development of a Microsoft ecosystem accessible to Android users would be good for Microsoft. Maybe Satya Nadella is daring enough to keep it. But I would not bet on that happening. 8. It was a shotgun wedding. It was all about the downside of Nokia abandoning or de-emphasizing Windows Phone. Windows Phone isn't worth saving. Bringing the Microsoft ecosystem to many phone platforms is what should be happening.

pessimizer 13y ago
>5. Microsoft got only a very short period of exclusivity. In 2016, around the time Jolla will have matured their business enough to spin back in to Nokia, which is still a large telecom company, Nokia gets to go back into making phones. Meanwhile, Jolla is where you will see Nokia's ecosystem on phones. If only. The thought of this possibility will cheer me up all day today.
anjc 13y ago
Microsoft seem to have been moving towards an Apple-like vertical integration strategy, and the buyout of Devices & Services seems consistent with this. As part of the buyout, Microsoft have bought the rights to use the patents, and have the option of extending these rights in perpetuity. Why would Microsoft want a Microsoft ecosystem accessible to Android users? Windows Phone market share has increased year on year, why isn't it worth 'saving' (I don't think it needs saving, but rather, cultivating)?
cwyers 13y ago
I don't get this line of thinking. Microsoft should pack up their efforts to build their own full-service ecosystem and commit to being a player on Google and Apple's ecosystems, but Nokia should commit themselves to putting their entire ecosystem on freaking JOLLA? If Windows Phone is a failure, Jolla is a conga line of ten failures walking straight off a cliff.

pekk 13y ago

HN has changed, the new normal seems much more similar to Slashdot. The huge political slant, for one. But I sympathize with your complaint.