6 ms·

Microsoft ditching the Nokia name on smartphones

40 points by nmjenkins 12y ago

fulafel 12y ago
Previous discussion (41 days ago): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8298449 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8298449
otoburb 12y ago
>The announcement comes despite Microsoft agreeing to a 10-year deal to use the Nokia name on mobile products. That clause either didn't have much bite, or was only a verbal side agreement/PR stunt and wasn't actually written into the acquisition agreement(s). EDIT: This article[1] clarifies via the relevant quote: >"Microsoft has also agreed to a 10-year license arrangement with Nokia to use the Nokia brand on current and subsequently developed Mobile Phones based on the Series 30 and Series 40 operating systems," Nokia said in a recent US filing. Basically, Microsoft has the option to use the Nokia brand name and is presumably paying Nokia as part of the 10-yr brand license deal. Without knowing the specifics of the license agreement, Microsoft may have tied any transfer payments based on gross revenue from Microsoft Nokia-branded mobile products; simply dropping the brand name might be a convenient way to side-step any payments to Nokia if they had the foresight to add escape clauses to the agreement. [1] http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/nokia-cannot-use-mobile-brand-post-microsoft-deal-until-2016-422340 http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/nokia-cannot-use-mobile...
- raverbashing 12y ago
  Yeah, looks like an option and maybe it's even payed for Meaning that MS can, but is not obligated to name it Nokia
pessimizer 12y ago
They only have the name exclusively until December 2015. After that point, Nokia can release mobile phones again under its own brand. http://followingjolla.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-small-print-three-ways-nokia-can.html http://followingjolla.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-small-print-t...
fidotron 12y ago
This whole deal, from the moment Elop went to Nokia, was a disaster in slow motion. That the current Lumias are so good, yet sell at unsustainable levels, shows just how fundamentally flawed Microsoft's strategy has been, and continues to be. They've been solidly outplayed at their old embrace, extend, extinguish game, and unless they can get back into that mode mobile will just be dead to them. And I say this as someone that would welcome a strong third player, because the App Store/Play Store duopoly is stagnating fast.
- chucknelson 12y ago
  Stagnating how? Less fancy whiz-bang shiny maybe-novelty features to entertain the tech blogs and mainstream media? Since the iPhone arrived in 2007, phones in general have made incredible advances in mobile performance, networking/cell, form factor and screen technology. This continues today, with things like crazy-high ppi screens and 8-core processors in Android phones, to things like Touch ID and the Ax SOCs in Apple's phones.
  - fidotron 12y ago
    The opposite. All there is now is shiny shiny - there has been no change in substance for a long time, in mobile terms. Yes, the chips etc. are ridiculous, but no one has a clue what to use them for, so they're just creating fluff.
    - tdicola 12y ago
      That's a pretty narrow view of things IMHO. Smartphones are much more usable than they were 2-3 years ago and lightyears beyond what they were 7-8 years ago. Phone web browsers are just as fast as real computers, and fast LTE connections keep things moving quickly. I remember the early days of the first iPhone era smartphones and would never want to go back to them. The web browsers sucked and overall the phones were too slow to do anything beyond check a simple web page. Now a big smartphone or phablet could easily replace a laptop for most people's needs.
      - 12y ago
stealthlogic 12y ago
Way to run Nokia into the ground Microsoft.
- freehunter 12y ago
  Way to run Nokia into the ground, Nokia. Along with every other handset maker pre-iPhone who did not immediately release an iPhone competitor (Microsoft, Blackberry, Palm, etc). They all failed, just some of them lasted longer than others did.
- adamman 12y ago
  Nokia got lazy. They saw the iPhone and didn't change course until it was too late. If anything, Microsoft kept them above ground.
  - pessimizer 12y ago
    Microsoft put Nokia into the ground with a single speech that obsoleted all of the phones that they had in the wild (and were still trying to get people to buy) for a phone that they hadn't developed yet. The N900 and N9 were better than the iPhone, although that's not saying much.
DigitalSea 12y ago
I think the problem with the lacklustre sales and drop in stature of the Nokia brand is not the Nokia name, it is the fact that the Windows phone operating system pales in comparison to Android and iOS. I do not mean "pales" as in Android or iOS is superior, I mean when it comes to the very thing most of us use our phones for (besides texting, email and making calls): applications and games, they are nonexistent on Windows Phone OS. If Microsoft were to release a Lumia phone running Android, I would definitely buy one, no question or doubt about it. The latest Lumia phones are incredible pieces of hardware; nice design, nice internal hardware, responsive touchscreen, good battery life and one of the best cameras in a phone currently on the market. It is so painfully obvious and as usual, Microsoft just do not get it. They have some of the best phones on the market, but they go relatively unnoticed because they're running an operating system most people are not interested in using or dislike. I have a Samsung Galaxy S5, but if I had a choice of a Lumia phone like the Lumia 930 running Android, I would have bought that instead. I have longed for a Lumia phone running Android for a while now. Microsoft should just ditch Windows Phone OS or at the very least, sell two variants, give the customers a choice, do not make them have one over the other. One running Android and the other Windows. I can already tell you which version would be more popular. I feel as though the reason the flagship Lumia phones are not running Android is because Microsoft feels like it would be admitting defeat. They have invested a lot of money in the operating system, purchase of Nokia and continued development of new phone models, it has become more of a pride thing now and the fact they have committed to Windows Phone OS so much they could not easily back out from it even if they wanted too. Free the hardware. Give consumers choice. If you prefer Windows Phone OS, then buy a Lumia running Windows Phone OS or if you are like many consumers out there wanting to stay up-to-date and having access to the latest games and applications, buy a Lumia running Android.
- dangrossman 12y ago
  Isn't that the Nokia X line of phones? http://www.microsoft.com/en/mobile/phones/nokia-x/ http://www.microsoft.com/en/mobile/phones/nokia-x/
  - DigitalSea 12y ago
    Nokia X phones do not possess the same great specs and hardware as the Lumia line of phones. I was referring to the lack of Lumia phone running Android. If the Lumia 930 ran Android, I would buy it in a heartbeat. I know a lot of people would.
thisjepisje 12y ago
No more Nokia/Microsoft dumbphones? :(

40 points by nmjenkins 12y ago

Previous discussion (41 days ago): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8298449 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8298449

otoburb 12y ago

>The announcement comes despite Microsoft agreeing to a 10-year deal to use the Nokia name on mobile products. That clause either didn't have much bite, or was only a verbal side agreement/PR stunt and wasn't actually written into the acquisition agreement(s). EDIT: This article[1] clarifies via the relevant quote: >"Microsoft has also agreed to a 10-year license arrangement with Nokia to use the Nokia brand on current and subsequently developed Mobile Phones based on the Series 30 and Series 40 operating systems," Nokia said in a recent US filing. Basically, Microsoft has the option to use the Nokia brand name and is presumably paying Nokia as part of the 10-yr brand license deal. Without knowing the specifics of the license agreement, Microsoft may have tied any transfer payments based on gross revenue from Microsoft Nokia-branded mobile products; simply dropping the brand name might be a convenient way to side-step any payments to Nokia if they had the foresight to add escape clauses to the agreement. [1] http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/nokia-cannot-use-mobile-brand-post-microsoft-deal-until-2016-422340 http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/nokia-cannot-use-mobile...

raverbashing 12y ago
Yeah, looks like an option and maybe it's even payed for Meaning that MS can, but is not obligated to name it Nokia

pessimizer 12y ago

They only have the name exclusively until December 2015. After that point, Nokia can release mobile phones again under its own brand. http://followingjolla.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-small-print-three-ways-nokia-can.html http://followingjolla.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-small-print-t...

fidotron 12y ago

This whole deal, from the moment Elop went to Nokia, was a disaster in slow motion. That the current Lumias are so good, yet sell at unsustainable levels, shows just how fundamentally flawed Microsoft's strategy has been, and continues to be. They've been solidly outplayed at their old embrace, extend, extinguish game, and unless they can get back into that mode mobile will just be dead to them. And I say this as someone that would welcome a strong third player, because the App Store/Play Store duopoly is stagnating fast.

chucknelson 12y ago
Stagnating how? Less fancy whiz-bang shiny maybe-novelty features to entertain the tech blogs and mainstream media? Since the iPhone arrived in 2007, phones in general have made incredible advances in mobile performance, networking/cell, form factor and screen technology. This continues today, with things like crazy-high ppi screens and 8-core processors in Android phones, to things like Touch ID and the Ax SOCs in Apple's phones.
- fidotron 12y ago
  The opposite. All there is now is shiny shiny - there has been no change in substance for a long time, in mobile terms. Yes, the chips etc. are ridiculous, but no one has a clue what to use them for, so they're just creating fluff.
  - tdicola 12y ago
    That's a pretty narrow view of things IMHO. Smartphones are much more usable than they were 2-3 years ago and lightyears beyond what they were 7-8 years ago. Phone web browsers are just as fast as real computers, and fast LTE connections keep things moving quickly. I remember the early days of the first iPhone era smartphones and would never want to go back to them. The web browsers sucked and overall the phones were too slow to do anything beyond check a simple web page. Now a big smartphone or phablet could easily replace a laptop for most people's needs.
    - 12y ago

stealthlogic 12y ago

Way to run Nokia into the ground Microsoft.

freehunter 12y ago
Way to run Nokia into the ground, Nokia. Along with every other handset maker pre-iPhone who did not immediately release an iPhone competitor (Microsoft, Blackberry, Palm, etc). They all failed, just some of them lasted longer than others did.
adamman 12y ago
Nokia got lazy. They saw the iPhone and didn't change course until it was too late. If anything, Microsoft kept them above ground.
- pessimizer 12y ago
  Microsoft put Nokia into the ground with a single speech that obsoleted all of the phones that they had in the wild (and were still trying to get people to buy) for a phone that they hadn't developed yet. The N900 and N9 were better than the iPhone, although that's not saying much.

DigitalSea 12y ago

I think the problem with the lacklustre sales and drop in stature of the Nokia brand is not the Nokia name, it is the fact that the Windows phone operating system pales in comparison to Android and iOS. I do not mean "pales" as in Android or iOS is superior, I mean when it comes to the very thing most of us use our phones for (besides texting, email and making calls): applications and games, they are nonexistent on Windows Phone OS. If Microsoft were to release a Lumia phone running Android, I would definitely buy one, no question or doubt about it. The latest Lumia phones are incredible pieces of hardware; nice design, nice internal hardware, responsive touchscreen, good battery life and one of the best cameras in a phone currently on the market. It is so painfully obvious and as usual, Microsoft just do not get it. They have some of the best phones on the market, but they go relatively unnoticed because they're running an operating system most people are not interested in using or dislike. I have a Samsung Galaxy S5, but if I had a choice of a Lumia phone like the Lumia 930 running Android, I would have bought that instead. I have longed for a Lumia phone running Android for a while now. Microsoft should just ditch Windows Phone OS or at the very least, sell two variants, give the customers a choice, do not make them have one over the other. One running Android and the other Windows. I can already tell you which version would be more popular. I feel as though the reason the flagship Lumia phones are not running Android is because Microsoft feels like it would be admitting defeat. They have invested a lot of money in the operating system, purchase of Nokia and continued development of new phone models, it has become more of a pride thing now and the fact they have committed to Windows Phone OS so much they could not easily back out from it even if they wanted too. Free the hardware. Give consumers choice. If you prefer Windows Phone OS, then buy a Lumia running Windows Phone OS or if you are like many consumers out there wanting to stay up-to-date and having access to the latest games and applications, buy a Lumia running Android.

dangrossman 12y ago
Isn't that the Nokia X line of phones? http://www.microsoft.com/en/mobile/phones/nokia-x/ http://www.microsoft.com/en/mobile/phones/nokia-x/
- DigitalSea 12y ago
  Nokia X phones do not possess the same great specs and hardware as the Lumia line of phones. I was referring to the lack of Lumia phone running Android. If the Lumia 930 ran Android, I would buy it in a heartbeat. I know a lot of people would.

thisjepisje 12y ago

No more Nokia/Microsoft dumbphones? :(