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"Today we are committed and satisfied with Microsoft, but anything is possible," says Nokia's...
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Monday, January 7, 2:09 PM ET"Today we are committed and satisfied with Microsoft, but anything is possible," says Nokia's (NOK +0.8%) Stephen Elop in an interview with Spain's El Pais, apparently leaving the door open to using Android down the line. Past remarks from chairman Risto Siilasmaa have already fueled speculation Nokia is open to adopting Android if Windows Phone sales underwhelm. Elop also argues Nokia's cameras, displays, and proprietary apps will allow its WP hardware to stand out from that of rivals such as HTC.
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This news story has 34 comments:
It's the same reason I dislike the google nexus line and IPhones as well.
http://bit.ly/RDO44R
http://bit.ly/UWKfrk
Elop is aiming high, not just trying to make Nokia survive (by selling a few Android phones like everyone else).
This message was delivered using a Lumia 710.
Long Nokia
HTC is not helping itself with non-Mac-compatible Sense OS.
http://bit.ly/RDgFrd
"In a recent report, it looks like Apple’s iPhone 5 is losing its grip on the everyday consumer. According to Consumer Reports, the iPhone 5 is now listed as the lowest rated top 3 smartphone on each carrier, minus T-Mobile who haven’t had the device on their network. Topping the lists are the Samsung Galaxy S3 for T-Mobile, the LG Optimus G for AT&T and Sprint, and the RAZR HD’s for Verizon. Crazy enough, the iPhone didn’t even make it onto Big Red’s list, which is actually quite surprising."
"How Consumer Reports handle their rating of said devices is unknown to me, but it is great to see Android becoming the forerunner in smartphone operating systems. Android devices have certainly come a very long way in terms of consumer praise and advancements in both software and hardware since the days of iPhone supremacy."
"Guess it’s time to start awaiting the iPhone 5S and the magical features it will wield."
This of course says nothing bullish about Nokia (sadly) the battle for the U.S. is still like ice skating uphill, however the challenge going forward for both Nokia and Windows Phone 8 is "Android" not "Apple", more specifically in the U.S. "Samsung". However, all is not bleak for Nokia and Microsoft hopes for the U.S. as well as abroad:
Report: Windows Phone 8 Usage Surges
Windows Phone 8 usage is up big-time in the US and abroad
http://bit.ly/ZjShK7
Most popular Windows Phone handsets: Nokia Lumia 710 (20 percent, down from 24 percent), Nokia Lumia 800 (18 percent, unchanged month-over-month), Nokia Lumia 610 (16 percent, down from 17 percent), Nokia Lumia 910 (9 percent, up 3x from just 3 percent), and Nokia Lumia 900 (6 percent, down from 7 percent).
Windows Phone 8 surges. Usage in Windows Phone 8 jumped from 5 percent of total Windows Phone usage in December to 19 percent in December. (Windows Phone 7.5 is responsible for all of the other 81 percent.) “Most of this growth happened at the expense of the older models,” AdDuplex notes, which I assume indicates that the overall size of Windows Phone usage didn’t grow much? But it’s not all bad news: In the US, Windows Phone 8 represents a whopping 43 percent of usage. All of those gains are new device sales.
Windows Phone 8 models. All Windows Phone 8 models saw big gains in the month. The best-seller, again, is the Lumia 920 (9 percent), followed by the HTC Windows Phone 8X (3 percent, up from less than 1 percent), and Nokia Lumia 820 (3 percent).
Windows Phone models in the United States. In the US, things are quite a bit different thanks to the prevalence of AT&T, which has been selling multiple Windows Phone models for two years. The top device here is the Lumia 920 (16 percent), followed by Lumia 900 (14 percent), Lumia 710 and HTC 8X (both 11 percent), Lumia 822 (10 percent), and the HTC Radar 4G (8 percent).
Carriers in the United States. As expected, Windows Phone carrier usage is dominated by AT&T (51 percent), followed by T-Mobile (27 percent), and Verizon (16 percent). I expect a big jump from Verizon in the months ahead though.
Windows Phone 8 models on AT&T. The Nokia Lumia 920 generates the most usage (71 percent) of AT&T-based Windows Phone 8 handsets, followed by the HTC 8X (18 percent) and Lumia 820 (11 percent). In the US, “there are more Lumia 920 devices in use than any other Windows Phone,” AdDuplex notes. “That’s a very notable achievement for a device that is only available on one operator and constantly suffered from supply shortages.”
I've pointed out before that people change their phones to what's most fashionable or seen as the best at the point their contract expires. Operating system, ecosystem are totally irrelevant to the overwhelming majority of users; only a tiny minority of fanboys care.
This is good news for Nokia given AT&T's prevalence and the 920 being the sexiest device on the market.
Kantar Worldpanel found that consumers have continued to shun Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Phone platform, which totaled a mere 2.7% of smartphone sales in the November period.
http://bit.ly/XHUS4O
There will be no android phones here is the Nokia endorsed words of what elop actually said
Elop: So, the way I think about it is, in the current war on ecosystems, we are fighting with Windows Phone. That’s what we’re doing. Now, what we’re always doing is asking, how does that evolve? What’s next? What role does HTML5 play? What role does Android or other things play in the future? We’re looking further into the future, but it terms of what we’re bringing to market, and what we’re immediately focused on, we’re focused on Windows Phone.”