AnssiVanjoki
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Vertu, maker of the $22,000 smartphone, is considering luxury wearables
Last month was a special one for Max Pogliani: Not only did it mark his first anniversary as Vertu's CEO, but it also saw the launch of his very own baby, the Android-powered Signature Touch. This new phone's up-to-date specs have already silenced critics; and despite the luxury market's slowdown, the Italian exec said his team's already ahead of budget in the first half of this year. Vertu's not stopping there, as it plans to expand its portfolio with an even more affordable smartphone, as well as new accessories like audio products and maybe even smart wearables.
The Engadget Interview: Vertu CEO Perry Oosting talks specs and rationale
Vertu CEO Perry Oosting talks about the rationale for buying luxury goods.
Nokia finishes offloading Vertu, rumors claim Vertu plans a matching switch to Android
Nokia has ended one of the more significant chapters in its tumultuous history: the Finnish phone giant has finished divesting Vertu to private equity firm EQT VI, shedding direct control of the definitive luxury phone brand. The formal switch lets Nokia keep a 10 percent stake and move 1,000 staffers to the newly independent company. Where Vertu goes next may be more intriguing, however. There's no official word on any change of direction, but that hasn't stopped tipsters from claiming to TechCrunch that there's a big shakeup ahead. Supposedly, former Nokia VP Anssi Vanjoki will finally get the phone maker CEO position he's been looking for through a Vertu spot, and he won't simply follow in his former employer's footsteps -- upcoming Vertu phones may use Android, not Windows Phone. While it's a very unconfirmed rumor, a switch-up wouldn't be completely surprising when Vertu is still an all-Symbian house that needs more than just a few extra jewels to stay relevant.
Nokia chairman wanted Vanjoki for CEO, American investors forced him to pick Elop? (update: Nokia says it's false)
We love us some corporate intrigue, and there's some intrigue of the highest order coming out of Finland today: local rag Kauppalehti claims that Nokia chairman Jorma Ollila had wanted the outspoken Anssi Vanjoki to step up, but was instead forced to endorse Microsoft executive Stephen Elop as Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo's successor to lead the embattled company by a team of American investors who demanded a CEO from the left side of the Atlantic. How "forced," exactly? Ollila was allegedly in line to be ousted if he didn't throw his weight behind Elop, which -- as IntoMobile points out -- is a bit odd considering that Ollila himself is leaving next year. All told, something seems fishy here; it's possible that Ollila is simply trying to save face with Finns (and / or Vanjoki himself) as he prepares to leave Nokia... or it's possible that hordes of vicious Americans with skin in the game collectively tightened the vice grips. Either way, Elop seems to be cleaning house in light of the Symbian move, so it'll be interesting to see whether he can steer the ship back on course here in 2011. Update: We've just received a statement from a Nokia spokesperson that basically calls the story a total fabrication: "The story is totally unfounded speculation. There were three candidates for Nokia CEO position in the final selection and Stephen was chosen on merit without any external interference. We are very disappointed that this story was published just prior to the financial results." So there you have it -- three candidates, Elop won, so says Nokia.
Anssi Vanjoki on quitting Nokia: 'I didn't become the CEO. It is as simple as that'
We're really going to miss Anssi Vanjoki when he leaves Nokia in a few months. The straight-shooting Finn brings a sometimes astonishing but always entertaining level of honesty and passion to an otherwise staid consumer electronics industry. Of course, we've all been wondering why Anssi announced his resignation from Nokia so suddenly after saying in July that he was "committed, perhaps even obsessed" with taking Nokia back to the number one position in high-end devices. Easy, "I didn't become the CEO," said the 20 year Nokia veteran in an extended version of the interview first published on Tuesday. Anssi then added, "You know who the guy is it's not you... so what do you do, you stay or you leave. I decided to leave." While not regretting the decision to stick with Symbian in the last few years, he does admit that it couldn't compete with Apple's iOS or Google's Android in touchscreen smartphones -- the Symbian rewrite took (or is taking, depending upon your perspective) too long. The second problem, he says, is Nokia's absence from the US market. In particular, Silicon Valley, the "nucleus," as he calls it, for the software development behind all those "crazy apps everyone keeps talking about." Unfortunately, the 54-year-old Anssi has no future plans that he's willing to discuss. "I need a plan. My plan is to plan," he says.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: Anssi Vanjoki says using Android is like peeing in your pants for warmth
You've been asking and imploring, so Anssi Vanjoki -- straight shooter, that he is -- now has an answer. Why doesn't Nokia switch to Android? Because Google's software represents only a short-term solution that will lead to bigger quandaries down the line, says he. Anssi was even graceful enough to illustrate this point with a vivid example, saying that mobile manufacturers who go the Android route are doing no better than Finnish boys who "pee in their pants" for warmth in the winter. Yeah. We don't know where to go from here either. To be honest, there's a legitimate point behind this trash talk, as the FT notes some analysts agree with Anssi that relying on Android as the universal OS may lead to "permanently low profitability" with users failing to distinguish among different brands if they all offer the same experience. Then again, tell that to HTC. [Thanks, Maark]
Nokia's Anssi Vanjoki resigns, the search for a new smartphone chief begins
Holy moly, it's all gone topsy turvy over in Nokia's camp. After Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was given his marching orders on Friday, this week it's the turn of Anssi Vanjoki -- who only recently became the company's Mobile Solutions leader -- to announce his departure. Anssi has handed in his requisite six-month notice along with the following statement: "I felt the time has come to seek new opportunities in my life. At the same time, I am one hundred per cent committed to doing my best for Nokia until my very last working day. I am also really looking forward to this year's Nokia World and sharing news about exciting new devices and solutions." It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to recognize that Anssi's sudden desire to explore new opportunities is at least in part motivated by Nokia's choice to install Stephen Elop as its future CEO at the expense of good old OPK. Still, you've got to think there could've been a better time to announce such heart-stopping news, maybe after your company's most pivotal Nokia World convention in recent memory? [Thanks, Ted]
Nokia: the fight begins now, Symbian^4 N-Series device later
Nokia's newly appointed Mobile Solutions chief, Anssi Vanjoki, has penned an impassioned post over at Nokia Conversations today where he sets out his perspective on the company's current position and future challenges. Describing the Finnish phone maker as "a challenger now," rather than an incumbent, Vanjoki wants to introduce a "laser focus on quality," with his two central aims being to reclaim Nokia's reputation for high-end devices and to re-energize a flagging fan base. He specifically namedrops Ricky Cadden -- who yesterday shut down Symbian-Guru because he'd lost faith with the company -- and clearly considers grassroots support like that an important aspect of how Nokia's success will be judged. As to the actual software front, Anssi confirms that the N8 will be the final Symbian^3 handset in the N-Series, but describes a Symbian^4 device in that family as a "strong possibility," a note which he follows up with a wink (seriously). Symbian is apparently still Nokia's smartphone OS of choice -- no Androids shall be found inside Nokia's hardware under Anssi's watch -- though MeeGo also earns a mention as the "awesome" platform for delivering "market-changing mobile computers." Just in case you were wondering, Anssi finishes off by telling us that these wondrous computers will be small enough to fit into your pocket -- though, sadly, he fails to specify exactly what sort of pocket that might be. [Thanks, Peter]
Did Nokia just confirm a MeeGo tablet?
We've heard the rumors, hell, we've even seen Intel reference designs (pictured) running the MeeGo OS. But now we seem to have confirmation that a proper MeeGo tablet built by Nokia is on the way. Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's newly crowned chief of Mobile Solutions, said the following in an interview captured by the Wall Street Journal: Due to the spread of cloud computing and new advances in electronics and network technology, mobile devices will increasingly move beyond smartphones to include other computer-like gadgets such as tablets, and the MeeGo platform will be an important asset for Nokia. Remember, Nokia already makes a netbook and the smartphone qualifier would seem to remove any speculation that Anssi is referring to its Internet Tablet class of Maemo devices. So maybe, just maybe that rumored 7- or 9-inch Nokia tablet is real. Did we say maybe?
Nokia reshuffles management looking for gold
We're not alone in grumbling about Nokia. Investors are miffed -- to put it gently -- over Nokia's inability to ignite the industry (and profits) with innovative, high-margin handset sales since the launch of Apple's iPhone some three years ago. And let's not forget about that feisty upstart Google, Microsoft's revamped Windows Phone OS, or HP's new-found love for mobile devices. Investor unrest was made clear last week as Nokia shareholders gave CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo an earful. But as slow moving as Nokia can be, it's not immune to the situation by any stretch. Following up on its announcement to combine services and devices, we now have details about Nokia's planned re-org, the second in seven months. The goal, as described by OPK, is as follows: "Nokia's new organizational structure is designed to speed up execution and accelerate innovation, both short-term and longer-term." The heat will be on Anssi Vanjoki (pictured) to deliver as he'll be assuming responsibility for the Mobile Solutions group on July 1st. That gives him direct control of Nokia's MeeGo Computers (led by Alberto Torres), Symbian Smartphones (headed by Jo Harlow), and Ovi Services (led by Tero Ojanpera) -- the holy trifecta that interests us the most. Mary McDowell will head the Mobile Phones unit while Niklas Savander will head up the Markets unit. The loser in all of this appears to be Richard Simonson, the former CFO currently leading the Mobile Phones unit, but soon to be retired. Full press release after the break.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: Nokia's Anssi Vanjoki thinks cameraphones are about to make SLRs obsolete
From what we know of Anssi Vanjoki, he's a great guy and one that isn't afraid of admitting his company's mistakes. Alas, now we can also add to that dossier the ignominious fact that the fella doesn't seem to know how professional cameras work. Talking about the rapid improvement in cameraphone technology during a speech in Helsinki yesterday, Vanjoki said that very soon "there will be no need to carry around those heavy lenses." He's really enthusiastic about HD video coming to phones, which he predicts will be here within 12 months (if you ask Sony Ericsson, it's here already), but we just can't let that spectacular line about lenses slide. The glass you shoot through is, for a lot of people, the most important piece of photographic equipment and there are genuine reasons why said lenses are heavy, elongated, and typically unfriendly to pockets. Then again, this dude also thought the N-Gage was gonna be a success, so don't start selling off that glass stockpile just yet.
Nokia VP: N97 taught company some tough lessons
It's unusual for a company to publicly admit its shortcomings -- particularly a company as big, proud, and resolute as Nokia generally seems to be -- but an All About Symbian / Mobile Industry Review joint interview with Anssi Vanjoki, vice president of markets, at MWC last week painted a very different picture with regard to Espoo's views on the maligned N97. Though he says that the phone absolutely met the company's goals for sales volume and revenue, it was a "tremendous disappointment in terms of the experience quality for the consumers and something [they] did not anticipate." This isn't a sob story, though: he uses the opportunity to note that they've completely closed the gap on software quality for the flagship device, launching new firmware first in Norway where the response has been positive. Considering that the N97 was announced way back in 2008, there's realistically nothing Nokia can do to give the phone a second wind atop the lineup, but Vanjoki seems genuinely convinced that they've learned some hard lessons and swallowed some tough pills throughout its life cycle -- and those lessons will bear fruit when Symbian^3-based products roll around. Here's hoping.
Ovi Maps downloaded 1.4 million times in first week since going free
People sure do like getting something for nothing. Since Nokia made the big move to stop charging for its walk and drive navigation last week, 1.4 million of us have downloaded the Ovi Maps software -- on average, that's a download a second since launch. The response has been so good that it's exceeded Nokia's expectations according to Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia Executive Vice President, with China, Italy, UK, Germany and Spain representing the top 5 downloaders. Hardly a surprise to see consumers responding so favorably to a free offering that makes a device you already have (your smartphone) that much smarter even if it does make your dedicated satnav somewhat mostly redundant. Full press release after the break.
