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Nokia CEO Stephen Elop stepping down ahead of transition to Microsoft
Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's Devices & Services business has more implications for Nokia than you might suspect at first glance. In the wake of the deal, CEO Stephen Elop is stepping down to become the Executive VP of Devices & Services, and should join Microsoft once the acquisition closes. The shift in rank should minimize any perceived conflict of interest during Elop's transition, Nokia says. Chairman of the Board Risto Siilasmaa will assume an interim CEO position while the company looks for a permanent replacement for Elop. Meanwhile, key Nokia executives Jo Harlow, Chris Weber, Juha Putkiranta and Timo Toikkanen are also expected to follow Elop to Microsoft; Executive VP of Design Marko Ahtisaari plans to step down on November 1st, and will leave the company on November 30th to once more become an entrepreneur. All told, Microsoft is getting several of the cellphone industry's better-known leaders in one shot -- and Nokia's remaining leadership will be mostly unrecognizable to long-term fans.
Nokia Senior VP: PureView imaging technology coming to our Windows Phones (updated)
We're sure many have fallen in love with Nokia's new cameraphone, but are perhaps not so willing to get back together with its Symbian OS. Fortunately, it looks like Nokia will be -- unsurprisingly -- gently placing its Pureview technology inside a future Windows Phone family member. Confirmed in Finnish broadsheet Aamulehti, Senior Vice President Jo Harlow said that although no date was penned in quite yet, it wouldn't be all that far away. The high-end camera credentials gifted to the Pureview 808 at MWC last week surprised plenty, given that Nokia proclaimed that its whole company had nailed its colors to the Windows Phone mast when it came to its flagship OS. Regardless, a polycarbonate PureView sounds pretty good to us. Update: From a Nokia spokesperson: "We have stated that we plan to use PureView imaging technologies to deliver high-end imaging experiences in future Nokia products. Since Nokia is committed to Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform, that includes plans to bring PureView to Lumia over time... We look forward to revealing more in future, but for now we are focused on rolling out the Nokia 808 PureView to markets around the world."
Nokia sneaks a look at new Symbian UI during China event
Perched behind Nokia's head of smart devices, Jo Harlow, at a recent event in China is what appears to be a new home screen on an N8, yet more evidence -- hot on the heels of the company's MWC event -- that Espoo still has plenty of love in the wings for its dead-platform-walking. Notably, it appears they're looking at migrating key information to the top of the screen to create a dedicated status bar, which would presumably stay visible as you navigate from screen to screen -- akin to most other platforms on the market -- accompanied by a string of soft button icons at the bottom. Interestingly, the UI in some respects mirrors what we saw on the leaked shots of the apparently killed N9 -- small black status bar and icons along the bottom -- which would seem to tell us one of two things: either the N9 was a Symbian device all along, or the company had planned on standardizing UI elements between its future Symbian and MeeGo roadmaps. Either way, this looks like a nice improvement... and in all likelihood, a far cry from what we'll see when these guys start busting out Windows Phone 7 devices.
Nokia hints we'll see first Windows Phone 7 device this year
Nokia may still sticking to the official line that it will begin shipping Windows Phone 7 devices in "significant volume" in 2012, but it just dropped a big hint at its Mobile World Congress press conference that we could be seeing the first device even sooner -- like this year. That word came from Nokia's Jo Harlow, who said that her boss would be "much happier" if the timing of the initial launch was in 2011. What's more, Nokia's also given us a glimpse of another slightly different Windows Phone 7 concept device in addition to confirming the leaked one we got our hands on a few days ago, and it's shed yet more light on the behind the scenes intrigue that led up to the switch to Windows Phone 7. According to CEO Stephen Elop, the "final decision" to go with Windows Phone "just happened on Thursday night of last week." Elop then later then expanded -- in response to a question shouted from the audience about whether he was a trojan horse -- that the "entire management team" was involved in the process, and that "of course the board of directors of Nokia are the only ones that can make this significant of a decision about Nokia," which they made on Thursday night. Update: Official image of the latest concept is now pictured above.
Nokia: Symbian and MeeGo not dead yet, still shipping this year (updated)
Amazing day, eh? Something many of us thought would never happen just hit the smartphone industry like a sweaty madman screaming at developers. But rest easy, even though Windows Phone 7 is being billed as Nokia's "primary smartphone platform," your OS hasn't suffered an untimely death, MeeGo and Symbian fans. Understandably, we're seeing that Alberto Torres, the former head of MeeGo, quit as of yesterday. Here's what Nokia has in store for MeeGo: "Under the new strategy, MeeGo becomes an open-source, mobile operating system project. MeeGo will place increased emphasis on longer-term market exploration of next-generation devices, platforms and user experiences. Nokia still plans to ship a MeeGo-related product later this year." Likewise, Symbian isn't going away either: "With Nokia's planned move to Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform, Symbian becomes a franchise platform, leveraging previous investments to harvest additional value. This strategy recognizes the opportunity to retain and transition the installed base of 200 million Symbian owners. Nokia expects to sell approximately 150 million more Symbian devices in the years to come" Jo Harlow, Nokia exec now in charge of Smart Devices, will grab the MeeGo reins in addition to responsibility for Symbian Smartphones and Strategic Business Operations. Update: After listening to the Q&A and further presentations, it's clear that Symbian is on its last legs and will be replaced by Windows Phone just as soon as Nokia and Microsoft can make it happen. Commitment to MeeGo has also softened with Elop calling it "an opportunity for learning."
Nokia SVP of Symbian Smartphones talks portrait QWERTY, Symbian 'bashing,' and MeeGo devices
Jo Harlow, Nokia's Senior VP of Symbian Smartphones was in Amsterdam for the kickoff of the Symbian Exchange and Exposition, giving us the chance for a sit down with the seven year Nokia veteran. How could we resist given the recent launch of Symbian^3, Nokia's new iterative approach to Symbian updates, and then Monday's (expected) bombshell that the Symbian Foundation would hand over operation responsibility for the OS to Nokia. While the full transcript is available after the break, we wanted to highlight the following: Symbian user interface improvements are Nokia's top priority. According to Jo, "We are planning a few user interface improvements in early 2011 including split screen text input, portrait QWERTY -- there will be other improvements coming shortly after particularly in the visual appeal of the graphics of the device." While Jo stopped short of saying that changes in the Symbian Foundation will accelerate Symbian updates, she did concede that it eliminates a step making things "simpler" -- and that's a positive thing. Jo also reminded us that Nokia's plans for MeeGo stretch beyond traditional handset formats. And just like Symbian handsets will form a "fat center" in Nokia's device portfolio, she expects Nokia's more diverse MeeGo offerings to be "pretty big and fat as well." Read on for the full interview in addition to Jo's thoughts on Symbian's "infinite possibility to surprise people," Stephen Elop's performance in his first two months on the job, and her frustration at not being able to move faster amidst all of the "Symbian bashing."
Nokia hints at augmented reality Maps and 3D smartphones in its future (video)
You know what happens when we see a video pop on Nokia Conversations (Nokia's official blog) featuring a senior VP from Nokia's smartphone division? Everything stops -- who knows what might be revealed during an informal, semi-scripted chat. When asked about Nokia's future smartphone technologies and experiences, Jo Harlow, SVP of Smartphones dives right into a discussion of augmented reality as a means to enhance existing Nokia services like the Ovi Maps experience. She then shifts to an entertainment perspective since "everyone's talking about 3D." As she sees it, there's an opportunity for mobile to be earlier to 3D than typical television development to mobile. That means content, specifically 3D games, which Jo says "could be very, very interesting in terms of enhancing that experience." One can only imagine that what interests Nokia's Senior VP of smartphones will ultimately interest manufacturers on the way to retail. And it's not like Nokia's been shy with its 3D prototypes in the past. Watch the discussion unfold in the video after the break.
