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Insiders say Elop could sell off Xbox and cancel Bing if he became Microsoft CEO
Bloomberg has spoken to three anonymous sources who claim to have knowledge of Stephen Elop's current mindset, and who say he'd consider making some radical moves if he become Microsoft's CEO. Now, bearing in mind there could be some seriously heavy axes being ground here, the details of what Elop might "consider" doing at Microsoft look almost designed to stir a fuss among investors and customers alike. For a start, the former Nokia CEO (and cost-slasher) would apparently contemplate selling off Microsoft's high-profile Xbox division, if he deemed the department to be less than critical to the company's overall strategy. Instead, the story goes, he'd focus the software giant's efforts on products and services related to its Office applications. Somewhat less scandalously, he'd allegedly also contemplate cancelling Bing. Some analysts have previously put forward the idea of dropping Xbox and Bing in order to raise Microsoft's profits in the short term, so these ideas haven't come out of nowhere, but they still seem slightly premature for a man who's only just got himself on the CEO shortlist.
The Engadget Interview: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop
It's been nearly a year since we spoke with Stephen Elop in New York City for the launch of the Lumia 800, a year that hasn't exactly been full of success on the financials front. But, forget all that, because the new devices are here! We had the chance to chat with Stephen about the new Lumia 820 and 920 and ask him what he thinks the chances are of this version of Windows Phone will be the one that finally gains some traction in the market.
Nokia Lumia 610 coming to China Unicom, Elop slips details in conference call
Chinese residents not willing to fork out for Nokia's flagship just got another option, the Lumia 610. China Unicom will be offering the littlest (and most recent) Lumia device, according to Stephen Elop, who managed to sneak the announcement into an at-times grim conference call held yesterday. While we knew the device was headed to all places Pacific, the device now looks set to join existing smartphone options on 3G (presumably low-price) plans. Interested? Then you may want to revisit our review for our thoughts on Nokia's humbly-priced handset.
Nokia: 'We don't have a Plan B'
Wander into Nokia's corporate HQ and, if Victor Saejis is to believed, you'll be hard pressed to find any manilla folder bearing the legend "Plan B." The handset maker's European Manager told Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri that the company has no contingency plan in the event that Windows Phone loses out to Android and iOS saying that "Plan B is that Plan A is to succeed." It's a pretty unequivocal statement that Espoo's betting the farm on consumers embracing Microsoft's OS. Commenting on the company's recent troubles, the winding down of Symbian and the demise of MeeGo, he said "it's like starting all over again. But we must succeed in the U.S. if we are to succeed in the world" -- pretty honest, if a little disappointing to anyone who hoped there was an Android-powered white N9 lying in a Finnish skunkworks.
Nokia ends European, Mexican production: it's all Asia now (Updated)
Nokia's wielding another axe to its operations, cleaving away a further 4,000 employees from its operations in Finland, Hungary and Mexico. It follows a shedding of roughly 10,000 employees and a troubled withdrawal from Romania as the company pushes more operations towards Asia in an attempt to compete with its competitors. Whilst no more phones will be assembled in Europe, the company isn't closing the facilities outright, they'll be retained for "high value activities" (presumably R&D and other big-ticket projects). Whatever comes of Steven Elop's reign of the world's number one handset maker, it's clear to see that he's got a plan and he's sticking to it.Update: Nokia got in touch to clarify that the factory in Manaus, Brazil is unaffected by these cuts. The three factories mentioned (in Salo, Reynosa and Komarom) will furthermore be used for the software-portion of production, including installing carrier-and-region-specific features in the Americas, Europe and Eurasia. Hardware assembly will now take place at the company's existing facilities in Beijing (China) and Masan (South Korea).
Microsoft adding Nokia branding to Bing Maps
Noki-soft? Micro-ia? The madness continues! Nokia front-man Stephen Elop let it be known that his company's moniker will be making its way to Bing Maps in the near future, and he's not just talking about on the desktop. During a CES interview with Pocket-lint, Elop explained that any "property" utilizing Microsoft's Bing Maps service -- including mobile platforms -- will be co-branded with the Nokia logo. "We are clearly placing a bet on the Windows Phone platform; they [Microsoft] are placing a bet on our location-based platform," he said. The CEO cited BlackBerry as a non-Windows Phone device that will see the Nokia tattoo in its Maps app -- RIM recently announced its intention to integrate Bing Maps at the OS level. No word on when Microsoft branding will make its way onto Nokia software... oh, wait a minute...
Finland, Finland, Finland: it's still the country for Nokia
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has heard what a few little birdies have been talking about lately: the future of the phone manufacturer's headquarters. Enough rumors have been floating around the possibility of Nokia picking up and moving, in fact, that the man in charge made it perfectly clear on Finnish TV station YLE that the company isn't going anywhere. Said Elop: "As long as I'm the CEO the headquarters is in Espoo... That's our home, our sense of belonging." So there you have it -- Nokia will continue to call Finland its home. Now, what can be done about all of those lost jobs from this past year?
Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 to get limited Latin American release in early 2012
If you're lucky enough to call Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico or Puerto Rico home, and have been craving a bit of Nokia Lumia love, then felicidades! Señor Elop himself announced the 800 and 710 will be lighting up faces in a store near you from Q1 next year. Speaking from Sao Paulo, the Nokia CEO confirmed that both Windows Phone models would get a run out in the above countries, with production taking place in Brazil. Interestingly other large markets, like Argentina and Venezuela, didn't get a name call as one of the lucky countries, but you can bet your bottom peso though it won't be long before this is rectified. Hit up the source link for more info, en Español.
Stephen Elop: Nokia sees 'the opportunity' in tablets, reveals no plans to seize it
Sometimes a CEO has to be coy. We understand that. So what should we make of Stephen Elop's remarks to Bloomberg Businessweek? Asked about the growing tablet market, the Nokia head replied, "There's a new tablet opportunity coming. We see the opportunity. Unquestionably, that will change the dynamics." So should your start holding your breath for a Nokia tablet? Not necessarily. While he didn't rule out doing so, Elop had no plans to announce, and he's made similarly vague comments before, including, "Our team right now is assessing what's the right tablet strategy for Nokia." Interpreting these quotes is a bit like reading tea leaves, but for now we're willing to believe the Finnish firm is still mulling its options.
Ballmer: Windows Phones aren't selling very well, but we're not worried
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer was his usual frank self when he met financial analysts yesterday, admitting that the world isn't yet as keen on Windows Phone as he'd hoped. To be precise, AllThingsD reported him as saying: "We haven't sold quite as many as I would have liked in the first year." His cunning plan? Well, that's easy: make it all Nokia's problem. Or, as he put it: "With Nokia we have a dedicated hardware partner that is all-in on Windows Phones." Indeed, the Finnish manufacturer has now staked far more than Microsoft on the success of this "third ecosystem" and, if its imminent Mango handsets fail to turn things around, we may eventually see Stephen Elop standing behind that silent cash register.
Nokia N9 gets axed in Germany, global tour looks even more meager
Like slowly waking up from a sweet dream, the Nokia N9 is gradually slipping away from our conscious mind before it's even released. We knew Stephen Elop & Co. didn't have high interest in the one (and only) Meego smartphone in its repertoire, but it's becoming very clear exactly how much the handset doesn't matter to the company. Nokia's confirmed with German site MobiFlip that the N9 will in fact not be making its way to Deutschland, just days after making it known that it has no plans to send the device to the US or the UK. Granted, those who can't shake off their desire for the one-of-a-kind phone will still find alternative methods of procuring it, but this is still a solid indication that Espoo is only staring ahead to its future with Windows Phone, and the N9 is merely in its peripheral vision.
Apple outpaces Nokia in global smartphone shipments
Today's "clearly disappointing" news from Nokia just got even more clear in its disappointment. As touched on during an earnings call this morning, the Finnish handset manufacturer's smartphone shipments took a 34 percent dip down from the same quarter last year, to 16.7 million units -- that's markedly fewer than the 20.3 million that Apple shipped during that same time period, as announced in its far more celebratory earnings report. Despite his stated disappointment, however, Nokia chief Stephen Elop insists that the company is on the right track, making "better than expected progress." Really, it's important in times like these for a company to focus on the more positive side of things.
Nokia N9: are you buying one?
Why hello Nokia, we can see you've lost a few buttons and gussied yourself up with a new version of MeeGo. Very nice. That new outfit is a one-off affair, you say? Not to be repeated? We're a little sorry to hear that, although we have to admit -- those metro threads don't look half bad on you either. We wonder what your adoring public will think? Shall we ask? Yes, let's. %Poll-65754%
Nokia CEO: cheap Windows Phones can come 'very quickly'
We'd raised our own concerns in interviews with both Stephen Elop and Microsoft's Aaron Woodman in the past week that Nokia could have difficulty pushing the Windows Phone platform low enough to fill the holes left by Symbian's departure in the bottom rungs of the market, but the Nokia CEO is making it very clear that he thinks that won't be a problem. In a talk with Finnish journalists on Friday, Elop said that it has become "convinced" that it can hit "a very low price point" and do it "very quickly," a strategy that will be key to converting significant swaths of Symbian market share into Windows Phone market share without losing it to other manufacturers or platforms. Of course, something tells us the leaked design concept (pictured right) doesn't represent the types of hardware Nokia has in mind for those low price points -- but no single device or market segment is going to take Espoo to the promised land here.
Debunk: Elop never said Microsoft is paying Nokia billions of dollars to use Windows Phone
In our sitdown with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop out at Mobile World Congress today, we brought up something that had come up during his press conference and Q&A session last Sunday evening -- that the company's partnership with Microsoft would generate "billions, not millions" of dollars' worth of value. This quickly morphed into an internet-wide story that Microsoft would basically be cutting a ten-figure check to Espoo in exchange for launching devices running its platform, but the reality is that Elop never said anything close to that: in fact, when we specifically asked how the money was flowing and who would be seeing black ink upfront, Elop said on no certain terms that they're not talking specifics of the deal. He goes on to say that it's a "very balanced relationship," which would indicate to us that there wasn't any massive cash transfer to kick this thing off. Regardless, the fact remains: at no time did he say Microsoft was paying to make it happen -- and considering Nokia's needs, we wouldn't be surprised if this was nearly a zero-sum transaction: Microsoft gets a huge boost in the platform's profile along with some services it needs, while Nokia gets a platform that it wasn't able to make itself. Makes sense to us.
Engadget Mobile Podcast 075: Mobile World Congress - 02.14.2011
Ahh, Barthelona. It's not 100% Spain, but it is 100% awesome. And, this time of year, it's full of people like us trying to wrap our brains around a never-ending barrage of new fliphones and pagers. It's a full house today, plus one, gathered around a single microphone on a Catalonian hotel room bed. Dunno how else we could sell you on this one.Hosts: Chris Ziegler, Myriam Joire (tnkgrl), Vlad Savov, Sean CooperGuest: Ross MillerProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Daestro - Light Powered (Ghostly International)01:00 - Engadget Mobile @ Mobile World Congress 2011Hear the podcastSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)Contact the podcastpodcast (at) engadgetmobile (dot) com.Follow us on Twitter@tnkgrl @engadgetmobile @zpower @vladsavov @ohnorosco @sean_cooper
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.
Live from 'An Evening With Nokia' at MWC 2011!
We've been gathered at the same cozy venue as two years ago (for the introduction of the E52, if memory serves correctly) for Nokia's event at MWC 2011 this evening... and frankly, in light of what's happened the past few days, we're not quite sure what to expect. CEO Stephen Elop should be on stage to take some questions -- but in terms of product or strategy announcements, it's anyone's guess. Follow the break for all the fun!
Nokia will be able to customize 'everything' in Windows Phone 7, but likely won't
Stephen Elop, in his financial and strategy briefing continuing Nokia's marathon Capital Markets Day, just posed an interesting rhetorical question: will Nokia be able to "customize everything" on Windows Phone 7 in order to differentiate itself? "Yes!" was Elop's ebullient proclamation, though he quickly pulled it back to say that Nokia likely won't make extensive use of this freedom to tailor Microsoft's OS. Instead, the company will be cautious and seek to maintain compatibility rather than pushing the boat out too far in tweaking the underlying software. That's a major shift for Microsoft, who forbade HTC from skinning Windows Phone 7 with Sense, something the Taiwanese company would surely have loved to do, and limited it to the introduction of a self-contained Hub. Now Nokia's saying it -- perhaps exclusively -- has been given the liberty to play around inside WP7 to its heart's content. We'll see how important that turns out to be whenever Nokia delivers its first device bearing its new smartphone OS. An insider tip tells us the current plan is to introduce such a handset by the end of 2011, potentially based on current hardware. Who's ready for Xbox Live on a future version of the N8?
Nokia and Microsoft enter strategic alliance on Windows Phone, Bing, Xbox Live and more
It's happened. Former Microsoft exec and current Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has married his future and his past in the holy matrimony of a "strategic alliance." Windows Phone is becoming Nokia's "principal smartphone strategy," but there's a lot more to this hookup -- scope out the official press release just after the break. Microsoft's Bing and adCenter will provide search and ad services across Nokia devices, while Nokia will look to innovate "on top of the platform" with things like its traditional strength in imaging. Ovi Maps will be a core part of Microsoft's mapping services and will be integrated with Bing, while Nokia's content store will be integrated into (read: assimilated by) Microsoft's Marketplace. Xbox Live and Office will also, as is to be expected, feature on these brave new Microkia handsets. An open letter on Nokia's Conversations site, penned jointly by Stephen Elop and Steve Ballmer, sets out the foregoing details along with the following statement of intent: "There are other mobile ecosystems. We will disrupt them. There will be challenges. We will overcome them. Success requires speed. We will be swift. Together, we see the opportunity, and we have the will, the resources and the drive to succeed."
