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Nokia shareholders and unions fight back against Microkia
Nokia shareholders are not very happy right now with NOK taking a 25 percent hit since the announcement of the Microsoft marriage. Stephen Elop, Nokia's first foreign-born CEO, is taking heat on multiple fronts even as he prostrates himself to the media in hopes of getting his message out. Already, we've heard numerous conspiracies calling Elop a "trojan horse," sent by Steve Ballmer to sabotage Nokia from within. Conspiraloons are quick to point to records showing Elop holding a significant number of Microsoft shares -- a situation that Elop says is temporary (and outdated) having already sold a majority of his Microsoft position with plans to sell off the rest in favor of Nokia stock just as soon as he's free to do so under regulatory moratoriums meant to prevent insider trading. Nevertheless, Nokia will be facing at least two very real showdowns on its near-term horizon. First, will be a battle with the Finnish trade union Pro which is demanding €100,000 (in addition to severance payments) for every Nokia employee that loses their job under Elop's new strategy -- money the unions says will be used for reeducation. The union estimates that Nokia could cut as many as 25% (5,000 people) of Nokia's 20,000 workers located in Finland. The second major hurdle facing Elop, and the board of directors that appointed him, will come at Nokia's Annual General Meeting for shareholders. Already, a cabal of nine frustrated shareholders have been grabbing attention with its "Nokia Plan B" proposal to oust Stephen Elop and return Nokia to a MeeGo focus giving Symbian a five-year minimum reprieve. The group has since disbanded after its plan was rejected by institutional investors. Nevertheless, we don't expect Symbian / MeeGo fans and developers to give up without a fight, and we expect Helsinki Fair Centre's Amfi Hall to be center-ring when the event kicks off on May 3rd in Helsinki.
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.
The Engadget Interview: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop talks Microsoft, Symbian, MeeGo, and Windows Phone
We had a chance to sit down for a few minutes with the man who's arguably stolen the show here at Mobile World Congress this year -- Nokia CEO Stephen Elop -- to talk about everything from his time at Microsoft to the potential for a multi-billion dollar platform partnership with his former employer that he's hoping to foster over the coming years. Elop's emerged in the past week as an outspoken character who doesn't seem to shy away from a question, to speak his mind, or to tell it like it is, which makes this ten-odd minute segment a must-see. Check it out after the break.
Engadget Podcast 232 - 02.13.2011
Who's ready for the special Grammys edition of the Engadget Podcast? When we said "Grammys," we meant "consumer electronics," and when we said "special," we meant "just like every other week, but still pretty special."Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul MillerGuest: Chris Ziegler Producer: Trent WolbeMusic: March of the Pigs00:02:45 - Nokia CEO Stephen Elop rallies troops in brutally honest 'burning platform' memo? (update: it's real!)00:05:15 - Nokia and Microsoft enter strategic alliance on Windows Phone, Bing, Xbox Live and more00:09:13 - RIP: Symbian00:11:15 - Nokia: Symbian and MeeGo not dead yet, still shipping this year (updated)00:18:41 - Nokia tells investors that 2011 and 2012 will be 'transition years'00:32:50 - Exclusive: Nokia's Windows Phone 7 concept revealed!00:39:34 - Live from HP / Palm's 'Think Beyond' webOS event!00:41:15 - RIP, Palm: 1992 - 201100:42:07 - The Engadget Interview: Jon Rubinstein and Steven McArthur talk webOS on PCs, 'Music Synergy,' competition, and more00:43:20 - HP's 9.7-inch TouchPad: webOS 3.0 tablet with 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon, coming this summer00:45:07 - HP TouchPad first hands-on! (updated with video!)00:48:00 - webOS Enyo framework free to developers today, brings pixel density agnostic apps to phones, tablets and PC (video)00:48:22 - HP Pre 3: 1.4GHz Qualcomm CPU, 3.6-inch WVGA, coming this summer (video)00:49:00 - HP Pre 3 first hands-on! (updated with video)00:49:27 - HP Veer: smallest smartphone in the webOS stable, 2.6-inch display, coming this spring00:50:45 - HP Veer, first hands-on! (updated with video!)00:52:40 - HP's Touch to Share eyes-on, starring the TouchPad and HP Pre 3 (video)01:11:52 - Palm Pre 2 vs. HP Pre 3: what's changed?01:18:40 - Looking for our Motorola Atrix 4G review?01:21:05 - We're live at Mobile World Congress 2011!Hear the podcastSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Contact the podcast1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @engadget @reckless @zpower
Nokia: 'Our first priority is beating Android'
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is currently on stage at MWC in Barcelona, and he's had a few choice things to say about the recent announcement that Nokia will partner with Microsoft to create devices which run Windows Phone software. Elop told the crowd assembled there that Nokia's "first priority is beating Android," and he also took a moment to let everyone know that Nokia is not interested in being the only company producing Windows Phones -- countering some recent exclusivity chatter. The presentation is still going on, so we'll keep you updated. Be sure to check out our full liveblog right here.
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 workers mourn death of Symbian, thousands walk out
We know how you feel about the apparent death of Symbian, and you had to figure that those most affected by it wouldn't be feeling too good either. Those people are, of course, the 1,500-odd workers at Nokia's Tampere office who have crafted the OS through the years, over a thousand of whom apparently walked away from their jobs today as a sort of non-violent protest -- or maybe just to get a preview of what their Friday afternoons will look like once Elop starts dropping the axe. It should be noted that they used their flexible work schedules to enable this, so this is one orderly bit of social dissonance that shouldn't result in any accelerations of whatever layoffs are to come.
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?
RIP: Symbian
This slide was just presented by Stephen Elop and Nokia CFO, Timo Ihamuotila, at Nokia's Capital Markets Day. Although there's no date listed, it's clear that Symbian -- a "franchise" OS that Nokia will "harvest" -- will be wholly consumed by Windows Phone on Nokia devices just as soon as Nokia and Microsoft can complete the transition. It won't be immediate, but it seems like 2012 will be the year that Nokia pulls the cord on life support. Regardless of the actual date, who in their right minds would invest their development time or consumer dollars in a smartphone OS that has no future within the company? One more slide showing the post-Symbian reductions in R&D spending after the break.
Nokia's Elop responds to Google's 'Two turkeys' tweet
Like it or not, you have to hand it to Stephen Elop, Nokia's new CEO. The man isn't afraid to shake things up and clean house to meet his vision of the future. And now that he's made Windows Phone 7 Nokia's "primary smartphone platform" in what he sees as a three-way race between Microkia, Googloid, and Apple (sorry HP and RIM), the man's free to unleash his mild-mannered Canadian fury upon Google's Vic Gundotra (via proxy). As you'll recall, Vic insulted the rumored partnership earlier in the week by tweeting, "two turkeys do not make an Eagle." If you don't understand Elop's twitter-burn then we urge you to visit one of Dayton Ohio's fine historical museums while eating a slice of Cassano's pizza -- we hear it's delicious. [Thanks, Jack]
Nokia Q&A reveals more MeeGo details and tablet plans -- says Android 'risk of commodification was very high'
The Steve show just ended with both Elop and Ballmer hosting a very informative media Q&A following the reveal of Nokia's plan to use Windows Phone 7 as its "primary smartphone platform." Here are the highlights: No specific announcement for when we'll see the first Nokia Windows Phone. Ballmer mentioned that the engineering teams have spent a lot of time together already. Elop also confirmed that Nokia is a Finnish company and always will be -- they will not be moving to Silicon Valley or anywhere else. Ballmer said that the partnership is "not exclusive" but some things that Microsoft is doing with Nokia are "unique" allowing Nokia to differentiate itself in the market. Elop added that it's important for the Windows Phone 7 ecosystem to thrive, which means that multiple vendors must succeed. Elop didn't believe that Nokia could create a new ecosystem around MeeGo fast enough. Nokia will "substantially reduce" R&D expenditures while increasing R&D productivity moving forward. Nokia did talk with Google about adopting Android but decided that it "would have difficulty differentiating within that ecosystem" and the "commoditization risk was very high -- prices, profits, everything being pushed down, value being moved out to Google which was concerning to us." Microsoft presented the best option for Nokia to resume the fight in the high end smartphone segment. Elop clarified that MeeGo will ship this year but "not as part of another broad smarpthone platform strategy, but as an opportunity to learn." Something that sounds very similar to position Nokia took with its so-called "experimental" Maemo-based N900 last year. After the first (and apparently, only) MeeGo device ships this year, the MeeGo team will then "change their focus into an exploration of future platforms, future devices, future user experiences." Trying to determine the "next disruption" in smartphones. Responding to "hope for a broad MeeGo-based ecosystem," Elop said that Nokia simply wasn't moving fast enough to effectively win and compete against Apple and Google. Windows Phone makes it a "three-horse race," something that Elop says is pleasing to the carriers he's been speaking with. Nokia has different options for its tablet strategy including using something from Microsoft or something that Nokia has developed internally.
Stephen Elop: There will be 'substantial reductions in employment' inside Nokia
Stephen Elop and Steve Ballmer are in the middle of a Q&A now. When Elop was asked by a concerned Finnish reporter, "What happens to Finland," Stephen responded that a successful Nokia is good for Finland but there will be "substantial reductions in employment" in Finland and around the world. We can't even imagine what it's like to be working inside of Nokia at the moment but the stress, frustration, and concern must be extraordinarily high.
Live from Nokia's Capital Markets Day!
The time for leaked memos, rampant speculation and obscure references was brought to an abrupt end this morning when Stephen Elop and Steve Ballmer delivered the announcement of Nokia and Microsoft's future strategic alliance. It all revolves around Windows Phone 7 becoming the smartphone strategy around Espoo, but there are still plenty of details to be explicated, highlighted and mulled over. Stephen Elop is about ready to take the stage here in central London to officially kick off Nokia's annual Capital Markets Day, where we expect him to give us a clearer picture of what to expect from this tie-up of industry giants. Our liveblog, after the break you shall find.
Nokia tells investors that 2011 and 2012 will be 'transition years'
Wondering how long it will take for Nokia to fully execute on its new strategy? Here's a clue in a press release targeting investors and financial analysts: "Nokia expects 2011 and 2012 to be transition years, as the company invests to build the planned winning ecosystem with Microsoft. After the transition, Nokia targets longer-term: (1) Devices & Services net sales to grow faster than the market. (2) Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin to be 10% or more." There are many ways to interpret this, naturally. But the one we can't get our minds around is that the Symbian and MeeGo houses were such a mess that they couldn't be repaired by 2012, even after years of effort and huge investments directed towards that goal. And here we thought that MeeGo "inspired both confidence and excitement" while Symbian's only issue was UI related. Update: Stephen Elop says that he expects Nokia to ramp up the transition this year and be ready to ship Windows Phone 7 devices in significant volume in 2012.
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."
Nokia execs reshuffled in Microsoft-centered Elopcalypse
Pardon us while we catch our breath... Nokia's bombshell of an announcement's going to require some serious internal tinkering to execute upon the new strategy. As such, there's a big-time reorganization effort being kicked off today in order to accelerate the company towards its new goals. Here are some of the highlights: Nokia's "applications and content store" (Ovi) will be integrated into Microsoft Marketplace Nokia Maps will be at the heart of Microsoft's Bing and AdCenter Microsoft will provide developer tools to Nokia (So no Qt?) Symbian is now described as a "franchise platform" with Nokia planning to sell 150 million Symbian devices into the future MeeGo emphasis will be on longer-term exploration with plans to ship "a MeeGo-related product" later this year (not products) The new leadership team that will drive the effort consists of Stephen Elop, Esko Aho, Juha Akras, Jerri DeVard, Colin Giles, Rich Green, Jo Harlow, Timo Ihamuotila, Mary McDowell, Kai Oistamo, Tero Ojanpera, Louise Pentland and Niklas Savander. Unsurprisingly, Alberto Torres, former head of MeeGo, has quit. Here are some of the key execs: Jo Harlow becomes the gal at the center of the Nokia's Elopcalypse with Smart Devices responsibility for Symbian smartphones, "MeeGo Computers," and Strategic Business Operations. Mary McDowell will drive the Mobile Phones division focusing on growth markets. Marko Ahtisaari will lead up design efforts Tero Ojanpera will lead Services and Developer Experience Niklas Savendar owns Markets Rich Green will head the CTO Office responsible for Nokia's technology strategy and related forward-looking activities So really, Nokia is maintaining most of its executive staff, unlike the rumors coming into today.
Nokia's Capital Markets Day is tomorrow, and we'll be there live!
February 11th, 2011. It looks set to be a day to remember in the grand history of that titan of the mobile industry, Nokia Corporation. Its fearless new leader has been trumpeting the need for change both in public appearances and in the private corridors of Espoo, and tomorrow he gets the stage all to himself, having been handed the keys and told to pick a direction in which to drive. Will he steer Finland's proudest export into the warm embrace of Microsoft and its developing Windows Phone 7 platform? Will he respond to being described as the orchestrator of a turkey sandwich? Or will he be his usual understated self and lay out a sensible roadmap for righting the wrongs of Nokia's recent past? If we're lucky, he'll do all three tomorrow morning. The show gets started early, at 10AM GMT, but whether you're staying up late or getting up early, we don't expect you to miss a moment of it. 12:00AM - Hawaii 02:00AM - Pacific 03:00AM - Mountain 04:00AM - Central 05:00AM - Eastern 10:00AM - London 11:00AM - Paris 01:00PM - Moscow 03:30PM - Mumbai 07:00PM - Tokyo 09:00PM - Sydney
Google's Vic Gundotra on Nokia: 'Two turkeys do not make an Eagle' (updated)
Well, well. Just after Nokia CEO Stephan Elop's "burning platform" memo leaked out and prompted intense speculation that Nokia would start building Windows Phone 7 handsets, Google's Vic Gundotra tweeted "Two turkeys do not make an Eagle" prefaced with a #feb11 hashtag -- the same day as Nokia's Capital Markets Day event in London. That's some pretty serious trash talk, and we'd say it pretty much takes an Android tie-up off the table -- we doubt anyone from Google would run around calling Nokia a "turkey" if they were actually partners. Then again, Vic could just be talking about some extremely disturbing genetic engineering research he plans to unveil on Friday -- really, anything is possible with Google. Update: Oh snap. Our friend Seth Weintraub at Fortune just reminded us that there's some serious history behind "two turkeys do not make an eagle" -- it's what former Nokia VP Anssi Vanjoki said in 2005 about BenQ buying Siemens's failing handset business. (Ouch.) Of course, Vanjoki also just said that using Android is like peeing in your pants for warmth, so we suppose Gundotra's been waiting for some payback -- although his timing's a little off, since Vanjoki just made a very public exit from Nokia after being denied the CEO job, Still, though -- is any burn sweeter than the obscure European handset business history burn? We don't think so.
Nokia CEO points to iPhone, Android as sparks in company's 'burning platform'
According to our friends over at Engadget, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop sent a memo to his employees which is a pretty interesting read. He not only acknowledges there are other companies making mobile phones, but that said phones are leaving Finland's biggest export in the dust. Elop spends a bit of time talking about the burning platform story and goes on to say a few things I found startling coming from a CEO. Can you imagine Steve Ballmer ever saying, "There is intense heat coming from our competitors, more rapidly than we ever expected"? That's the least direct thing in the memo. Elop goes on to say that Apple is creaming Nokia in the high end market, Android has some real innovation happening and is starting to firmly establish themselves in the midrange, and on the low end, China is cranking out phones faster than Nokia can decide on a color for a new model. Where is he going with this? Two places. First, Elop says, "Our competitors aren't taking our market share with devices; they are taking our market share with an entire ecosystem. This means we're going to have to decide how we either build, catalyse or join an ecosystem." Then, he says Nokia is going to share its new strategy on February 11. Remember, Stephen Elop did time at Microsoft before he went to Nokia. Also keep in mind that I run a House of Crackpot Theories. Sounds to me like he's on the verge of trying to sell Nokia on making mobiles with Windows Phone 7 as an OS. Will this lead to true innovation from a (formerly) huge force in the mobile market? Will Nokia use its history as a hardware powerhouse to finally keep the carriers from crippling customizing Android devices? Will Nokia reveal it's purchased some other company with great mobile development chops to build great software for its handsets? It looks like we don't have much longer to wait to find out what this new strategy is going to be, but until then, feel free to speculate. My House is open to all crackpot theories!
