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The collapse of Microsoft and Nokia's mobile business
Microsoft's smartphone business is in free fall, with the company selling just 2.3 million devices in the last three months. It's likely that you'll still be able to buy a Microsoft-branded smartphone, but it's probably not something the firm will devote a lot of time and energy to. After all, making phones is an expensive business, and if there's no chance to make any sort of profit, it's not worth the effort. If you've been watching Microsoft over the last five years, it'll come as no surprise that its smartphone plans have foundered. If you want to explore the evolution and collapse of Microsoft's mobile ambitions, check out our timeline.
Stephen Elop out at Microsoft as it merges OS and device teams
Stephen Elop, the former Nokia CEO who helped engineer Microsoft's acquisition of that company's mobile arm, will soon be leaving Microsoft. The software giant announced a management restructuring this morning which lists Elop as one of three executives who will be out the door after a "designated transition period." At Microsoft Elop served as the executive vice president of the Devices and Services group, but now operating system head Terry Myerson will be leading that division as part of a new Windows and Devices Group. The company says it'll be "focused on enabling more personal computing experiences powered by the Windows ecosystem." It makes sense for Microsoft to unite its OS and devices teams, especially since the company is banking on Windows 10 being a platform for just about every device. While Elop talked big once he rejoined Microsoft, Windows Phone is still a struggling platform that's mainly thriving in the low-end arena. Perhaps with new management, Microsoft can figure out a way to make more people pay attention to its mobile offerings.
Stephen Elop wants to put the 'entirety of the Microsoft experience' in your hands
"Our new CEO is taking us through a transformational phase," said Stephen Elop of Satya Nadella, Microsoft's recently crowned leader, to a rapt crowd at CTIA earlier today. In a talk given during an afternoon keynote session, Elop wanted to convey to the audience of wireless industry press and professionals that Microsoft's not standing still in the face of innovation.
Nokia is now officially part of Microsoft
As expected, Nokia's devices and services business has been officially acquired by Microsoft today. The date was set earlier this week, and it seals the deal the two companies entered into last September. Nokia has long been allied with Microsoft, committing fully to Windows Phone, but as explained when the merger was announced, Microsoft's new arm will continue to support feature phones like the Asha and Nokia X ranges, as well as smartphones (we'll have to wait to see what "support" means exactly). The obligatory press releases from both companies don't reveal any grand plans or shift in focus, but each side has issued some closing remarks, if you like. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said: "Today we welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business to our family. The mobile capabilities and assets they bring will advance our transformation. Together with our partners, we remain focused on delivering innovation more rapidly in our mobile-first, cloud-first world."
New Xbox head Phil Spencer promises renewed focus on gaming across all Microsoft platforms
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the new head of its Xbox division this morning: Phil Spencer, longtime Microsoft Studios leader and Xbox game dude. In Spencer's initial letter to the legions of Xbox owners the world over, his approach comes across as scattershot. See for yourself: "This past year has been a growth experience both for me and for the entire Xbox team. We've taken feedback, made our products better and renewed our focus on what is most important, our customer. Our mission is to build a world-class team, work hard to meet the high expectations of a passionate fan base, create the best games and entertainment and drive technical innovation. As we continue forward, this renewed focus and mission will be a foundational part of how I lead the Xbox program." Given that, our first question to Spencer in a short phone interview this afternoon was one of clarification. With so many aspects of Xbox to oversee, where will he begin? "I'm gonna lead with a gaming focus and making sure that's where we're led. That's the North Star for the organization," he told us.
Microsoft's hardware leader steps aside ahead of Stephen Elop's arrival
Microsoft said that Stephen Elop would run its hardware division as soon as it finished acquiring Nokia's device business, and the company has just taken a big step toward making that leadership change a reality. Current Devices & Studios lead Julie Larson-Green has told her staff that she's leaving her position to become the Chief Experience Officer at the Applications and Services group, which oversees Bing, Office and Skype. The move sees her report to Qi Lu, the app section's Executive VP. Larson-Green will manage devices until Elop arrives, but the announcement effectively marks the end to her brief 7-month tenure of the crucial organization. She was certainly busy during that time -- she oversaw the launches of the Xbox One, new Surface tablets and Xbox Music, among other projects. However, we may not know the full extent of her legacy until sometime after she has changed roles.
Stephen Elop: Nokia X will bring more consumers to Windows Phone
After Nokia's big announcement of the brand-new X series, we had a chance to sit down with Stephen Elop, the executive VP of Devices for the company. Naturally, the company's decision to crank out an Android device was a matter of great curiosity for us. Most importantly: Did Microsoft agree to this from the beginning, or did Nokia's acquirer go into this idea begrudgingly? According to Elop, it's the former. "Microsoft bought the Mobile Devices division," Elop told us, "so they knew what they were doing." Given the company's focus on a tile-based experience and its emphasis on the Microsoft Cloud, it's beginning to make a lot of sense. Elop went on to state that the X is primarily a stepping stone (a "gateway phone," if you will) for a largely untouched market segment -- emerging markets and developing countries -- to get acclimatized to Microsoft's suite of services and familiar Live Tiles interface. It's an interesting strategy, no doubt, and we're excited to see if it pays off in the long run -- people won't be rushing to a Windows Phone weeks after buying an XL, but it sounds like the idea is to plant a seed within consumers, as well as a reliance on services like Skype, Outlook and OneDrive. Our interview with Stephen in its entirety is below. Steve Dent contributed to this post.
Microsoft will have a new CEO 'in the early part of 2014'
With roughly nine months to go until Microsoft's unforgettably demonstrative CEO Steve Ballmer steps down, the hunt is on for his replacement. Will it be incoming Nokia CEO Stephen Elop? Maybe Ford's Alan Mullaly? No one outside of Microsoft's board of directors knows for sure, but it apparently won't be too long before we find out. "I expect we'll complete our work in the early part of 2014," board chair John W. Thompson wrote on Microsoft's blog. Thompson said he and his colleagues have whittled down the list from "over 100 possible candidates" to "a group of about 20 individuals" (presumably including the aforementioned exec duo). He sadly didn't offer much insight into the discussions, which we can only guess involved both a very large dart board and (at least) a few bottles of carbonated mineral water.
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.
Reuters: Stephen Elop and Ford's Alan Mulally make Microsoft CEO shortlist
While it's known that Stephen Elop of Nokia fame is being eyed by Microsoft to replace Steve Ballmer as CEO, and rumored that Ford CEO Alan Mulally is also a contender, it appears that both candidates are gaining steam. According to Reuters sources familiar with the matter, the company has narrowed its list of external candidates down to roughly five people, and the pair have made the cut. It's also said that a trio of internal folks are being considered, which includes former Skype honcho Tony Bates and enterprise head Satya Nadella. Although the pool of hopefuls has been pared down, the outlet's sources note that choosing that next chief could still take a few months. Considering Ballmer is happy to hang around Redmond for a while, don't expect the regime change to happen overnight.
Stephen Elop says he's ready for change at Microsoft
All eyes are on Stephen Elop. Just hours ago, he introduced Nokia's first Windows tablet; he's also overseeing his division's integration into Microsoft; and Redmond is even considering him as its next CEO. During our interview today, Elop understandably couldn't comment on the prospect of taking Steve Ballmer's place, but he did say he's ready to take up the challenge of bringing the two giants together, no matter what. "I'm looking forward to being a part of driving that change within the company in whatever capacity," Elop said.
Ballmer confirms what we all knew: Elop candidate for Microsoft CEO job
File this one in the "Well, yeah," department. Stephen Elop may have stepped down from his CEO gig at Nokia, but Microsoft's former head of its Business Division may still harbor C-level dreams. In an interview with The Seattle Times, Redmond's soon-to-be-former CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed that Elop is in the running for his gig, stating, "Stephen will go from external [candidate] to internal." So the personable mobile exec will be keeping his name badge either way -- time will tell, of course, which washroom he ultimately gets the key for.
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.
Microsoft to acquire Nokia's devices & services business for around $5 billion (Update: due early 2014)
Whoa. Big news from the middle of the night. According to Nokia, Microsoft will purchase "substantially" all of Nokia's device and service arms as well as licensing the phone maker's patents and mapping know-how. The Redmond company will pay Nokia a cool 3.79 billion euros ($4.99 billion) for the business, and 1.65 billion euros ($2.18 billion) for its patent armory. Microsoft hopes that allying with its biggest Windows Phone manufacturer will speed up growth (and improve its smartphone market share) -- the company is already promising "increased synergies." CEO Steve Ballmer added: "It's a bold step into the future - a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies. Bringing these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft's share and profits in phones, and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft and our partners across our entire family of devices and services." According to the companies' press releases, 32,000 people will transfer across Microsoft, including 4,700 people in Finland and 18,300 employees directly involved in product manufacture. If you thought it was only the Windows Phone component of the phone business, you'd be wrong: Microsoft will also take into ownership Nokia's Asha range of feature phones. Patent-wise, Microsoft gets 10-year non-exclusive license to its Finnish partner's library of ideas and "reciprocal rights" to use Microsoft patents within its HERE mapping services. While Microsoft will be able to use the Nokia branding on its products, the Finnish company will now focus on its mapping, infrastructure and advanced tech arms. Update: In Microsoft's presentation on the rationale of the acquisition, the two parties state that "we are confident about our prospects for approval by early 2014." Just a few more months to go!
The Daily Roundup for 07.11.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The Engadget Interview: Nokia's Stephen Elop on the Lumia 1020
As expected, the Nokia Lumia 1020 arrived with 41 megapixels in tow at today's event in New York City. Got questions? Yeah, us too. Thankfully, we had a bit of time to sit down with none other than Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, who was fresh off the on-stage Q&A, wearing a slick pair of bright yellow Converse All-Stars, in honor of the eye-popping color scheme of the handset he showed off earlier today. Elop seemed genuinely excited by his new device (even jokingly correcting me when I called it his "new toy"), taking a picture of us immediately after entering the room -- or, rather, he took a picture of our own Richard Lai and zoomed out to reveal me. The concept of re-framing is a huge part of what Nokia's selling -- take a picture first and worry about framing it later. With 41 megapixels, it's easy enough to zoom in or out after the fact. Richard brought along a trio of handsets for comparison, including the N8, 808 PureView and the recent Lumia 925, so naturally we started with a little history -- much like the press conference itself. Of interest was at precisely what point Nokia began to envision optics as one of, if not the, key focus of its handsets. It was an appropriate visual from Elop's point of view -- the executive sees all of the above as entries in the company's evolutionary line. Nokia's focusing on improving the experience a bit with each and every link, says Elop, with the latest handset building atop of the lessons learned. The Lumia 1020 is, naturally, a culmination of those lessons.
Live from the 'Connecting the Next Billions' keynote with Stephen Elop, Gary Kovacs and more
Mozilla's Gary Kovacs has been harping on this idea of connecting the next billion or so people to the internet all week -- it's one of the driving philosophies behind Firefox OS. Nokia is looking to bring down the cost of entry to the mobile web with the 105 and 301. Then there are operations like Qtel and Bharti Airtel, that provide cellular service across the developing world and in emerging markets. These companies are all looking to put the democratizing power of the web in the pockets of people across the globe, and they're all here at Mobile World Congress 2013 to discuss just how they plan to do that and why it's so important. To find out what these CEOs, including Stephen Elop, Dr. Nasser Marafih (Qtel) and Sunil Mittal (Bharti Airtel) have to say, check back in at the time below. February 26, 2013 3:00 AM EST
The Engadget Interview: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop at MWC 2013
Nokia just launched the stylish Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 Windows Phones plus a pair of affordable candy bar handsets (Nokia 301 and 105) here at MWC 2013. We spent a few brief minutes with CEO Stephen Elop to discuss the announcement -- talking about the common design language and the incredible price points for these devices (€15 / $20 for the Nokia 105 and €139 / $184 for the Lumia 520). We also quizzed Mr. Elop about the Lumia 920's ongoing camera woes and what's being done to address them, then chatted about the company's recent focus on entry-level smartphones like the delightful Lumia 620 and what it means in terms of strategy. Hit the break to watch our video interview.
Behind the scenes history of MeeGo reveals Nokia's abandoned tablet and Verizon N9
Finnish site Taskumuro has produced an incredibly detailed behind-the-scenes history of Nokia's wonderful, yet doomed, MeeGo OS. Talking to current and ex-employees of the phone maker, it learned that a tablet (codenamed Senna) and CDMA Nokia N9 for Verizon were both in development before Stephen Elop killed the project dead around the time of the "burning platform" memo. The report also claims that the company's decision to develop Maemo (later MeeGo) in tandem with Symbian led to a developer turf-war, that the Swipe UI was cooked up at the 80/20 Design Studio in New York and the team had planned an Apple-esque strategy of releasing a single phone every year. If you'd like to learn more (and about how the original article was translated from Finnish into English in under 10 hours), head on down to the source links. [Thanks, Masa and Justus]
How would you change Nokia's Lumia 900?
While this regular feature is called How Would You Change, in the case of Nokia's Lumia 900, it seems more apt to change the question to "What Killed It?." The flagship was designed to break the US from its traditional indifference to the company, yet only 600,000 users took the plunge. Firstly, despite its low price and smooth performance, it had mediocre specs and a middling display, while customers were outraged when the incompatible Windows Phone 8 and the Lumia 920 supplanted it half a year later. This week, we're asking you to play armchair Elop and tell us what you'd have done differently if they'd asked you.
