Nokia Chief: if Windows Phone 8 fails, we've got a plan
updated 12:30 am EDT, Mon July 2, 2012
Defends dropping Symbian, confident in Windows 8
Nokia has a contingency plan at the ready should Windows Phone 8 fail to live up to the company's expectations. This according to recent statements from Nokia chairman Risto Siilasmaa, who spoke with Yle Uutiset last week about the troubled phone maker's fortunes. Siilasmaa claimed he believes Windows Phone 8 will be a success and pushed back against the idea that Nokia was essentially betting the company on Microsoft's operating system.
Siilasmaa touted Windows Phone 8 as a technological first, providing a seamless experience across multiple platforms. The transition from Nokia's now-defunct Symbian operating system to Windows Phone, he said, was necessary since Symbian had been in decline since 2008. The Nokia chief said the company had looked critically at all options before deciding on Windows.
Still, Siilasmaa said that Nokia has a plan in place if Microsoft's operating system doesn't make significant inroads in the mobile sector. Siilasmaa declined to go into specifics on the plan, choosing instead to express confidence that the platform would be a success.
Nokia has been struggling to reassure investors of the company's viability even as its share prices decline along with market share. As early as 2010, shareholders were calling for then-CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo to resign, citing the company's inability to impede Apple's growing influence in the mobile sector. More recently, some shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit against the phone maker, seeking damages for Nokia's deteriorating performance even after the adoption of Windows Phone.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2010
Android
My prediction is that they have a few Android handsets hidden in the wings so they can sell some handsets once Windows 8 fails. Big deal. This isn't working out for anyone but Samsung and their days are numbered too.