Microsoft to purchase Nokia

[baydude]

For 5.44 billion eur. Hopefully this will better position Windows Phone to compete with Android and iPhones.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2013/09/02/the-next-chapter-an-open-letter-from-steve-ballmer-and-stephen-elop.aspx

 

[madoka]

Wow, MS just has money to burn.

 

[SketchMaster]

Should be interesting to watch.

 

[Crono]

Yeah, there's an ongoing thread in Mobile Devices & Gadgets.

There's so much infighting at Microsoft that the various divisions operate more like cells than a unified company. The recent reorganization is supposed to change that, but I hope Nokia's mobile business being acquired doesn't start negatively affecting the level Nokia has been operating at. The Lumia 1020 and the new 1520 are steps forward to them competing with Apple and Samsung at the higher end (though they aren't quite at the same generation hardware wise), and the Lumia 520/521 is keeping them competitive at the lower end. Still not enough marketshare overall for Nokia or Windows Phone overall, but at least they are moving in the right direction, unlike Blackberry.

And OP, I think you meant "Windows Phone", not Windows Mobile.

 

[Broheim]

this could work out well for them if they do it right, but it could also be a big waste of money... should be interesting to see the result down the road.

 

[Wet Squirrel]

don't understand why they bought nokia

 

[StrangerGuy]

First Surface, now Nokia. Their long time PC OEMs must be very happy about the bridge burning.

 

[Broheim]

First Surface, now Nokia. Their long time PC OEMs must be very happy about the bridge burning.

can't blame them for taking matters into their own hands when their long time OEMs can't get their shit together.

 

[Murloc]

sounds interesting, we'll see a few years down the road if it's money wasted or not.

 

[spaceman]

lol
i can see it now
Microsoft Studded Snows
3/4 tread
good shape
lmao

 

[Genx87]

If they think this will be their iPhone, microsoft shareholders will be disappointed.

 

[techs]

What's next for Microsoft? Will they buy CompuServe?

 

[Vic Vega]

...

 

[rudeguy]

sounds interesting, we'll see a few years down the road if it's money wasted or not.

For MS, its not enough money to worry about. Its not wasted to them.

I can't believe Nokia would sell to MS. I don't see how this is in any way positive for Nokia. Their brand is now tainted with the MS name.

 

[sdifox]

lol
i can see it now
Microsoft Studded Snows
3/4 tread
good shape
lmao

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokian_Tyres

no longer part of Nokia brand. But then I think MS is just getting the mobile division anyway.

 

[Malak]

For MS, its not enough money to worry about. Its not wasted to them.

I can't believe Nokia would sell to MS. I don't see how this is in any way positive for Nokia. Their brand is now tainted with the MS name.

Nokia chose that path a long time ago when they decided to make windows phones. And it looks like they are doing all they can to make an impact on the market, something Microsoft isn't good about doing. Instead of this aquisition being bad for Nokia, maybe it will be good for Microsoft.

 

[mmntech]

The last year has not been a good one for Microsoft. Windows 8 kind of flopped and the Xbox One unveiling was a disaster to say the least. Microsoft's biggest problem, and this has always been their biggest problem, is they don't know how to market to consumers. IMO, Windows really only achieved dominance at home because it was so ubiquitous in the corporate world. This driving down hardware costs. Apple has never been cost competitive and nobody's really come up with a viable alternative to Windows that retains compatibility.

Of course desktop PC demand has been shrinking in favour of tablets and mobiles, which Apple dominates. OS X only has the same 7.5% market share that Windows 8 does, however iOS has 55% of the mobile market locked down.

Windows Phone has also been unable to crack iOS and Android's dominance over the smartphone market. It's in third place yes, but only at about 3.2% market share. Nokia is one of their biggest, if not the biggest hardware partner. So buying them out makes sense as it gives them control of the software and the hardware. MS is trying to play Apple's game. Mind you, this didn't work out very well when they did it with the Surface RT. It's not just pushing out a phone. It has to be a phone that meets or exceeds competitors in both price and performance. Something the surface didn't do.

 

[Arkaign]

Hahahah.

This is going to end well

 

[MarkXIX]

can't blame them for taking matters into their own hands when their long time OEMs can't get their shit together.

This. I can't name a single "premier" brand who can produce a premium or high end product that doesn't compromise somewhere in quality.

 

[sdifox]

can't blame them for taking matters into their own hands when their long time OEMs can't get their shit together.

HTC can make a killer android phone, so can Samsung and LG. So I am not sure it is a matter of the OEMs not getting their shit together when it comes to Windows phone.

 

[Doppel]

I could have saved MS about $4B US on this. If they had invested in me I could have gone on a crazy bender and in four years given them back half their investment, thereby losing only 50% of it instead of the 100% they are more likely to lose.

I feel for them. MS has completely horrifically missed the boat on some of the big technologies of our day, including mobile, social media, search (bing lol), so they need to try something.

 

[MontyAC]

Probably will run Nokia to the ground.

 

[Imp]

Didn't they essentially "buy" Nokia years ago? When they paid them a few billion to sell Windows 7 phones or something like that?

........ $7 or $8 billion for Skype, $4 billion for Nokia.......

 

[Scarpozzi]

I thought this already happened.

Nokia/Windows phones are attacking the entry-level side of the market the hardest. They're trying to sell new, feature-rich smartphones on the cheap to people that would otherwise have to settle for last-year's hardware.

The only problem is the market is flooded with solid-performing Android and IOS phones....many that are 2 years+ old in design. Many can be picked up from carriers for free with contract. This may leave them fighting for prepaid market space or ultra-premium where they'll never stand up to Apple.

If they were smart, they'd start/buy their own wireless network and try to put everyone else out of business by driving the service prices down and force everyone on their network to use Nokia/Windows Mobile devices.

 

[biostud]

can't blame them for taking matters into their own hands when their long time OEMs can't get their shit together.

Microsoft and Nokia are the only ones who make decent WP tablet/phone hardware. Now Microsoft just need to pick up the ball on the OS side...