Re:Leadership, Strategy and Qt
by ConstantineXVI on Saturday June 23, 2012 @02:29PM
(#4151440)
Despite the internal similarities, it's much more difficult to get a cell phone on the market vs. a tablet. Unless you want to be resigned to the sidelines, you have to be able to convince the carriers to sell your phone. This is very difficult unless you:
a) already have a good relationship with the carriers
b) have someone like Steve Jobs
Nokia at least has (a), Microsoft has neither (Verizon likely still has enough Kin that they won't be hurting for paperweights for quite a while). Microsoft can't afford to kill their only guaranteed in with the carriers.
Nokia has a) only outside North America. In the extremely important US market, which makes or breaks smartphones, Nokia is a nobody. Part of the reasoning in shifting to WP was that Microsoft (or at least the power of their brand) would have delivered that relationship to the Finns. The fact that it didn't happen is quite telling.
> Nokia's worst case here is more then likely getting bought vs. being left for dead like SGI.
... for 10% what they were worth at the time Elop gave the "burning platform" speech.
SGI was technically bought as well. That's really a bad resolution for Nokia, and is far from being a "worst case". If MS decides to produce phones themselves, it is likely Nokia will be left to whither and die.
It might look unlikely now, but unless you were in the know, just a month ago it seemed very unlikely that MS will make their own tablets.