Weekly Task 6

Task

1. What do you think about this concept? Do you think it will be successful or not? Why or why not?
2. How does the new strategy change Nokia's position in the markets?
3. Who are the main competitors of Nokia Microsoft partnership.
4. Do you think to invest in Nokia or not?

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To tell the truth that is my favourite topic - gadgets and mobile devices, hardware&software. I am not against Nokia at all, I fell pity for its recent situation and looking forward to its Nokia Windows Phone 7 products.

1. I think that in Nokia's situation nowadays, partnership with Microsoft is a great solution for many problems. Nokia's products' quality is very good, that means that from the hardware point Nokia wins. On the other hand, everybody knows, that Nokia had problems with software - its mobile operating system - Symbian - is considered to be too old nowadays. This is the reason why the company lost developers and customers. Nokia tried something new, when created Nokia N9 with a MeeGo operating system, which looks attractive a lot. But it is also considered to be the dead one, because N9 is practically the only mobile device with the running MeeGo operating system on it.

Speaking about Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 is something new, comparing it to Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems. It looks modern, fresh and interesting.
However, Microsoft has one great problem: the companies like HTC and Samsung, which install Windows Phone 7 on their mobile phones, also install Google Andoid operating system on their devices as well. The companies are not interested in competing with their own product lines, that is why they mainly prefer Andoid. This is why Microsoft needed mobile phones producer, which is well known among customers and produces high-quality hardware. I think that it is a great success for Microsoft to find Nokia in such a difficult situation in which it is nowadays and to give a hand to the drowning company.
So, Nokia is a producer of products with a good quality, but without an interesting software, interface and so on, while Microsoft is a well-known company which produces software, operating systems, but has problems with marketing and hardware.
I think, that this in this occasion, collaboration between these two famous giants is a solution to a great number of problems.

Moreover, Microsoft has problems with marketing as well. Microsoft's shareholders were not satisfied by Steve Ballmer's results. By the way, he is considered to be Microsoft's main problem (sourse). This is another reason, why I consider the collaboration between Nokia and Microsoft successful.

By the way, Nokia is still the largest mobile phones (not smartphones) producer in the world.

That may also mean, that the number of Nokia's fans is great as well. And it is profitable for both companies to unite their fans: more developers. It would be much easier and effective to compete with the market leaders, Google and Apple, nowadays in both ways - in hardware and in software as well.

As for Microsoft's adCenter - I have never heard of it, though I often see headlines containing "AdWords" by Google and iAd by Apple. But I suppose it has to be a great alternative on Windows Phone 7 operating system.
Speaking about Bing - this is much more difficult situation. It is too unpopular nowadays, comparing it to Google, though using it as main search on Nokia WP7 gadgets would increase the number of Bing's users. It also seems nice, that Nokia maps would become the core of Microsoft's mapping services.

Though I am an Apple addict, I would never buy a Nokia+Symbian gadget or HTC/Samsung+WP7 device, but the way Nokia+WP7 seems very interesting for me.

2. I think, that this would stop Nokia's market position's degradation and will even increase it. Moreover, as I have already said Nokia's mobile phone sales are doing well and the company is leading there.
3. The main competitors with Nokia Microsoft alliance are:

• Google Android (Motorola (recently bought by Google), HTC, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, etc.)
  
• Apple iOS
  
• Samsung + Bada OS
  
• Blackberry OS
  
• Other manufacturers + Microsoft alliances (Dell, HTC, Samsung, etc) - competitors only for Nokia
  

4. I would prefer to do that, because this collaborations seems very perspective for me. Moreover, Nokia's stocks are very cheap nowadays, as the picture proves.

Ilya Belyavskiy