If the rumors are to be believed, Stephen Elop is about to put his money where his mouth is. According to reports from All Things Digital, Bloomberg News, and the Wall Street Journal, the Nokia CEO has “held talks” with both Steve Ballmer of Microsoft and Google CEO Eric Schmidt about integrating either the Windows Phone or Android mobile platforms into new Nokia handsets.
Both Bloomberg and All Things Digital are forecasting that Microsoft’s Phone OS will come out the winner. Industry watchers will know for certain when Elop makes an announcement at an investor meeting this week.
Elop’s plans to shake things up first came to light yesterday when technology blog Engadget published a leaked internal memo that is said to have been written by Nokia’s newly appointed chief executive officer. According to the blog posting, Elop compared the struggling mobile phone manufacturer’s plight to that of a man standing on a “burning platform” and attempting to figure out whether to leap into icy waters.
"The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don't have a product that is close to their experience. Android came on the scene just over two years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes. Unbelievable." That’s just a snippet of what Engadget reveals of the roughly 1,300-word memo to Nokia’s employees.
In January, TechZone360.com reported that Nokia announced a decline in net profit for the fourth quarter of 2010 when compared to the same three months of 2009. The cell phone maker is also facing challenges that could have an impact on current sales.
When discussing the quarter, Elop suggested the company could make some changes on its strategy as it relates to ecosystems.
"In Q4 we delivered solid performance across all three of our businesses, and generated outstanding cash flow,” Elop added in a company statement. “Additionally, growth trends in the mobile devices market continue to be encouraging. Yet, Nokia faces some significant challenges in our competitiveness and our execution. In short, the industry changed, and now it's time for Nokia to change faster."
Edited by
Jennifer Russell