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[RobotChant]

I wonder whether Nokia was bleeding bad, or ready to jump ship, before MS decided to finally go through with what most people expected.

I wonder if they'll keep the Nokia name.

 

[Zombie James]

Great phones now permanently tied to an underwhelming and sad OS. RIP Nokia.

 

[DopeyFish]

MS Phone is my next phone.
Xphone.

I am seriously considering a windows phone too

iPhone is starting to really bother me

 

[OverHeat]

I am seriously considering a windows phone too

iPhone is starting to really bother me

My iPhone 4S is begging to get retired

 

[SPDIF]

Great phones now permanently tied to an underwhelming and sad OS. RIP Nokia.

In what way?

 

[Lynn616]

I am seriously considering a windows phone too

iPhone is starting to really bother me

Me too. I need a bigger screen than this 4S I have.

 

[Maximus.]

I am not surprised and I think for Microsoft it was a good move or the right move to get them seriously competing without another companies reliance in the mobile game.

 

[Operations]

What was the point of this transaction? They had already secured Nokia's loyalty in the name of differentation for a negligible cost.

 

[capslock]

In what way?

Shh, this is GAF. We do not analyze lazy conventional wisdom with questions.

 

[jey_16]

Compared to Google paying $12b for Motorola, this seems cheap.

 

[ghostmind]

That's why the majority of the team will be coming over from Nokia. So many tears in the thread :lol

I don't have a horse in this race either way, so you may be confusing tears for common sense.

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

To Microsoft,

Spoiler

Go fuck yourselves, you half-baked pieces of shit.

 

[diaspora]

I don't have a horse in this race either way, so you may be confusing tears for common sense.

I think he's referring to these salty kids:

MS and Elop can fuck off

To Microsoft,

Spoiler

Go fuck yourselves, you half-baked pieces of shit.

 

[stktt]

I am seriously considering a windows phone too

iPhone is starting to really bother me

Claiming that the marketplace is at parity with iOS and Android would be fallacious, but the application selection has definitely improved since 8 was released. The largest omissions I can think that I use are Instagram, Vine, Flipboard, and Mint. Those last three are getting official apps by the end of the year, and there are several fully functional Instagram clients available.

Relatively anemic application support aside, it really is a great OS. The live tiles and overall UI/UX design feel more intuitive than anything else I've used. What few shortcomings it has should be addressed with GDR3 later this year and the next big software update early next year. I'm hoping this acquisition speeds up the release of those features even further.

 

[teh_pwn]

Microsoft works fast with Ballmer gone.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I think he's referring to:

Yeah, and a few others.

 

[TheTwelve]

Man I was just about to buy a nokia too.












no I wasn't.

Seriously it was all worth only 5.4 Billion?

 

[GCX]

Compared to Google paying $12b for Motorola, this seems cheap.

MS didn't buy a whole company, Nokia still retains its most profitable parts (Nokia Siemens Networks, navigation services, etc) + the patent case.

 

[Lasthope106]

One thing I can say is that I will never buy a Windows phone.

 

[numble]

Compared to Google paying $12b for Motorola, this seems cheap.

MS didn't buy a whole company, Nokia still retains its most profitable parts (Nokia Siemens Networks, navigation services, etc) + the patent case.

If Google waited longer, they would've been able to get Motorola for much cheaper, especially considering how all the extant patent lawsuits Motorola was in ended up being losers. Even without that, all these loser OEMs have dropped in value massively. Blackberry is worth less than $5 billion (and worth $20 billion to $32 billion in 2011), Nokia (including non-handset businesses) was worth $30-40 billion in 2011, and HTC is now worth $5 billion (from $34 billion in 2011).

 

[secretanchitman]

What was the point of this transaction? They had already secured Nokia's loyalty in the name of differentation for a negligible cost.

That's exactly what I want to know. I doubt it was hardware because that's exactly what partnering up with Nokia was for.

I thought Microsoft had already tried to buy Nokia a while back but the transaction and/or talks failed? I guess the company wanted to quickly scoop them up now that Ballmer is leaving.

 

[Bob Dobalina]

It was pretty obvious from the start of Elop's term that this was going to happen. And of course he steps down from CEO to Device VP, ready to transition back to his home turf.

Sad day, even if the old Nokia was gone long ago.

 

[outunderthestars]

So increasing their market share quarter after quarter is not something to be proud of?

I don't really see anything to be proud of, especially in light of the billions of dollars spent in marketing Windows Phone 7/8 only to be an afterthought in the marketplace.

Half a billion + on Windows Phone 7

Then they increased that budget for Windows Phone 7.5

Then they increased that again for Windows Phone 8 last year, and still languish at roughly the same market share that they had before spending billions of dollars on marketing.

So no. I don;t think there is any reason to see this move as anything other than a lumbering dinosaur desperately trying to cling to life. Windows Phone is a dead platform. In two to three years it will join Windows Media Center, Zune, and Kin.

 

[thoughthorizon]

Almost a year to the day since Nokia killed off its other competing smartphone OS as well.... how fitting.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

That's exactly what I want to know. I doubt it was hardware because that's exactly what partnering up with Nokia was for.

I thought Microsoft had already tried to buy Nokia a while back but the transaction and/or talks failed? I guess the company wanted to quickly scoop them up now that Ballmer is leaving.

Yeah, something failed previously. I imagine they wanted a more secure mobile future. Wonder what they will do with the Asha line?

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

I think he's referring to these salty kids:

Like it matters. I haven't had a Nokia phone in half a decade and my Nexus isn't going anywhere. It just sucks when you saw the writing on the wall the day they announced their partnership.

 

[Cipherr]

What was the point of this transaction? They had already secured Nokia's loyalty in the name of differentation for a negligible cost.

I think a better question is why not? Nokias phones are clearly nearly all in the MS ecosystem. (or seemingly moving that way, they do still have sizable shipments of other phones IIRC). But at this point they may as well. Its to late for them to try and swap and do something like Android, that would never fly, no matter how many people on message boards claim it could be done.

This will allow them to work closer together.

The only problem is I don't feel MS has handled WP nor RT very well at all. Its been so many years, and the miniscule progress they are currently seeing took way to long accomplish, and the pace of it is embarrassingly slow. If that rubs off on the newly aquired Nokia, they are both fucked.

 

[markot]

Compared to Google paying $12b for Motorola, this seems cheap.

They bought the whole company, not just the mobile division.

 

[Tonguer]

This news is fine to me, and probably a good move for MS.

I still believe too many hate Microsoft for the sake of hating Microsoft, and that likely a good percentage of those complaining about Windows Phone 8 haven't owned one. It's a good OS that still struggles from a (relatively speaking) low app store count and low installed base, which is a hell of a chicken-and-egg problem in the current market.

 

[jaypah]

Huh. Wonder how this all plays out.


~~posted from my 920~~

 

[tino]

And yet their Market Share is up around the world. Weird.

Thats great! So is Android WW marketshare.

 

[DopeyFish]

If that lumia 1520 is real, I may get that. Hmmm.

 

[delirium]

Kind of give credence to the conspiracy theory that Nokia's new CEO was a Microsoft plant.

 

[Zombie James]

In what way?

Personally, from a web developer perspective, I'd rather stick needles under my fingernails than debug mobile IE compatibility issues ever again. In general, though, after being an Android user for the past 3-4 years, Windows Phone just doesn't have the flexibility and choices that Andoird offers to make me even consider it an option if I ever wanted to switch, not to mention their app store still has really notable apps missing (like Instagram). It's a damn shame, too, because the phones Nokia makes are all really well made, have attractive designs, and have some of the best mobile cameras. An Android-based Nokia smartphone would have done gangbusters, imho.

 

[f0lken]

That is from Q1, and if anything it shows how far is Android from everything else, but how close iOS and WP really are, and don't get me wrong I don't think WP will overtake globally iOS this year or the next, but the gains are real, and in important countries such as Germany is close to surpass iOS share, and others such as GB they will be hitting 2 digit % soon. The elephant in the room is US, and they need to do something because a lot of the app development comes from there.

 

[tino]

Anyone want to guess how many year it will take MS to kill off the Asha line?

MS's pass history with non-smartphone does not inspire confidence.

 

[Troll]

How do you guys think Elop would do as CEO?

 

[Deleted member 13876]

So this happened.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Anyone want to guess how many year it will take MS to kill off the Asha line?

MS's pass history with non-smartphone does not inspire confidence.

The current plan, but a phase out will probably occur.

Microsoft will acquire the Asha brand and will license the Nokia brand for use with current Nokia mobile phone products. Nokia will continue to own and manage the Nokia brand. This element provides Microsoft with the opportunity to extend its service offerings to a far wider group around the world while allowing Nokia’s mobile phones to serve as an on-ramp to Windows Phone

Also regarding Instagram, there is an excellent 3rd party app on WP.

 

[Discusguy]

I'm hoping this is good news as I'm a L920 owner. I find it hard to find any fault with the WP8 OS. The app situation is a diff story. In apps I talking about the games.

 

[f0lken]

Anyone want to guess how many year it will take MS to kill off the Asha line?

MS's pass history with non-smartphone does not inspire confidence.

Like as soon as the buy is completed, I don't think we will se another Asha phone next year

 

[Barzul]

MS would have to do something truly revolutionary to make a dent in the smartphone market.

 

[ElNino]

again, too bad they make phones on a platform that 93% of the marketplace couldn't possibly care less about.

Too bad for those 93% I guess.

Personally, from a web developer perspective, I'd rather stick needles under my fingernails than debug mobile IE compatibility issues ever again. In general, though, after being an Android user for the past 3-4 years, Windows Phone just doesn't have the flexibility and choices that Andoird offers to make me even consider it an option if I ever wanted to switch, not to mention their app store still has really notable apps missing (like Instagram). It's a damn shame, too, because the phones Nokia makes are all really well made, have attractive designs, and have some of the best mobile cameras. An Android-based Nokia smartphone would have done gangbusters, imho.

It has Instagram now, and outside of games I don't really find anything missing from my iOS devices that I would use with any regularity on my phone.

 

[andrerobot]

fucking elop, we all knew this was bound to happen.

 

[Sean]

This doesn't really change anything.

Microsoft realized that their mobile business has become 100% reliant on Nokia's continued partnership so they scooped them up for billions. These devices will still continue to be ignored by the masses because of the software side (operating system and lack of apps).

 

[juliushandle]

so Elop was a mole all along, just as they feared. wonder if the entire country of Finland is on suicide watch?

shit, what made the Lumia phones so awesome is the tech Nokia put behind them. the were the leaders in camera tech, their screens were right up there with the competitors, and they had amazing design.

what now? i know Nokia will still continue on but now under Microsoft i see a lot of that innovation and spirit kind of crushed. seriously, how many transitional periods will Nokia employees face?

saddens me but i feel this is the death of Nokia as we know it.

edit: of course, my feelings will change if Elop becomes the new CEO.

 

[GWX]

This is probably for the best. Hardware and software made by the same company can only lead to good things, and the Windows Phone division needs all the good things they can have.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

MS would have to do something truly revolutionary to make a dent in the smartphone market.

Well, now they have a revolutionary smartphone camera. And the OS is in some way is revolutionary. More than just a grid of icons.

 

[Cipherr]

Anyone want to guess how many year it will take MS to kill off the Asha line?

MS's pass history with non-smartphone does not inspire confidence.

I was thinking the same, saw this in the updated Verge article:

A driving force behind the sale seems to be Nokia's low-end Asha brand, which Microsoft has acquired outright. Asha gives Microsoft a far larger footprint for Windows Phone, and access to millions of customers in developing countries that it plans to use as an "on-ramp to Windows Phone."

The emphasis also lends some credibility to the notion that Nokia's high-end strategy isn't working — analysts predicted a horrific Q3 for the company, and its struggles to find a foothold are well-documented. In fact, Microsoft's licensing deal for the Nokia brand doesn't include future Lumias — Nokia as a smartphone brand is effectively dead, as Microsoft takes the lineup in-house.

 

[eastmen]

Claiming that the marketplace is at parity with iOS and Android would be fallacious, but the application selection has definitely improved since 8 was released. The largest omissions I can think that I use are Instagram, Vine, Flipboard, and Mint. Those last three are getting official apps by the end of the year, and there are several fully functional Instagram clients available.

Relatively anemic application support aside, it really is a great OS. The live tiles and overall UI/UX design feel more intuitive than anything else I've used. What few shortcomings it has should be addressed with GDR3 later this year and the next big software update early next year. I'm hoping this acquisition speeds up the release of those features even further.

nook is also missing.