Nokia's 400 million Android phones next year...
Ok. Just dreaming.
The words “Nokia” and “Android” are very powerful. They are rarely used together in the same sentence by Nokia devotees. For a few years, the concept of Nokia producing an Android handset has been nothing but a highly limited intellectual exercise.
The received wisdom has always been that Nokia would produce an Android device over it’s dead body. When hell freezes over. Etc. I have sat in painful group media interviews whilst Silicon Valley journalists repeatedly demanded to know why the board-level Nokia executive wasn’t creating Android phones. Needless to say the Nokia executive(s) considered the line of questionning beyond the absurd.
Completely absurd when the company has it’s own proven operating system.
But not that absurd any more. Not when Nokia’s come out of a rather challenging quarter with a new CEO. Not when the market actually sends Nokia’s (previously languishing) shares up a few points on the mere hint of Android.
The ‘A’ word hasn’t been mentioned by Elop. Just the possibility of a Nokia future that might include another OS. (Beyond MeeGo, one assumes)
Sadly I think a Nokia Android world is the stuff of dreams for many (and nightmares for others). Likewise a Nokia Windows strategy.
But, for just a few moments, let’s just pretend. Let’s suspend reality.
A Nokia strategy that sees it move it’s entire production of 400-500 million devices to Android within 2 years? That’s compelling. (I know there are SO many issues with this, but go with me).
All of a sudden, Nokia would be sitting right at the top of the mobile industry table (they’re right there already, just ignored). The company would be relevant once again. And all of a sudden, the investments in Ovi — particularly the now capable Ovi Store infrastructure — become particularly compelling. I could see the Ovi Store on Android being a much better alternative than the Android marketplace.
Yes the majority of Nokia’s customers are at the lower end of the market. But they’ll be aspiring beyond feature phone status. The sub-£100 Android device is already a reality. Could Nokia own the likely huge $39 Android ‘smartphone’ category, using it’s phenomenal logistical capabilities?
At the higher-end, Nokia would immediately fix the usual challenges that greet every new arrival that they produce at the moment. Imagine the Nokia N8 running Android 2.2. Interesting. All of a sudden you can free Nokia’s talented array of hardware geniuses to focus on innovating brilliant devices and avoiding the OS panic.
Android on Nokia would really, really change the marketplace. I’d love to see this kind of aggressive market-changing big decisions from the company, I really would.
It’s unlikely though. Very unlikely. The company’s sitting on (still) the most popular OS on the planet in Symbian and MeeGo is en route ready to wow us all. (Or ready to get the usual pasting the American-led tech media has been routinely reserving for Nokia).
What do you think?
Posted via email from MIR Live
