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Microsoft Lays Off Nokia Employees, Exits Consumer Phone Business
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You guys haven't paid attention. Nokia will stay in business making feature phones - it's MS and the Lumia smartphones that are done.
What incentive is there for any other OEM to make a windows phone, if they see the 'captain' seemingly abandon the ship. A single surface phone will do nothing to stem the haemorrhage.
At least with Nokia brand being sold/licenced off - we may see Nokia return (albeit from Foxconn) with Android. A proper successor to the Lumia 1020 42mp camera running on more updated OS / Specs will be welcome.
At least with Nokia brand being sold/licenced off - we may see Nokia return (albeit from Foxconn) with Android. A proper successor to the Lumia 1020 42mp camera running on more updated OS / Specs will be welcome.
I feel bad for the employees. Hope they get new jobs soon.
I find it surprising that so many were left... it seems like they would have all been searching for new jobs and leaving Microsoft behind... I can't imagine this many didn't see it coming and didn't think to leave on their own.
I find it surprising that so many were left... it seems like they would have all been searching for new jobs and leaving Microsoft behind... I can't imagine this many didn't see it coming and didn't think to leave on their own.
This is the reason I'm so surprised we see so many forum members getting upset that Apple refuses to simply 'just make desktop and laptop computers'. They need to change or die, 15 years ago nobody would have believed it if you could list the companies that would disappear over the next 10-15 years, they were simply too big to fail.
Only they weren't, obviously. I probably wouldn't want an Apple car if they made one but I fully understand why they need to see if they can find a place in a new market. Apple took the 'computer' out of their name not that long ago because they realised they were no longer just a computer manufacturer.
History has shown us so many companies who started off doing one hing and because they had the intelligence to evolve they end up doing so,etching totally different. 3M was a mining company, Avon sold books, Nintendo made playing cards, was a taxi company, hotel chain, food business and more. To be fair to Nokia they were originally a paper mill, so they knew about change, they just forgot to keep doing it.
How disgusting. Although unusual in some of the deliveries, Nokia actually explored design unlike all the clone companies today. Nokia was a forward thinking phone manufacturer and Microsoft simply corrupted the business. RIP.
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Sucks for all the employees when their execs make terrible decisions that lead to stuff like this. Hope their severance package is good
I hope Surface phone will be a killer device just like Surface book so finally there will be a real ecosystem to switch to if Apple doesn't do anything about its quality an UI and hardware design.
Windows is a dead platform. It's time to move on! R.I.P. Microsoft we won't miss your blue screens of death.
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Ahh the premature iPhone funeral.Memories....
I would not go as far as saying it's dead as a platform and for my needs desktop stuff works flawlessly especially OneDrive and Onenote.
W10M on the other hand I may concede, if they can't get the surface phone right (with good sales) then it's dead plus with a strong Samsung and supposed Iphone this is year they are taking a huge risk trying to up against those two but I'll try and wait it out
The two Nokias I was talked into by the guys at the AT&T stores back in the 90s were the two worst phones I ever owned. I'll never understand how Nokia got such a rep for great phones. The Motorola StarTac and Razr phones were the class of the feature phone world, IMO.
Karma is a bitch.
Wish I could up vote this 20 more times.
Same, the worry I have is the Surface team will deliver a megaphone but sales won't reflect and thus WP dies with this device
Agreed. Other than the fact that they ran Windows Phone, the Lumina's (I'm not referring to your picture here) were a beautifully designed phone. Very simple and minimalistic look.How disgusting. Although unusual in some of the deliveries, Nokia actually explored design unlike all the clone companies today. Nokia was a forward thinking phone manufacturer and Microsoft simply corrupted the business. RIP.
Agreed. I think the reason the SP is having some success is because it allows lazy and/or overextended IT departments to quickly and easily provide users something they want in a tablet: The ability to have a relatively seamless mobile experience in a Windows-centric work environment, which is something that the iPad can't offer. At least not at this time.
The iPhone has already solved that problem for a device that fits into your pocket. I can't see a phone from MS doing it any better.
Before Microsoft got involved, they actually ran Symbian OS. This particular one had a microSD card making it easy to upgrade storage, 253 ppi widescreen display and stereo speakers.
This is what annoys me and what surprises me even more is despite the public failing the execs usually land in another high profile role.
It could be naivety on my part but I just don't get why/how this keeps happening.
I wonder if we'll be saying the same thing about the iPhone in a decade.
The title of the article is misleading. MS is NOT abandoning the consumer phone market and Windows Mobile is NOT dead. This year they are focusing on the enterprise market (search HP Elite x3). It is a smart move to solidify their hold on that market.
In addition, they have the UWP (Windows Universal Platform) strategy that allows any Windows 10 app (where they outnumber OS X, Linux, and Chrome by a huge margin) to run on Windows Mobile. There are a huge number of apps added to this platform everyday.
Given this, IF they release a Surface Phone, IF they market it correctly, and IF the consumer market buys into it (as many have for the Surface tablet line), then MS has a good chance of being a viable mobile platform.
As a windows fan here's what I think.
Right off the bat the fact that it is a made by the successful surface team will give the device a positive start especially with the teams current hype.
Design, whilst some of the Lumia's did look good they lagged behind their Android and IOS counter parts something that needs to be addressed.
No clear flagship device, to me the 1530 was the flagship WM device but it was probably the 930 that was to wear the crown, either way it was not clear to the end user.
I don't see this aimed purely at consumers it will be more of a enterprise device with 'consumer benefits' one that just works with your other windows devices/cloud/software.
OS, I would expect them to run WP OS with a proper advertising push on continuum.
as the uniqueness of the phone OS is that once it's connected to a docking station you got a mini surface (plus it's constantly syncing).
Last but not least; one heck of a marketing campaign will be kicked off with this 'clean slate' device.
If you think of the Nokia phones as low budget Symbian devices erroneously forced to run WP OS which was a non-finished OS (it killed me to admit that), with a train load of bad press and confusing device line up; this phone is effectively the reset button but if it flops then there will be no more WP from big M.
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Hoooorayyyyyy! Less competition for Apple... exactly what Apple needs right now. Now if we can just see the demise of Android and all dumb phone options, Apple can completely dominate the space without anyone pushing them to deliver anything new and/or motivating them to resist raising prices or selling add-on adapters that used to be features built inside the box. Ideal world indeed. Perfection and nirvana. Exactly what "we" all want because that would be so fantastic for "us". Let's all go dance on that grave.
I think Microsoft should have made an $399 Andriod smartphone with a host of 1st party Microsoft apps using a modified OS that gives integration with Windows 10.
well they could have started AHEAD in the race, as there was iPAQs and the like running windows CE like in... 2002? They were not much bigger than a todays smartphone just bulkier
I still own two, running linux. batteries are probably dead tough. back in the day they were da bomb.
Well Nokia is still in business selling Telco Infrastructure equipment. Whether they will release a phone is only a rumor at this point, given that there was a non-compete clause in the transaction with MS. If, when, and what of something new from Nokia is speculation. But my RIP was for the old feature phones that were rock solid. And I am fine with them staying buried, because I cannot see myself or most people ever going back to one -- if they do it will be a niche thing.