Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) CEO Stephen Elop recently answered a million dollar question as to why did the company not go for Android to replace Symbian. In a round table with journalists including the Guardian and other European papers, Elop was asked “did he ever regret not choosing Android as the platform for Nokia’s post-Symbian smartphones?”
Decision important from strategic point of view
Elop said that he does not regret the decision of not choosing Android because the company was concerned that one hardware manufacturer will rule over Android. He said that it was not clear at that point of time who the mobile maker would be, but now he feels that the company took the right decision by not selecting Android because the fear soon proved to be right.
“Now fast forward to today and examine the Android ecosystem, and there’s a lot of good devices from many different companies, but one company has essentially now become the dominant player.”
Elop added that it is important from a strategic point of view that Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) distinguishes itself from other phone makers. He said that the first thing that others want to be sure about is the point of difference. Citing a reference to the conversation with chief executive Ralph de la Vega at AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), he said that it was the first priority to convey that they are not Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) or Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Elop said that the communication networks try to maintain the pressure on every phone maker by negotiating with different companies and various options. So for that, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) will want a third alternative. He said that he could negotiate with every operator globally because they are the third ecosystem.
Expectations proved right
Elop has explained pretty well the reason behind not choosing Android. Elop along with his team of experts were expecting that Samsung will take the dominant share of all Android phones leaving all others to struggle with low sales.
What Elop expected has proved to be right with revenue of HTC Corp (TPE:2498) constantly declining even though the Taiwanese phone maker has launched HTC One, one of the best phones from HTC to date. It’s not sure that Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) made the right decision, but the reason behind such decision is already known.
Road ahead for Nokia
He further said that the road ahead is challenging as they are the third ecosystem. However, partners like AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) will help the company to gain a strong foothold. He also indicated the numbers of other Android phone makers who are struggling.
Has Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) achieved the status of third ecosystem instead of Blackberry? That will be revealed during the second quarter results of the company. For the latest quarter, BlackBerry shipped a total of 6.8 million handsets.
