I hope They offer timely updates and if its anything to go by their Z launcher Things could get interesting. They could definitely give sammy a run for its money especially in India where nokia after all these years has a very positive Reputation for Quality and Service.
PS: i believe the UI/UX and camera will b e the key to success
A Nokia Nexus could be a very interesting first step... It wouldn't necessarily be a flagship/big differentiator but basic build quality and design were always one of Nokia's hallmarks, and with Foxconn building it and Google marketing...
The first impression they left with their first Android devices were very positive. Plus they do have the design experience to create very nice and unique devices. If they really get their shit together they will create very attractive devices at a reasonable price with a nice OS. Motorola, Samsung, Xiaomi and Google sans bullshit blended into one.
"collapsed as a result of the company’s decision to solely adopt Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system." I'd say: "collapsed as a result of the company’s decision to keep going with Symbian/Maemo/MeeGo" The deal with MS came later on, when Nokia was already doomed.
Going for Android THAT late into the game, with Samsung dominating and new wave of Chinese brands emerging... I cannot see that doing any better. They lost all the way back in ~2007, when first iPhone was released.
"Remember, Nokia’s sales organization once made the company the world’s largest supplier of mobile phones and they used to be relatively successful until Nokia’s market share collapsed as a result of the company’s decision to solely adopt Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system."
I don't have the numbre on hand, but I'm pretty sure Nokia share had already droped to the single digit before they chose Windows Phone. It's not like they were a market giant one day and decided to commit suicide by going WP. They chose WP as an exclusive as a differentiator from Samsung, Apple, LG and others that had already stolen most of Nokia marketshare in the smarphone market.
I'm not saying going with WP was the best decision, but don't make it out like it was the sole reason of Nokia downfall. It was a last ditch effort to regain marketshare.
It's even more important now that they are coming back on Android. They have the same problems they had before going with WP; heavy competition from Samsung and Apple and little share to gain from the smaller players.
The way I remember it is that Nokia started their downward fall long before adopting Windows phone. It really all started when the first iPhone was released. Nokia took too long responding to that. Of coarse, choosing Windows phone over android was another nail in the coffin after that.
the point is that they were already in the coffin, and maybe not even going for android wouldn't have saved them. So they went with WP which has a strong backer and attempted to regain success by riding on OS differentiation.
Too bad for MS and Nokia and consumers (outside of the US and China Android has a complete monopoly), it didn't happen.
There's probably less competition in the Android market NOW than when they went WP... Moto, Sony, and HTC are all worse off, sure Samsung is more dominant and you could argue it's harder than ever to differentiate (phones like the S7 having everything and the kitchen sink...); but if Nokia still has some decent relationships with distribution and retail channels they could quickly surge ahead of the smaller players.
"There's probably less competition in the Android market NOW than when they went WP..." I don't agree. While the high end is Android is firmly in the hands of Samsung and then a lot lower on the list maybe LG and Nexus devices, the general make up of the Android eco system has become much more diverse. The main thing is Chinese smartphone companys are in all sorts of markets and getting better each month. We have western brands (bq) now offering Chinese style phones for similar prices with local warranties. We have Asian brands (Cubot for sure) offering their phones over western marketplaces (amazon.de sold them) without the need for importing and additional taxes. And it works because they offer enough performance for the price they ask. So right now, I can probably find you 50 smartphones that are pretty good at being a smartphone, ranging from 80€ to 800€. Back in the day, that was maybe true for 15, ranging from 250€ to 800€.
I'll cede you that, if looking at the overall market on a global scale then yeah, a ton more competitive now... My comment was more about the flagship space.
I guess it brings up an interesting point, should new Nokia be trying to come up with a diverse lineup and more budget oriented offerings? Or should they be aiming for the top or middle/top?
I guess with Foxxcon behind them and at least some surviving retail relationships they could actually stand to do well on the bottom end, specially in places where the brand still carries...
I'm hoping they aim higher but that's just for selfish reasons.
Interesting analysis. Having recently bought a Lumia 620, my second MS phone, I've been wondering where all of this will go. I'm not suggesting MS is the best OS, but I really like it and it fits my usage very well. I have tried Apple and Android and just found too much junk in the way of the simple things I need my phone to do. I do accept that I am probably a niche customer, but niches could be big markets. Even though I live in North America, I still keep one of my old Nokia dumb phones on hand and pop in my SIM card with it's awkward adapter and use it many times. Why? There are two bad industrial design issues with smartphones. One is that touch screens are useless with the slightest amount of precipitation and two, smart phones have simply gotten too big to carry around all the time. I'm sure Nokia's history of knowing it's customer base might give them simple ideas like a smaller, yet high performance phone and one you can actually dial easily, say through a more innovative touch screen or an old fashioned keypad. These might be niche or they might be the killer differentiators required.
Nokia will have to come up with seriously innovative hardware if it hopes to carve out a niche for itself in a market that's saturated with Android phones of pretty much every form, function and price point.
This new company using Nokia's name cannot compete with Samsung from a hardware perspective. The old Nokia was similar to Samsung in organization. Samsung has top notch hardware manufacturing capabilities, Nokia can only buy from suppliers.
Let's say they want to be like Apple and design in Finland but made in China. Again not the same and pretty much impossible. Apple invests in its suppliers and depending on component, contributes to the research involved in bringing new tech to market.
The new Nokia phones will be akin to the recent Nokia tab that brought USB C to the market.
Great article. Fingers crossed, and although it will be near impossible to truly differentiate in this field, the fact that this will again be a truly Finnish endeavor, with highly competent and experienced people involved, puts my hopes pretty high.
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osxandwindows - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
we'll see.ddriver - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
let's hope it will end up better than m$'s conquest of the mobile phone market loldamianrobertjones - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
MS never had a chance. You'd walk into, possibly, any phone shop wanting a Lumia and the staff WILL divert you to another brand. Usually Android.That'll happen again when MS releases their new range alongside the SP5.
edzieba - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
It's going to get really confusing if HMD global do not make any HMDs.Flunk - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
Competition is always good.Eden-K121D - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
I hope They offer timely updates and if its anything to go by their Z launcher Things could get interesting. They could definitely give sammy a run for its money especially in India where nokia after all these years has a very positive Reputation for Quality and Service.PS: i believe the UI/UX and camera will b e the key to success
Impulses - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
A Nokia Nexus could be a very interesting first step... It wouldn't necessarily be a flagship/big differentiator but basic build quality and design were always one of Nokia's hallmarks, and with Foxconn building it and Google marketing...Daniel Egger - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
The first impression they left with their first Android devices were very positive. Plus they do have the design experience to create very nice and unique devices. If they really get their shit together they will create very attractive devices at a reasonable price with a nice OS. Motorola, Samsung, Xiaomi and Google sans bullshit blended into one.iampivot - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
It would be nice if they could come up with some no-frills (good old nokia style) feature phone with great styling like this one; https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp01-mobile-phone...ddriver - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
LOL, I actually lol'ed when I saw the price of this fugly dumb phone. So now we are advanced to the point we pay premium for such garbage?dsraa - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
Is that a Gold C7? God it looks beautiful....ads295 - Thursday, May 26, 2016 - link
The gold version was called Oro, look it up. It is pretty...Gich - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
"Nokia knows how to build devices and which features to add".Are we so sure?
Gich - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
"collapsed as a result of the company’s decision to solely adopt Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system."I'd say: "collapsed as a result of the company’s decision to keep going with Symbian/Maemo/MeeGo"
The deal with MS came later on, when Nokia was already doomed.
damianrobertjones - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
+1Alexey291 - Thursday, May 26, 2016 - link
Yup pretty much.nikon133 - Sunday, May 29, 2016 - link
+1Going for Android THAT late into the game, with Samsung dominating and new wave of Chinese brands emerging... I cannot see that doing any better. They lost all the way back in ~2007, when first iPhone was released.
lefty2 - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
"Microsoft will continue to develop Windows 10 Mobile and support Lumia devices"That sounds like a death knell to me ;)
inighthawki - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
In what way?lefty2 - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
They said the exact same thing about the Zuneinighthawki - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
Ah I see, I misinterpreted your comment as referring to their entire mobile segment.PsychoPif - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
"Remember, Nokia’s sales organization once made the company the world’s largest supplier of mobile phones and they used to be relatively successful until Nokia’s market share collapsed as a result of the company’s decision to solely adopt Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system."I don't have the numbre on hand, but I'm pretty sure Nokia share had already droped to the single digit before they chose Windows Phone. It's not like they were a market giant one day and decided to commit suicide by going WP. They chose WP as an exclusive as a differentiator from Samsung, Apple, LG and others that had already stolen most of Nokia marketshare in the smarphone market.
I'm not saying going with WP was the best decision, but don't make it out like it was the sole reason of Nokia downfall. It was a last ditch effort to regain marketshare.
It's even more important now that they are coming back on Android. They have the same problems they had before going with WP; heavy competition from Samsung and Apple and little share to gain from the smaller players.
lefty2 - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
The way I remember it is that Nokia started their downward fall long before adopting Windows phone. It really all started when the first iPhone was released. Nokia took too long responding to that. Of coarse, choosing Windows phone over android was another nail in the coffin after that.Murloc - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
the point is that they were already in the coffin, and maybe not even going for android wouldn't have saved them.So they went with WP which has a strong backer and attempted to regain success by riding on OS differentiation.
Too bad for MS and Nokia and consumers (outside of the US and China Android has a complete monopoly), it didn't happen.
Impulses - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
There's probably less competition in the Android market NOW than when they went WP... Moto, Sony, and HTC are all worse off, sure Samsung is more dominant and you could argue it's harder than ever to differentiate (phones like the S7 having everything and the kitchen sink...); but if Nokia still has some decent relationships with distribution and retail channels they could quickly surge ahead of the smaller players.Death666Angel - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
"There's probably less competition in the Android market NOW than when they went WP..."I don't agree. While the high end is Android is firmly in the hands of Samsung and then a lot lower on the list maybe LG and Nexus devices, the general make up of the Android eco system has become much more diverse. The main thing is Chinese smartphone companys are in all sorts of markets and getting better each month. We have western brands (bq) now offering Chinese style phones for similar prices with local warranties. We have Asian brands (Cubot for sure) offering their phones over western marketplaces (amazon.de sold them) without the need for importing and additional taxes. And it works because they offer enough performance for the price they ask. So right now, I can probably find you 50 smartphones that are pretty good at being a smartphone, ranging from 80€ to 800€. Back in the day, that was maybe true for 15, ranging from 250€ to 800€.
Impulses - Friday, May 27, 2016 - link
I'll cede you that, if looking at the overall market on a global scale then yeah, a ton more competitive now... My comment was more about the flagship space.I guess it brings up an interesting point, should new Nokia be trying to come up with a diverse lineup and more budget oriented offerings? Or should they be aiming for the top or middle/top?
I guess with Foxxcon behind them and at least some surviving retail relationships they could actually stand to do well on the bottom end, specially in places where the brand still carries...
I'm hoping they aim higher but that's just for selfish reasons.
mrvco - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
Come on... bring something comparable to the Samsung Golden (i9235 / W2016) to the Americas!!!anindividual - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
Interesting analysis. Having recently bought a Lumia 620, my second MS phone, I've been wondering where all of this will go. I'm not suggesting MS is the best OS, but I really like it and it fits my usage very well. I have tried Apple and Android and just found too much junk in the way of the simple things I need my phone to do.I do accept that I am probably a niche customer, but niches could be big markets. Even though I live in North America, I still keep one of my old Nokia dumb phones on hand and pop in my SIM card with it's awkward adapter and use it many times. Why? There are two bad industrial design issues with smartphones. One is that touch screens are useless with the slightest amount of precipitation and two, smart phones have simply gotten too big to carry around all the time.
I'm sure Nokia's history of knowing it's customer base might give them simple ideas like a smaller, yet high performance phone and one you can actually dial easily, say through a more innovative touch screen or an old fashioned keypad. These might be niche or they might be the killer differentiators required.
The_Assimilator - Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - link
Nokia will have to come up with seriously innovative hardware if it hopes to carve out a niche for itself in a market that's saturated with Android phones of pretty much every form, function and price point.id4andrei - Thursday, May 26, 2016 - link
What to expect? Not much.This new company using Nokia's name cannot compete with Samsung from a hardware perspective. The old Nokia was similar to Samsung in organization. Samsung has top notch hardware manufacturing capabilities, Nokia can only buy from suppliers.
Let's say they want to be like Apple and design in Finland but made in China. Again not the same and pretty much impossible. Apple invests in its suppliers and depending on component, contributes to the research involved in bringing new tech to market.
The new Nokia phones will be akin to the recent Nokia tab that brought USB C to the market.
darkich - Thursday, May 26, 2016 - link
Great article. Fingers crossed, and although it will be near impossible to truly differentiate in this field, the fact that this will again be a truly Finnish endeavor, with highly competent and experienced people involved, puts my hopes pretty high.zodiacfml - Friday, May 27, 2016 - link
Oh my, too late. To make it worthwhile, a company has to produce the hardware partz itself such as LG, Sony, especially Samsung.BiTesterEmailer - Thursday, July 21, 2016 - link
Awesome article!BiTesterEmailer - Thursday, July 21, 2016 - link
Interesting!BiTesterEmailer - Thursday, July 21, 2016 - link
.BiTesterEmailer - Thursday, July 21, 2016 - link
.