Thursday, November 3, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Nokia launches N9 - leaves analysts baffled by strategy
Struggling handset manufacturer Nokia has unveiled a new Smartphone using the MeeGo operating system and said it expects to launch a Windows-based handset this year - but has left analysts confused by its strategy.
The N9 will be the first and last Smartphone to run on the MeeGo, the operating system which was launched in February 2010 but which Nokia effectively dumped a year later when it struck a formal alliance with Windows-producer, Microsoft.
Stephen Elop, Nokia chief executive, unveiled the device at a conference in Singapore, adding that he has "increased confidence" Nokia's first Windows device will launch this year and ship in volume in 2012. He hailed the forthcoming launch as the manufacturer's "primary Smartphone strategy".
However, he didn't go into further detail about how this would curtail Nokia's steep decline in market share, or how the new handset would compete against handsets produced by the likes of HTC band ZTE which already use Windows.
Analysts also criticized the timing of the N9 launch. "It seems pointless to launch a phone like the N9 on a platform that has been cut by management," said RBS analyst Didier Scemama.
Ben Wood, head of research at mobile consultancy CCS Insight, told: %u201CThe N9 comes too close to the expected launch of Nokia's Windows Phone device to have any impact on its current Smartphone woes. The strength of rival ecosystems leaves little room for MeeGo powered devices. It's difficult to see the N9 being anything more than a niche device.%u201D
Courtesy: www.telegraph.co.uk
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