Nokia Plan B was just a hoax all along

There’s been a lot of chatter about a “Nokia Plan B” over the past 48 hours — the site was put up by “nine young investors” who outlined an audacious plan to rally shareholders, get themselves elected onto Nokia’s board, and radically change the company’s direction by firing Stephen Elop and committing massive resources to MeeGo. Needless to say, it resonated with many of Nokia’s now disenfranchised fans and employees, and it made some serious waves — enough so that Plan B was picked up by several major news outlets, including this morning’s print edition of the Wall Street Journal.

There’s just one problem, though: the “nine young investors” don’t really exist — according to the last tweet on the @NokiaPlanB Twitter account, it was all a hoax perpetuated by “one very bored engineer who really likes his iPhone.” Ouch. That explains why the now-defunct site abruptly gave up the cause this morning after just 36 hours of existence, and it definitely explains why we never got any response to our emails trying to get further information. We’ll award points for bravado and for doing a better job of rallying the troops than Nokia itself, we suppose, but we’re sure quite a few Nokia fans are going to be crushed at this news. On the bright side, Plan B did inspire the excellent NokiaPlanS.com, which is sure to bring a smile to even the loneliest hearts in Espoo.

Nokia Plan B was just a hoax all along originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel’s Otellini insists company is committed to MeeGo, says he ‘understood’ why Nokia moved to Microsoft

We’ve already seen some evidence that Intel was still pushing strongly ahead with MeeGo despite Nokia’s deal with Microsoft, and now CEO Paul Otellini has chimed in on the matter to reassure folks that the company is still committed to the mobile OS. Speaking with Bloomberg at Mobile World Congress this week, Otellini said that he doesn’t see that “Nokia changing its strategy changes the industry strategy,” and added that “operators still look for an open, operator-friendly operating system.” Otellini further went on to say on a panel discussion that he “understood” why Nokia made the decision it did, and even said that if he were in the same position he would have made “the same or a similar call.” That doesn’t mean he wasn’t disappointed by it though — in fact, he revealed that he used a word that Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz “has often used” when he first received the news from Stephen Elop himself (we’ll let you look that up if you don’t know it).

Intel’s Otellini insists company is committed to MeeGo, says he ‘understood’ why Nokia moved to Microsoft originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Mobileburn  |  sourceBloomberg, PC World  | Email this | Comments

Skype happy to offer jobs to any Finns who might be in need

Skype happy to offer jobs to any Finns who might be in needOver 1,000 disgruntled Nokistas walked off the job last week and, while presumably all of them showed up punctually on Monday morning, it remains to be seen how many will get proverbial pink slips as Elop starts making cuts. When that time comes Skype is happy to say that they’d like to hire as many as possible. CEO Tony Bates has no qualms about making the best of this situation, saying the following to Reuters:

There is going to be tremendous talent out there… “Our primary engineering focus just so happens to be somewhere between Finland, Estonia and Stockholm, so you can imagine that’s a great opportunity and we’re hiring.

Hear that, shunned Nokia elite? Now turn that frown upside down.

Skype happy to offer jobs to any Finns who might be in need originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceYahoo! News  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft Zune is dying, long live Microsoft Zune?

In all the Microkia hub-bub of late, as the best of Redmond and the pride of Tampere hold hands and blaze a trail to smartphone domination, the word “Zune” never once came up. This didn’t escape the notice of many, including MS guru Paul Thurrott and ZDNet‘s Mary-Jo Foley, who inquired to someone at Microsoft about just what’s going on — whether indeed the brand is indeed being killed off. This is the non-denial that came back:

We’re not ‘killing’ any of the Zune services/features in any way. Microsoft remains committed to providing a great music and video experience from Zune on platforms such as Xbox LIVE, Windows-based PCs, Zune devices and Windows Phone 7, as well as integration with Bing and MSN.

It’s unclear what exactly is happening, especially when it comes to dedicated Zune hardware and services like Zune Pass, but it certainly seems like “Zune” as a brand is on its last legs. Feel free to share your favorite memories below, and try not to cry, because our hearts… our hearts will go on.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Microsoft Zune is dying, long live Microsoft Zune?

Microsoft Zune is dying, long live Microsoft Zune? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Windows Phone Secrets  |  sourceZDNet, Paul Thurrott  | Email this | Comments

Nokia shareholders and unions fight back against Microkia

Nokia shareholders are not very happy right now with NOK taking a 25 percent hit since the announcement of the Microsoft marriage. Stephen Elop, Nokia’s first foreign-born CEO, is taking heat on multiple fronts even as he prostrates himself to the media in hopes of getting his message out. Already, we’ve heard numerous conspiracies calling Elop a “trojan horse,” sent by Steve Ballmer to sabotage Nokia from within. Conspiraloons are quick to point to records showing Elop holding a significant number of Microsoft shares — a situation that Elop says is temporary (and outdated) having already sold a majority of his Microsoft position with plans to sell off the rest in favor of Nokia stock just as soon as he’s free to do so under regulatory moratoriums meant to prevent insider trading. Nevertheless, Nokia will be facing at least two very real showdowns on its near-term horizon.

First, will be a battle with the Finnish trade union Pro which is demanding €100,000 (in addition to severance payments) for every Nokia employee that loses their job under Elop’s new strategy — money the unions says will be used for reeducation. The union estimates that Nokia could cut as many as 25% (5,000 people) of Nokia’s 20,000 workers located in Finland. The second major hurdle facing Elop, and the board of directors that appointed him, will come at Nokia’s Annual General Meeting for shareholders. Already, a cabal of nine frustrated shareholders have been grabbing attention with its “Nokia Plan B” proposal to oust Stephen Elop and return Nokia to a MeeGo focus giving Symbian a five-year minimum reprieve. The group has since disbanded after its plan was rejected by institutional investors. Nevertheless, we don’t expect Symbian / MeeGo fans and developers to give up without a fight, and we expect Helsinki Fair Centre’s Amfi Hall to be center-ring when the event kicks off on May 3rd in Helsinki.

Nokia shareholders and unions fight back against Microkia originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNokia Plan B, Wall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft-Nokia Hookup Leaves Symbian Devs Hanging

When Nokia teamed up with Microsoft to compete with smartphone rivals Apple and Google, the company was putting something valuable at risk: the loyalty of the programmers who create apps for the Nokia ecosystem.

After the companies announced their partnership last week, many die-hard Nokia programmers posted comments in forums and blog posts, expressing feelings of betrayal while threatening to code for Android instead.

“Developers are outraged because they feel that Nokia has betrayed them and sold them out to Microsoft,” said Andres Kruse, a programmer who makes apps with the Qt toolkit that will not be supported on Nokia’s Windows phones.

Developers have been a crucial resource for every major technology company’s media ecosystem. Programmers’ apps ultimately determine what a company’s product can do, and compelling apps can serve as a major attractor for consumer sales. Apple, Google, Nokia and Microsoft have aggressively recruited developers to make apps for their platforms as if they’re soldiers going to war.

Many consider Nokia’s Symbian operating system to be outdated compared to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, but the Finnish phone company has cultivated a development community for over a decade. One of the most popular programming toolkits developed by Nokia is Qt (pronounced cute), an open source application framework that can create software that works on multiple platforms.

Microsoft and Nokia last week cut a deal, in which Nokia would adopt Windows Phone 7 as its primary mobile operating system. The agreement reportedly cost Microsoft billions of dollars.

One major side effect involved in the Nokia-Microsoft partnership is that going forward, Qt will not be supported on Nokia’s Windows phones. Nokia will continue to sell Symbian phones supporting Qt over the next two years, and Nokia claims it will continue to develop Qt, but eventually the company will transition to Windows Phone 7 as its primary OS.

“By shifting our future smartphone strategy away from Qt there is a strong sense of frustration from those who have invested in Qt for mobile development,” Nokia’s Aron Kozak said in a blog post. “We sympathize and we understand…. There is no magical statement we can make that proves things will be great, however we will try to maintain open communication as we progress.”

However, Kruse said he felt pressured to decide whether to recreate apps for Windows Phone 7, or to take an entirely new route such as Android.

“This is a company where it feels like they’ve been doing everything for them and now their company is capitulating,” said Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg, regarding Nokia developers who reacted negatively to the Microsoft partnership. “You can imagine that if Steve Jobs came back to Apple in 1997, if he said ‘We’re done with Macintosh, we’re just going to build Windows PCs,’ you would’ve seen the same reaction in the Apple community.”

Brian Watson, Microsoft’s director of developer evangelism for Windows Phone 7, explained that Nokia and Microsoft opted against supporting Qt in order to maintain the integrity of the Windows Phone platform. Apps developed for all Windows Phones must be made with Microsoft’s native toolkits such as Silverlight and XNA.

“It may be a tough pill to swallow … but it’s for the better,” Watson said.” Any good developer is going to learn new languages coming along. It’s about finding the right tools to get the job done.”

But for Qt developer Kruse, Nokia’s switch to Windows Phone 7 means a lot more than just learning new programming languages. It’s a matter of the risks and costs involved in coding for one platform and then being locked in. By contrast, with Qt, Kruse could make an app that runs on Nokia phones, Windows and Macs with minimal effort.

“In our case we make software for disabled people, and the market is so small that we simply cannot afford to develop for a platform whose success is by no means certain,” Kruse said. “Qt would have taken that risk away. Now we will have to go for Android. At least there we know this is not going away.”

Watson said Microsoft understands the importance of the Nokia developer community, and the company would work hard to keep the community loyal in light of the new partnership. To recruit developers for Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has handed out free devices for programmers to test their apps, and sometimes even offered to fly them to the Microsoft campus to get a crash course, Watson said.

“Our goal is making developers happy, making developers successful, making developers rich and famous,” Watson said. “They’re a very scarce resource and … I don’t want to lose any of them. We’re going to be very creative with things we can do.”

See Also:


Debunk: Elop never said Microsoft is paying Nokia billions of dollars to use Windows Phone

In our sitdown with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop out at Mobile World Congress today, we brought up something that had come up during his press conference and Q&A session last Sunday evening — that the company’s partnership with Microsoft would generate “billions, not millions” of dollars’ worth of value. This quickly morphed into an internet-wide story that Microsoft would basically be cutting a ten-figure check to Espoo in exchange for launching devices running its platform, but the reality is that Elop never said anything close to that: in fact, when we specifically asked how the money was flowing and who would be seeing black ink upfront, Elop said on no certain terms that they’re not talking specifics of the deal. He goes on to say that it’s a “very balanced relationship,” which would indicate to us that there wasn’t any massive cash transfer to kick this thing off. Regardless, the fact remains: at no time did he say Microsoft was paying to make it happen — and considering Nokia’s needs, we wouldn’t be surprised if this was nearly a zero-sum transaction: Microsoft gets a huge boost in the platform’s profile along with some services it needs, while Nokia gets a platform that it wasn’t able to make itself. Makes sense to us.

Debunk: Elop never said Microsoft is paying Nokia billions of dollars to use Windows Phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget Interview: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop talks Microsoft, Symbian, MeeGo, and Windows Phone

We had a chance to sit down for a few minutes with the man who’s arguably stolen the show here at Mobile World Congress this year — Nokia CEO Stephen Elop — to talk about everything from his time at Microsoft to the potential for a multi-billion dollar platform partnership with his former employer that he’s hoping to foster over the coming years. Elop’s emerged in the past week as an outspoken character who doesn’t seem to shy away from a question, to speak his mind, or to tell it like it is, which makes this ten-odd minute segment a must-see. Check it out after the break.

Continue reading The Engadget Interview: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop talks Microsoft, Symbian, MeeGo, and Windows Phone

The Engadget Interview: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop talks Microsoft, Symbian, MeeGo, and Windows Phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon CTO: we don’t ‘need’ the Nokia-Microsoft partnership; Android, iOS, and BlackBerry are the big three platforms

Courting the largest carrier in the United States is probably at the top of any phone manufacturer’s to-do list, and it’s starting to sound like Nokia — on the strength of its just-announced Windows Phone gamble — has an uphill battle ahead of it. Verizon CTO Tony Melone has gone on record out at Mobile World Congress this week saying that he’s skeptical Micosoft has the capability to meet its lofty volume goals for Windows Phone — a little odd, considering that Verizon is on the verge of launching its first Windows Phone 7 model — and that he doesn’t think “Verizon needs the Nokia and Microsoft relationship.” Referring seemingly directly to Nokia CEO Stephen Elop’s desire to make the smartphone war a “three-horse race” between Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, Melone says he thinks that “right now the three OS players we see for our network are Android, Apple, and RIM.” Of course, just like the iPhone, we’re sure Melone’s attitude could change in a snap if Windows Phone picks up enough steam — but even in the best case, that’s going to take a while.

Verizon CTO: we don’t ‘need’ the Nokia-Microsoft partnership; Android, iOS, and BlackBerry are the big three platforms originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCNET  | Email this | Comments

Eric Schmidt: ‘We certainly tried’ to get Nokia to use Android

No big surprise here, but Eric Schmidt just told the crowd at Mobile World Congress that Google “certainly tried” to convince Nokia to pick Android as its future platform over Windows Phone 7. Schmidt said Google “would’ve loved” having Nokia on board, and that although they’d been rebuffed this time around, the offer to adopt Android later “is still open.” Look like Vic Gundotra might have to get down with a turkey after all.

Eric Schmidt: ‘We certainly tried’ to get Nokia to use Android originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 12:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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