“The game has changed from a battle of devices to a war of ecosystems, Our industry has changed and we have to change faster.”
That qoute comes from the new Chief Executive of Nokia Stephen Elop, who has been hinting to the company’s investors that it might be time for a huge change at Nokia.
During a recent conference call, which followed a not so fantastic Q4 report, Elop spoke about the need to change quickly in a market that changes faster every day. He is qouted as saying there is a need to consider “multiple ecosystem patterns,” which to investors seems like a sign that the company is looking to jump from its Symbian OS to something different, maybe Android?
With an already poor Q1 outlook, the possibility of the OS change is clear and present. According to recent numbers, Nokia’s Symbian OS continues to fall in market share, leaving companies like Sony Ericsson and Samsung who have developed for the OS in the past, to focus on a brighter future with Android OS. Regardless of a bleak outlook, no official announcement has been made of a switch, with the manufacturer planning new smartphones built around Symbian and the new MeeGo for higher-end devices. We’ll have to see how this plays out over the next few quarters, until then we can probably expect more clues as to what direction Nokia will take when Mobile World Congress starts next month.
Source: Wall Street Journal