Nokia vs. Google (and Apple)


Telco vendors think like Telcos.


When Google announced its plans in October to revolutionize the software of cellular phones, few were more eager to hear the details than the industry titans at Nokia. They still are.

“We’ve seen an announcement,” Nokia’s chief executive, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, said with a spoonful of sarcasm. “Conceptually, we could have made that announcement a long time ago.”

That sarcasm is why I’m posting this. So, how does Nokia differ from any other dog-in-the-manger Telco? They say they’re as capable as anyone else [which means Google and Apple] of innovating, responding to consumers’ needs. But, they’ve rarely offered more than baby steps away from accepted design.

For Nokia, the sudden popularity of the mobile phone business is a double-edged sword. Its core product is emerging as the indispensable device in a wireless, Web-connected world. Nokia has 39 percent of the 1.1 billion-phone global cellular market, more than its next three largest rivals combined. It has half the market for so-called smartphones - Web-enabled devices like the iPhone, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry, and Nokia’s N95.

But Apple and Google are going after Nokia’s franchise on two fronts: Apple as a trendsetter, redefining the look and feel of a cellphone; and Google as an Internet engine, seeking to develop a new software standard for cellphones as they become the principal portal to a mobile Web.

Detailed article has all the twists and turns of opportunity.

Posted: Mon - December 10, 2007 at 01:44 PM