FT.com / Technology - Elop jumps into the arms of former boss - 0 views
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Marco Cantamessa on 15 Feb 11Now we understand what Nokia's CEO meant when he said the company had to "jump into the icy seas" in order to save itself. The "icy seas" in question has materialized as Microsoft's OS, It is ironical that it was Nokia that originally led the main handset makers away from Microsoft and into the Symbian consortium for fear of becoming commoditized hardware makers. Now, years later, the company has been forced to make a dramatic U-turn. Why didn't Nokia choose Android? Probably because both Nokia and telcos - who are its main customers - fear a Google monopoly (or a Google-Apple duopoly) and don't feel threatened by a now weakened Microsoft. Moreover, the two companies are somewhat complementary, with Nokia having scale but lacking a competitive OS, and the opposite for Microsoft. But critics might wonder whether - in this fierce competition between ecosystems - it is wise to pick a weaker ally for fear of intra-ecosystem competition, and risk losing the battle between ecosystems. Moreover, Nokia will have to pay Microsoft for OS licences and not have exclusive rights, so that the risk of becoming commoditized is for real. Finally, the announcement was made today, but new products will not be ready for months (how different from Apple's approach to announcements!). In the meanwhile, Nokia's market share is likely to plunge significantly. A real jump in the icy seas