Microsoft Acquires Nokia $7.2B

[twitchyzero]

Microsoft buys Nokia's devices unit in a $7.2 billion bid for its mobile future | The Verge

One of the most enticing "what-ifs" of recent years has come true: Microsoft has purchased Nokia's Devices and Services unit, it announced today. It unites Windows Phone 8 with its biggest hardware supporter, and gives the company an integrated solution across hardware and software. When the deal closes in the first quarter of 2014, Microsoft will pay 3.79 billion Euros for Nokia's business, plus another 1.65 billion Euros for its portfolio of patents.

[scoobyej20]

Good bye Nokia...
Posted via RS Mobile

[FerrariEnzo]

Next on the chopping block, RIM

[!Yaminashi]

Why Nokia never teamed with Google is beyond me..
Posted via RS Mobile

[ae101]

^
more like "why nokia never got with the program is beyond me"

[dangonay]

Great idea. Now MS will be like Apple - in complete control of their hardware and the OS/services that run on it. That's a huge advantage that Android will never be able to achieve. IMO, Windows Phones chances of really succeeding in mobile have just gone up substantially.
Posted via RS Mobile

[dangonay]

Originally Posted by !Yaminashi

Why Nokia never teamed with Google is beyond me..
Posted via RS Mobile

Because Nokia is smart? Why be just another Android vendor along with countless others?
Posted via RS Mobile

[Spectre_Cdn]

Originally Posted by dangonay

Great idea. Now MS will be like Apple - in complete control of their hardware and the OS/services that run on it. That's a huge advantage that Android will never be able to achieve. IMO, Windows Phones chances of really succeeding in mobile have just gone up substantially.
Posted via RS Mobile

Google has Motorola, though.

So every mobile OS maker has the integrated ecosystem. Android and Windows Phone have finally caught up in this regard.

[!MiKrofT]

Windows Phone still has a long way to go though but we'll see. I'd definitely be more interested in jumping from android to windows phone over iOS.
Posted via RS Mobile

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by dangonay

Great idea. Now MS will be like Apple - in complete control of their hardware and the OS/services that run on it. That's a huge advantage that Android will never be able to achieve. IMO, Windows Phones chances of really succeeding in mobile have just gone up substantially.
Posted via RS Mobile

It is an advantage, but Google has sheer numbers and native apps and an OS that are better than either iOS or WinPhone.

[dangonay]

Originally Posted by Spectre_Cdn

Google has Motorola, though.

So every mobile OS maker has the integrated ecosystem. Android and Windows Phone have finally caught up in this regard.

Big difference. When Google bought Motorola they bought an Android phone vendor that was having trouble selling devices (so much so that the CEO of Motorola was going to start suing other Android vendors to monetize their patent portfolio). When MS bought Nokia they bought the #1 seller of Windows Phones (everyone else is barely a blip).

Google + Motorola does not make for a compelling integrated ecosystem - they don't have enough of the market. What good is it for Android if Motorola makes some fantastic new devices, but they only represent a small portion of all the devices sold? Google + Samsung would make for a very compelling ecosystem. Unfortunately for Google it looks like Samsung has plans to do that on its own.

When Google bought Motorola there were concerns among Android vendors that Motorola would get "special treatment" from Google (like early access to the next version of Android before others had a chance to see it). Google had to specifically mention this when they acquired Motorola saying they wouldn't get preferential treatment. MS doesn't have this worry since most vendors are doing poorly selling Windows Phone. If MS gives Nokia "special treatment" (which I think is almost a given) I don't think the vendors will be too upset - it'll probably be what gets them off the fence and deciding to drop Windows Phone.

[dangonay]

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp

It is an advantage, but Google has sheer numbers and native apps and an OS that are better than either iOS or WinPhone.

Would you say McDonald's has an advantage because they sell more burgers? Quantity means nothing when so many Android devices being sold are low end devices for emerging markets.

MS and Apple have one other advantage - they know how to code an OS after spending 30+ years and going through growing pains and countless mistakes. When the Surface RT came out I said it was a joke for using the crappy Tegra 3 processor. One thing that did become clear from benchmarks/tests though, is that MS spent time optimizing their OS - it clearly outperformed Android in similar hardware (something you can't easily check with iOS/Android since there isn't a device anywhere that has the exact same SoC).

Android requires more CPU power and RAM to accomplish tasks at the same performance level as iOS does. With so many different hardware devices out there it's impossible for OEM's to fully optimize the source for Android to get the maximum performance out of their devices (especially with companies like Qualcomm who are developing custom versions of ARM processors that are more efficient executing ARM code than the reference ARM designs that companies like Samsung use). Further, being a member of the OHA places limits on how much you can modify Android in order to maintain compatibility with Apps. So basically it's "compile it up and if it runs without errors let's ship it".

This is one area where Android will never be able to catch iOS (or Windows Phone depending on how MS handles licensing to OEMs).

[SkinnyPupp]

It depends on your perspective, and what you consider an 'advantage'

Out of 100 people who might see this thread, 98 or 99 are consumers and nothing more. We don't care about how much money these companies make, or if it's easy to develop for. What we care about is a product that meets our needs.

MS and Apple will have the advantage of a smooth running OS. Can't argue that. I switched to an iphone 5 from a Nexus about 4 or 5 weeks ago (in a trade, as my brother needed a phone that worked in Canada) and there are so many things I notice every day that I miss from Android. Being able to change your keyboard, having a notification bar with actual important information (to see the date on an iphone, you have to turn it off and back on again..), WIDGETS with important information like calendars, etc. Basically the main screen on an iphone is useless, it has NO information, just a list of apps. I have been using smartphones since before that term was invented I think, and going all the way back to Windows Mobile CE, you had all that information right there on the screen when you turned on the phone. IOS hides it inside every single app, and doesn't give developers access to anything else. Have a countdown timer running while using another app? Android would let you keep the time in the status bar, or even on the lock screen. With ios, even though it's an preinstalled app, you have to go into the clock app to see how much time is left.

And so on...

Maybe it's an advantage to have a more open OS, that allows more information to go to the consumer. But using ios as my main phone app for the last month, I can't feel but I have taken several steps backwards from using my WinMo phone over 10 years ago. Yes it performs smoothly most of the time (but not always), and yes the GPS/localization function works better than on my old phone, but the closed system really is painful to use, unless you really never used anything else.

Unless they code all this stuff into the OS itself (and maybe ios 7 will do that, although to get full performance you'll probably need an iphone 5S) the more open system, while not as smooth, is far more useful to the people who use it. IMO

I guess that info was sitting in my head for a while, but as far as emerging markets go, if all these emerging markets are starting out using Google services via their cheap Android phones, most likely they will continue to use them as they 'emerge'. I can't see that as being a bad thing for Google. They are just taking a different approach from Apple. MS is maybe doing a more Apple like thing, so I guess we'll see who wins in the end. Not that I really care, I just want a useful phone.. I don't care one bit who made the OS or marketed it.

[yray]

Bring back Zune so I can connect my WP8 with my comp seamlessly.

[Marshall Placid]

Great fit.

Low buyout price.

Market Cap of MSFT: $278.2 Billion (as of Friday).

Buyout price: $7.2 billion.

Ingenious.

Just thought MSFT should have done it much sooner.

Nokia ditched its own Symbian (sp) OS a few years ago (If I remember correctly) and chose MSFt's Windows.

I thought, back then... why not have MSFT just buy Nokia?

Nokia rules in the third-world and developing countries, and MSFT can use the manufacturing know-how and patents and customer base.

Software + hardware = good synergy.

Most mergers don't work well and end in a total combined LOWER market cap in the long-run.

This....

is perfect synergies at play (well... at least very soon when they integrate the work force, work processes, share patents, come up with new phones, etc.)

[!Yaminashi]

Originally Posted by dangonay

Because Nokia is smart? Why be just another Android vendor along with countless others?
Posted via RS Mobile

I was looking at it from a consumer POV.
Nokia build and call quality + android OS?

Nobody on here has ever thought "if only.."?
Posted via RS Mobile

[ScizzMoney]

Originally Posted by yray

Bring back Zune..

Not gonna lie. Never ever did I think that sentence would be typed.

[StylinRed]

RIP Nokia

As a fan of Nokia I and a plethora of others called it from day 1 when Elop was appointed CEO he was famously known as a trojan horse and he even joked about how ridiculous an idea that was, lo and behold

RIP Nokia

as a shareholder though I am definitely a happy guy today

[MarkyMark]

Is Windows phone more popular in other parts of the world because I've never met one person that's used one
Posted via RS Mobile

[dangonay]

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp

It depends on your perspective, and what you consider an 'advantage'

Out of 100 people who might see this thread, 98 or 99 are consumers and nothing more. We don't care about how much money these companies make, or if it's easy to develop for. What we care about is a product that meets our needs.

MS and Apple will have the advantage of a smooth running OS. Can't argue that. I switched to an iphone 5 from a Nexus about 4 or 5 weeks ago (in a trade, as my brother needed a phone that worked in Canada) and there are so many things I notice every day that I miss from Android. Being able to change your keyboard, having a notification bar with actual important information (to see the date on an iphone, you have to turn it off and back on again..), WIDGETS with important information like calendars, etc. Basically the main screen on an iphone is useless, it has NO information, just a list of apps. I have been using smartphones since before that term was invented I think, and going all the way back to Windows Mobile CE, you had all that information right there on the screen when you turned on the phone. IOS hides it inside every single app, and doesn't give developers access to anything else. Have a countdown timer running while using another app? Android would let you keep the time in the status bar, or even on the lock screen. With ios, even though it's an preinstalled app, you have to go into the clock app to see how much time is left.

And so on...

Maybe it's an advantage to have a more open OS, that allows more information to go to the consumer. But using ios as my main phone app for the last month, I can't feel but I have taken several steps backwards from using my WinMo phone over 10 years ago. Yes it performs smoothly most of the time (but not always), and yes the GPS/localization function works better than on my old phone, but the closed system really is painful to use, unless you really never used anything else.

Unless they code all this stuff into the OS itself (and maybe ios 7 will do that, although to get full performance you'll probably need an iphone 5S) the more open system, while not as smooth, is far more useful to the people who use it. IMO

I guess that info was sitting in my head for a while, but as far as emerging markets go, if all these emerging markets are starting out using Google services via their cheap Android phones, most likely they will continue to use them as they 'emerge'. I can't see that as being a bad thing for Google. They are just taking a different approach from Apple. MS is maybe doing a more Apple like thing, so I guess we'll see who wins in the end. Not that I really care, I just want a useful phone.. I don't care one bit who made the OS or marketed it.

Consumers will care because it's the developers that make their platform useful through their Apps. Developers need to make money, and if there'e nobody buying their Apps on a given platform then they're not likely to want to develop for it. Facebook, Yelp, Google, Twitter and the like will always be available on all platforms. To me having access to Facebook (as an example) isn't a benefit - it's something I expect. It's all the smaller devs with unique and interesting Apps that I care about.

Pretty much everything you mentioned is in iOS 7 via notifications. After using iOS 7 I doubt anyone can come up with a single useful thing a widget can do that will actually make me more productive or give me access to some information I'm currently "lacking".

The problem Google is having with these "cheap" devices is so many aren't tied into Google at all. Of the 190 or so million Android devices sold last quarter about 42% (or 80 million) did not have access to Google Play (they are white-box devices sold by companies who aren't members of the OHA). How does Google feel knowing that a full 40% of devices sold aren't putting a single dollar into their pockets?

The easiest way to see this is to look at revenue from Google Play and compare it to iTunes/App Store. iOS had 600 million devices as of this summer. Android had 900 million at the same time (they just announced they passed 1 billion). Yet the App Store rakes in between 2.3-2.6x the revenue that Google Play does despite having only 2/3rd the number of users. Adjusted for the number of users and the App Store makes about 3.5-3.9x as much as Google Play. For digital content like music and movies it's much worse. Apple makes about 6X (not a typo) the revenue as Google does. Adjusted for users and it's actually 9X the revenue. All those Android users and yet they're not being monetized.

I doubt an iPhone user buys 4X more Apps or 9X more music than a GS4 user would. Anyone who buys a high-end smartphone is going to want to use it as much as they can, and that means spending money on Apps. I think the only reason the numbers are so low is that for every GS4 sold there's 5 low-end phones sold to users who do nothing with their devices. I think this is also why Samsung is trying so hard to get developers to write Apps specifically for their Galaxy phones instead of writing generic Android Apps. They've got some great new hardware with fast processors and high-res displays yet they're stuck running Apps written to the lowest common denominator in terms of devices and API's. Tough to show off your newest smartphone when there aren't any Apps that can really take advantage of the hardware capabilities.

[!Yaminashi]

Originally Posted by MarkyMark

Is Windows phone more popular in other parts of the world because I've never met one person that's used one
Posted via RS Mobile

I knew one guy that used a windows mobile device.
Unfortunately I could never test it out because it constantly rebooted itself

[MarkyMark]

As far as apps go I haven't seen a whole lot on iOS that you can't get on android, and I've used both quite a bit. Maybe they have more games? I'm not a big mobile gamer
Posted via RS Mobile

[trancehead]

yes its a nice symbiotic relationship

Developers developing Apps <-> Consumer Base


============

interesting thing is with china is that over 90% of mobile devices being sold today are running Android. like Dangonay brought up, (im not sure of the percentage on this one) but %X of these devices come bundled with a Chinese market place for apps rather than Google Play

[mos_skeeto]

My last 3 phones were Android, iOS and Windows Mobile and I prefer both iOS and Windows over Android. Android is great because it lets you do pretty much whatever you want but for basic smartphone functions (texting, calling, copy paste, google, twitter) I enjoyed iOS and Windows most.

I want Windows to do well. I love the tile system for both it's speed and aesthetics and I always loved Nokia devices.

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by dangonay

Consumers will care because it's the developers that make their platform useful through their Apps. Developers need to make money, and if there'e nobody buying their Apps on a given platform then they're not likely to want to develop for it. Facebook, Yelp, Google, Twitter and the like will always be available on all platforms. To me having access to Facebook (as an example) isn't a benefit - it's something I expect. It's all the smaller devs with unique and interesting Apps that I care about.

Pretty much everything you mentioned is in iOS 7 via notifications. After using iOS 7 I doubt anyone can come up with a single useful thing a widget can do that will actually make me more productive or give me access to some information I'm currently "lacking".

The problem Google is having with these "cheap" devices is so many aren't tied into Google at all. Of the 190 or so million Android devices sold last quarter about 42% (or 80 million) did not have access to Google Play (they are white-box devices sold by companies who aren't members of the OHA). How does Google feel knowing that a full 40% of devices sold aren't putting a single dollar into their pockets?

The easiest way to see this is to look at revenue from Google Play and compare it to iTunes/App Store. iOS had 600 million devices as of this summer. Android had 900 million at the same time (they just announced they passed 1 billion). Yet the App Store rakes in between 2.3-2.6x the revenue that Google Play does despite having only 2/3rd the number of users. Adjusted for the number of users and the App Store makes about 3.5-3.9x as much as Google Play. For digital content like music and movies it's much worse. Apple makes about 6X (not a typo) the revenue as Google does. Adjusted for users and it's actually 9X the revenue. All those Android users and yet they're not being monetized.

I doubt an iPhone user buys 4X more Apps or 9X more music than a GS4 user would. Anyone who buys a high-end smartphone is going to want to use it as much as they can, and that means spending money on Apps. I think the only reason the numbers are so low is that for every GS4 sold there's 5 low-end phones sold to users who do nothing with their devices. I think this is also why Samsung is trying so hard to get developers to write Apps specifically for their Galaxy phones instead of writing generic Android Apps. They've got some great new hardware with fast processors and high-res displays yet they're stuck running Apps written to the lowest common denominator in terms of devices and API's. Tough to show off your newest smartphone when there aren't any Apps that can really take advantage of the hardware capabilities.

Regarding iOS 7: GOOD. I really hope I have no complaints.

Regarding white box android devices sold in places like India, Sri Lanka, Africa, etc. well it's an open source OS, they can do so if they wish. The people buying these are choosing between those and cheap Nokia or Samsung dumbphones. They aren't going to buy an iPhone anyway, or a "branded" Android.

The ones in the middle are killing it. Those $200 (true price, not hidden in a 2 year contract) devices make up a huge amount of sales all over the world. Until she adopted my hand me down HTC, that's all my wife ever used.

The fact that apple is coming out with their own low end 5C for the first time indicates that they think there's something to this, too. That's just a rumour for now though, guess well find out next week.