London – Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced on Friday that it will discontinue
development on its flagship Symbian mobile operating system, and partner with
Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) to use the company’s Windows Mobile 7 software on future handsets. The
company also said it will use Microsoft’s Bing as the default search engine on
Nokia phones, while its mobile applications store will be folded in Microsoft
Marketplace.
"Today, developers, operators and consumers want compelling
mobile products, which include not only the device, but the software, services,
applications and customer support that make a great experience," said recently-appointed
Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop.
The company also announced that it has
appointed consultant and Microsoft veteran Chris Weber as president of Nokia
Inc. (US) and head of markets for North America.
The company’s decision to kill
its Symbian operating system did not go over well in its home country of
Finland, where a reported more than 1,000 employees walked out in protest, VentureBeat reported, citing the local Helsingin Santomat.
Last
year, Symbian-based handsets led the global market with a 36.6% share, to
Android’s 25.5% and Apple’s 16.7%, according to Gartner.
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I have been following this story over the last few days. It is quite apparent to me now that Mr. Elop is using fear of collapse to offer Microsoft its very own cellphone manufacturer. Maybe they learned something from their attempt to buy Yahoo. I was literally just about to buy an N8. I had plans to get the N9 and test Meego, but, the ONLY thing that is stopping me and the market I represent is this nonsense flip-flopping. Though our business text books say it anyway, Conan O’Brien proved that a couple of months is a SHORT TERM observation. Dropping ones own ambition and innovation is the true sign of a leader with no sense.. or as Our government proved, fear sells…. and Mr. Elop sells to Microsoft. A trusted lieutenant I bet. Its so sad to see what depths people will go to to spread their greed seed.