Fight to the Finnish
Back in May Nokia announced it was restructuring its mobile devices operations. It was cutting it in two, with one concentrating on regular phones and the other - mobile solutions - focusing entirely on smartphones and other mobile devices.
That restructure became reality yesterday and the boss of the mobile solutions group - Anssi Vanjoki - felt moved to blog about his aspirations in his new role, with a post entitled "The fightback starts now".
He confessed to being "...committed, perhaps even obsessed, with getting Nokia back to being number one in high-end devices," but conceded that it was no small task. He then made a distinction between smartphones and mobile computers, explaining Symbian remains the OS of choice for the former, and MeeGo the latter. Thus Nokia has no plans to use any other software.
"Symbian has taken a lot of criticism lately - some of it fair, some not," said Vanjoki. "But what is consistently overlooked is that Symbian still accounts for more than two-fifths of the global smartphone market. We believe the Nokia N8 will have great appeal." He also said there's a strong possibility that a future N-series product will run on Symbian^4.
"MeeGo offers us an opportunity to take mobile technology beyond the smartphone, and into a new world of connected devices," said Vanjoki. "As Symbian gears up to compete with the likes of iPhone and Android, MeeGo is taking clear aim at the computing space." Given that the iOS and Android are already appearing in tablet devices, we're not sure we agree with the distinction there.
"The current phase of MeeGo development is looking awesome," said Vanjoki. "We believe it will power the computers of the future. And the computers of the future will not be tied to a desk or even a lap - they will fit in your pocket."
It remains to be seen whether consumers will buy into this ‘smartphone vs pocket computer' distinction, especially with the high-end N-series still containing a Symbian device for the foreseeable future. But it would be great to see Nokia rejuvenated in the high-end space, if only to keep Apple and Google on their toes.
