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Microsoft to acquire Nokia

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Re: Microsoft to acquire Nokia

#71

Post by peterjs »

Software is eating the world. For real now. And it is eating hardware. This is such a strong force that even old time franchises like Microsoft and Motorola can't do anything about it. And apparently "pure software" companies don't mind venturing into it. They know it's software, for the most part, and believe vertical integration is worth the trouble with the messy hardware parts.

How deep is the integration anyway? Did Google and Microsoft end up owning the manufacturing plants? Apple is known to outsource the manufacturing itself.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Nokia

#72

Post by simonh »

wtracy wrote: post #67
simonh wrote: post #62

This is the ultimate indictment of Steve Ballmer's "I like our strategy, I like it a lot" statement. This is the final admission that their strategy of licensing a mobile OS to phone manufacturers, just as they licensed desktop Windows to PC makers, has completely failed. This must have been in the works for months, so now finally the other shoe has dropped and we know why he had to leave. There's no way he could sav…

Well, it's possible that the model of selling an OS to phone manufacturers has been destroyed by Google giving an OS to manufacturers as a loss-leader.

There's nothing inevitable about that though. It only works if the freebie is sufficiently attractive. For example being free hasn't helped Linux succeed on the desktop, despite it's strong position in the server space.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Nokia

#73

Post by orf »

joe_the_user wrote: post #64
kyro wrote: post #23

Great move by Microsoft. This is an acquisition that arguably puts Microsoft mobile capabilities above that of Google's, and closest to Apple's. They're getting industry veterans with great design talent. They're getting a Lumia product that has the best build quality of any non-Apple smart phone. They're acquiring proven channels to access global markets. Both Nokia and Microsoft have been floundering in the mobile…

This is an acquisition that arguably puts Microsoft mobile capabilities above that of Google's, and closest to Apple's. To have this loltastic sentence at the top of hn makes me wonder if MS or some PR has a bunch of shill accounts they roll out for occasions like this. Seriously? As the other reply said, they were already together. And losing. Badly. And hated, broadly. And the reason the windows phone sucks so badl…

I take it you have never used a Windows Phone. The Lumia's Nokia make are well designed and high quality, WP8 isn't that bad at all and will undoubtedly get better in the future. Everyone I've met with a WP device (Which is a lot, a fair percentage of my coursemates own one) is happy with it.

And so to escape MS will have to back out of their deal entirely, go back to designing phones and PC OSes separately, and given MS' ingrown bureaucratic insanity there that seems less than likely.

Why would they ever want to go back to designing them separately? How would that benefit anyone in any way? In case you hadn't noticed phones are computers now, integration is the future.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Nokia

#74

Post by nextw33k »

harrytuttle wrote: post #63
annnnd wrote: post #49

Nokia, rest in peace - we will miss you. Your phones were legendary.

Erm, they still are and will be in the future. they bagged the guys who designed them as well.

You might be unfamiliar with what happens after a corporate merger.

Usually there is a decision to remove duplication within the corporation. If you were Elop next year running MS in Redmond, who would you lay off? The people in your building or those in the opposite side of the world in Finland?

Update: On a side note, manufacturing usually stays until the machines are no longer worth using. Then they shut the place down claiming inefficiencies and build a new factory somewhere else. They don't mention the lack of investment for 10 years of course.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Nokia

#75

Post by nextw33k »

josephscott wrote: post #46

I wonder if this played into Ballmer leaving. Odd to have a massive re-org and massive purchase, only to have the CEO turn around and leave right afterwards.

The timing of this is completely laid out. It looks too perfect and these deals take time to arrange and agree, they are not done in a week.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Nokia

#76

Post by anuragramdasan »

Shamanmuni wrote: post #29
kyro wrote: post #23

Great move by Microsoft. This is an acquisition that arguably puts Microsoft mobile capabilities above that of Google's, and closest to Apple's. They're getting industry veterans with great design talent. They're getting a Lumia product that has the best build quality of any non-Apple smart phone. They're acquiring proven channels to access global markets. Both Nokia and Microsoft have been floundering in the mobile…

But they were together already. This past time Nokia only developed Windows phones and Microsoft paid for the marketing of the Lumia. Nokia had Stephen Elop as CEO, for crying out loud. We already knew Nokia was a part of Microsoft. This is not a move, just a formality; the low price gives you another hint. If the partnership Microsoft-Nokia could have changed their positions in the mobile sector, it would have happe…

Actually I wouldn't totally agree to that. Some things will have to change. Now that Nokia is not a separate entity but a part of microsoft, it will have to fit within the microsoft way of doing things. This could probably mean more restrictions on whatever Nokia would have done as a separate entity.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Nokia

#77

Post by camus »

orf wrote: post #73
joe_the_user wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an acquisition that arguably puts Microsoft mobile capabilities above that of Google's, and closest to Apple's. To have this loltastic sentence at the top of hn makes me wonder if MS or some PR has a bunch of shill accounts they roll out for occasions like this. Seriously? As the other reply said, they were already together. And losing. Badly. And hated, broadly. And the reason the windows phone sucks so badl…

I take it you have never used a Windows Phone. The Lumia's Nokia make are well designed and high quality, WP8 isn't that bad at all and will undoubtedly get better in the future. Everyone I've met with a WP device (Which is a lot, a fair percentage of my coursemates own one) is happy with it. And so to escape MS will have to back out of their deal entirely, go back to designing phones and PC OSes separately, and give…

"not that bad" doesnt mean it's good when compared with the competition , "not that bad" is not enough today. A mobile OS must be excellent , not good , to compete. That's the problem of WP Os, it is just "not that bad"

Re: Microsoft to acquire Nokia

#78

Post by orf »

camus wrote: post #77
orf wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I take it you have never used a Windows Phone. The Lumia's Nokia make are well designed and high quality, WP8 isn't that bad at all and will undoubtedly get better in the future. Everyone I've met with a WP device (Which is a lot, a fair percentage of my coursemates own one) is happy with it. And so to escape MS will have to back out of their deal entirely, go back to designing phones and PC OSes separately, and give…

"not that bad" doesnt mean it's good when compared with the competition , "not that bad" is not enough today. A mobile OS must be excellent , not good , to compete. That's the problem of WP Os, it is just "not that bad"

I think WP8 is excellent, I meant that it is not as bad as he seems to think it is. Its also not all doom and gloom for WP, my employee (a large multinational company, thousands of employees) is switching all its employee phones from Blackberry to WP8. Even if its consumer market isn't that big you have to remember that a lot of the business world runs on Microsoft's software and it all ties together very nicely with Windows Phone.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Nokia

#79

Post by camus »

simonh wrote: post #72
wtracy wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it's possible that the model of selling an OS to phone manufacturers has been destroyed by Google giving an OS to manufacturers as a loss-leader.

There's nothing inevitable about that though. It only works if the freebie is sufficiently attractive. For example being free hasn't helped Linux succeed on the desktop, despite it's strong position in the server space.

This can change with the open web as software and services are moving to webapps and apis, BUT asically , Linux lacks of attractive software ,services and business providing services , for the public and businesses. And no , Open Office is not a replacement for MS office, nor Gimp can replace Photoshop for professionals.

Linux is not hard to learn, has great guis and works on most of the hardware.

There is potential but all the services are not there yet. Android is valuable because of all the service intergration it offers, not because it is *nix based , same with IOS.

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