http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2...the-iphone.php

Today, several news sites have a story saying that carriers are unhappy with the large piece of the profit pie Apple is taking. They say they want Windows to be more competitive so that they can put some pressure on Apple. So, according to all these stories, they are prepared to do their part to help promote Windows Phone.

I guess the desperate midnight calls from Elop have finally moved Ballmer to let go of some marketing cash. Are they trying to paint a more hopeful outcome to try and gain a bit more time for Elop?

My friends are evenly split between iPhone users and Android ones. They all seem to be enjoying their devices and all of them are probably tied up to a two year contract. That means none of them are likely to buy a Windows phone in a while. My friends who do not yet have a smart phone are very unlikely to buy a Windows phone. I think the iPhone is priced quite competitively right now and there is this perception that when you buy an iPhone you are buying the top of the line. The perception of Windows phone is that you are getting a cheaper, but less polished, less functional, problematic, dud. In the mind of consumers, a Windows powered device is associated with Ctrl Alt Delete, and viruses. An iPhone is associated with coolness, sleekness, simplicity, functionality. How long will it take for Microsoft to change that, let alone Nokia?

Could Nokia have done better with Meego? I think so. Meego devices would have had several technical advantages over Windows phones, but most importantly Nokia could have market them simply as *Nokia* devices. With Meego devices people wouldn't have the negative connotations associated with Windows.

I saw this advertisement on TV yesterday:

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/...ommercial.html

Interestingly it completely avoids mentioning Windows. It is so funny how the guy avoids answering the question "what kind of phone is that?" He knows that the moment he says the word "Windows", her perception of him will drop a few notches. The same is true of the consumers watching that commercial.

How much better if he could have said, "it is a Nokia phone using a new open source operating system based on Linux. It is like the iPhone, but more powerful and less restricted". She would have then wanted to get her hands on it to have a look. And she would have been floored by the multitasking and sleekness. She would have been saying to herself, "this guy is intriguing. I hope he asks me out."



And the Nokia stock price would reflect that.