If Nokia buys into the Android platform, its stock price will go up. Why? Because it's perceived as a safe option and no one can argue with that. Nokia has the Symbian-Qt-MeeGo strategy going on now, all looking great on (technical) paper but it's actually still a big question mark for most people outside; especially after the last few boners Nokia has pulled out of its pants.
At the very least Nokia can play to its strengths (hardware) and ride Android's hype; it may even learn a thing or two by keeping their enemies close while Symbian and MeeGo are being simmered to perfection.
If Nokia buys into the Android platform, its stock price will go up. Why? Because it's perceived as a safe option and no one can argue with that.
It may go up in the short term as they take the safe route, but in the long term they'll devalue their high end.
Originally Posted by
Nokia has the Symbian-Qt-MeeGo strategy going on now, all looking great on (technical) paper but it's actually still a big question mark for most people outside;
Sure, anything new has question marks. But in the end it's all about adoption and how well Nokia can push it. At the very least, they don't have the forward looking statement that Android vendors have to deal with.
Originally Posted by
especially after the last few boners Nokia has pulled out of its pants.
Colorful. Very.
Originally Posted by
At the very least Nokia can play to its strengths (hardware) and ride Android's hype; it may even learn a thing or two by keeping their enemies close while Symbian and MeeGo are being simmered to perfection.
Again, if Nokia releases an Android device it will cannibalize any future non-Android path. They can't go that way and still maintain any sort of independence from Google without a lot more effort.
It may go up in the short term as they take the safe route, but in the long term they'll devalue their high end.
You're assuming that everything will go 'brilliantly right' at this point for Symbian and MeeGo. Even if they go 'just alright', they have a very tough uphill battle against 3-4 other platforms with a headstart. (Considering S^4 is a reboot).
Originally Posted by
Sure, anything new has question marks. But in the end it's all about adoption and how well Nokia can push it. At the very least, they don't have the forward looking statement that Android vendors have to deal with.
Let's put a bit more details in that sentence to narrow down the prediction:
"Sure, anything new from Nokia in the smartphone segment..."
That does spin it in a different way, doesn't it? They haven't been shining in that particular area...
Originally Posted by
Again, if Nokia releases an Android device it will cannibalize any future non-Android path. They can't go that way and still maintain any sort of independence from Google without a lot more effort.
Or, it can be Nokia's lifejacket if their current plan goes down in flame.
Imagine a future where Android was the only mobile Linux around (on phones, tablets, netbook, ...). Imagine that it marginalized Apple completely and emerged as the only standard "high end" mobile operating system.
If you are a Linux guy, there is a chance that you wouldn't like this at all. It would be a pyrrhic victory; Linux won, but there is nothing Linux-at-large (desktop, server...) would gain from this, apart from perhaps a few drivers. Unless we start seeing Android seeping to desktop space, so that we could rm -rf everything the Linux userspace community (GNU, X, others) has achieved through these ~20 years and replace it with a Java sandbox written by a company Google bought.
Putting it alongside MeeGo would defeat the purpose of creating MeeGo. Attrition would push users towards the familiar platform, and away from the new one.
I agree/disagree. If I were to go by what level of corporate support currently exists on Maemo 5, then I'd say it would mean more corporate support for a Nokia phone than already exists on Maemo. And after the fiascos surrounding Ovi purchases, whatnot... you could always point to a Nokia phone with a tried, true/proven app store that actually works as people would think. Simply put, if people were going to buy an Android phone, why not let it be a Nokia phone.
MeeGo does not have that level of visibility as Android right now. I have my doubts that Ovi will get things right in the next 4 months or so.
Where I agree; it could create confusion. But Symbian on the N8, and the leaked version of the N9 looking pretty damn similar is confusing enough. And the move to push Symbian from the N-series into other series, and the fact that we've seen the N97, then N900 then N9... erm. Confusion for the casual person is already possible.
MeeGo isn't familiar to anybody at this moment. Symbian^4 seems to be a new direction too.
Originally Posted by
The problem is that right now only Google is in a position to decide the course for Android as a platform.
Maemo was the same. Only MeeGo is different in this aspect. It wasn't a problem then that only Nokia was the driving force behind Maemo - well Nokia and this community - so why would it be a problem if it were another company?
And please don't say that "Google is evil" stuff. Evil would be gas chambers, slavery and forcing people to listen to zydeco on repeat.
Originally Posted by
Even if they are not going anywhere any time soon, this lets Google dictate where the platform goes.
See above.
Originally Posted by
At least with MeeGo it's tied up with so many involved parties that no one player can determine the course of the whole thing, which I think is Nokia's goal with this.
Design by committee has always been a fear of mine... takes longer for effective things to happen, small things can fracture a community - file formats or how to install versus the alternatives.
Originally Posted by
They gain the benefits of pushing even more of the core development outside like with Android, without being under the Google umbrella.
Different umbrellas, same effect to me. But I see what you're saying though...
Originally Posted by
It just occurred to me. Nokia doesn't want to use Android for the same reason no one else wanted to use Maemo.
Not trying to start a fight... but I always suspected that Nokia just didn't license it to anybody.
Is there a possibility for google use MeeGo in future?
This indirectly leads to my real question. If Nokia won't use Android - as stated before in order to preserve their "unique" ecosystem and/or environment - then why would any manufacturer use MeeGo?
