Saudi Arabia approves new financial settlement rules for corruption cases    IMCTC launches second phase of Sahel Countries Program in Niger    Riyadh Season 2024 attracts over 18 million visitors    Disaster happened in 'world's most controlled airspace'    American and father of youngest hostages among those due for release from Gaza Saturday    Palestinian born after father was jailed hugs him for the first time    FireAid: Stars take to stage for LA benefit concert    Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull dies at 78    Saudi, Russian foreign ministers discuss regional issues in phone call    MWL chief meets Italian president in Rome; thanking him for supporting two-state solution    Ettifaq sack Steven Gerrard after poor results, appoint Saad Al-Shehri as new head coach    National Cybersecurity Authority launches 2nd phase of Postgraduate Scholarship Program    GASTAT: Real GDP records growth of 4.4% in Q4 2024    Saudi Arabia launches inaugural Art Week Riyadh on April 6-13    HP is redefining the Future of Work with AI    Mona Lisa to be moved as part of major Louvre overhaul    Neymar bids heartfelt goodbye to Al-Hilal: I will always support you    Al-Nassr announces transfer of Brazilian forward Talisca to Fenerbahçe    SFDA chief rules out plan to ban sale of cigarettes or vapes    Al Hilal and Neymar mutually agree to part ways    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Nokia, Microsoft in pact to rival Apple, Google
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 12 - 02 - 2011

HELSINKI: Technology titans Nokia and Microsoft are combining forces to create smart phones that might challenge rivals like Apple and Google and revive their own fortunes in a market they have struggled to keep up with.
Nokia Corp., the world's largest maker of mobile phones, said Friday it plans to use Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Phone software as the main platform for its smart phones in an effort to pull market share away from Apple's iPhone and Android, Google's software for phones and tablets.
Analysts said the deal was a bigger win for Microsoft than Nokia, whose CEO Stephen Elop in a leaked memo this week compared his company to a burning oil platform with "more than one explosion ... fueling a blazing fire around us." Nokia's share price plunged more than 8 percent to ¤7.46 ($10.15) Helsinki after the announcement.
Moving increasingly to providing services for phone users, Nokia and Microsoft "will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivaled global reach and scale," Elop said in a statement on the deal Friday.
Nokia said it will drive the future of Windows Phone, "innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader." But Nokia warned that the new strategy would bring "significant uncertainties" and said it expects margins to be hit by strong competition from rivals.
Neil Mawston of London-based Strategy Analytics said Microsoft was the big winner in the partnership, by teaming up with the biggest mobile hardware vendor in the world.
"In terms of expanding their distribution reach, this is a huge win for Microsoft," he said.
For Nokia the deal leaves uncertainty about what will happen to its current Symbian operating platform.
Mawston said he expects it to be phased out within two years and "completely, or at least mostly, replaced by Windows Phone." Although Nokia still is the mobile industry's No. 1, it has suffered from plummeting market share, dropping from a high of 41 percent in 2008 to 31 percent in the last quarter of 2010.
It has also lost its innovative edge in the fiercely competitive top-end sector and is virtually invisible - with a 3 percent share - in the world's largest smart phone market, North America.
Apples' iPhone has set the standard for today's smart phones and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerrys have become the favorite of the corporate set. More recently, Google Inc.'s Android software has emerged as the choice for phone makers that want to challenge the iPhone.
"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," Elop said.
Nokia, which claims 1.3 billion daily users of its devices, said it hopes the "broad, strategic partnership" with Microsoft will lead to capturing the next billion users to join the Internet in developing growth markets.
The company said that it will also announce new leadership team and organizational structure "with a clear focus on speed, results and accountability."
"Nokia is at a critical juncture, where significant change is necessary and inevitable in our journey forward," Elop said, adding that the company was aiming at "regaining our smart phone leadership, reinforcing our mobile device platform and realizing our investments in the future." Jyrki Ali-Yrkko, from the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, described Nokia's cooperation with Microsoft as "surprising."


Clic here to read the story from its source.