A thoughtful piece about microkia. Nutshell: nokia phone hardware expertise and ms software expertise are a good match. But if nokia customizes too much it will damage the wp7 ecosystem, which would be bad for ms.
I think bad for ecosystem would be bad for nokia too. Long-term, if wp7 succeeds, how will nokia build its value and differentiate from other hardware makers like htc samsung lg? I see two possibilities: at the high end, by getting better at wp7 smartphones, and by pioneering the low end smartphone with international expertise. Ben.
Feature: Nokia and Microsoft: good for Finland, risky for Redmond
Earlier, Ryan Paul was rather down about the announcement that Nokia and Microsoft were partnering, and that Windows Phone 7 would be Nokia's primary smartphone platform. It might work out well for Microsoft—it gives the software company a strong hardware partner with substantial international reach. But, for Nokia, he felt it meant the loss of control over its own destiny: Nokia is going from a vertically integrated supplier, building hardware, software, and online services, to just another handset builder, like HTC, Samsung, LG, or even Dell. A huge step backwards.
I'm not so sure. In fact, I think he has it backwards. I think that the advantages to Nokia are clear. Given the scant details revealed so far—perhaps no surprise given that nothing has been formalized just yet—Microsoft is the company in the more difficult position, and it has a lot of questions to answer.