Nokia may consider sale of phone unit to Microsoft

By on May 16, 2011 at 8:41 AM
Business May 16, 2011

According to industry insider Eldar Murtazin, Nokia is set to begin discussing the possibility selling its cell phone business to Microsoft. The blogger, who has a proven track record of disseminating accurate intel, says negotiations will begin next week and the results will not immediately be made public. If the two giants do work out a sale, however, it could close before the end of 2011. According to Murtazin, “both companies are in a big hurry.” The idea seems like a bit of a stretch, but some believed Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was brought on board for this very reason — an idea that seemed far fetched at the time. And let’s not forget, Nokia was founded in the 1800s as a paper company and it shifted gears several times before building its first cell phone, so a change in direction would certainly be in line with the company’s heritage.

UPDATE: Nokia spokesman Mark Squires posted the following on Twitter: “We typically don’t comment on rumors. But we have to say that Eldar’s rumors are getting obviously less accurate with every passing moment.”

[Via Unwired View]

Read

Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,
30 Comments

Related Articles

  • http://twitter.com/MrKow84 Kyle

     That has to be the ugliest damn phone I’ve ever seen…

  • Funny Guy

    NOKIA KIN with those same UGLY HANDS!!!!!!

    • serpentor

       Just the left thumb seems odd, but nice looking hand otherwise.

      • Anonymous

         I have one of those odd looking thumbs…  fugly thumbs… maybe this is like plus sized models for mobile devices

  • Anonymous

     I think the last news item in this Microsoft – Nokia Saga will go like . .  ”Elop resigns as Nokia CEO and accepts a position in Microsoft”

    • Guest

      Well, that’s one way to get a raise at MSFT. 

  • Ayport

    Elop,the trojan horse.

  • Brandon

    I don’t get what this changes. Isn’t that pretty much what’s already happened? 

  • markiz

    Wait, aprils fool be supposed to be on april 1.?

  • Anonymous

    We typically don’t comment on rumours. But we have to say that Eldars rumours are getting obviously less accurate with every passing moment.

  • JP

    Wow, the HP Veer 4G really does look like a Kin One! 

    • Ceeaser28

      no it dosent look again smh 

  • serpentor

    If this happens, they’ll be directly competing with other WP7 OEMs. I just can’t see this happening without also shutting off the platform from OEMs

    • Supra984

      You got it!  That’s exactly what’s going to happen and Android will have to become less and less open to maintain a consistent user experience one different platforms.

  • Anonymous

    Maybe it’s to do with securing Nokia’s patents

  • Anonymous

    Microsoft: the ultimate virus.

  • Supra984

    It would appear that the ethos between Microsoft and Nokia is heading in the direction of Apple – consider this quote from an Apple Keynote “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.
    ” – Alan Kay

    During the Keynote they were referring to computers and operating systems but it’s obvious to see how this is holding true for smartphones.  Microsoft may have learned a lesson from it’s PC business and see’s Android’s lack of a native hardware platform (aside from Nexus) as the way to beat Android. 

    The lesson for Apple; they need to diversify their smartphone hardware offering beyond color and memory size to accommodate different market needs in the same way they have with their Macs while keeping the quality of build and use consistent. 

    Interesting brain candy for this Monday morning.

    • Scarlet Illuminati

      This guy points out the same thing, techhog [dot] com/featured/what-apple-really-needs-to-do-with-the-iphone-to-beat-android/

      (Fix the dot, since BGR doesn’t play nice with links)

      Apple needs different iPhone types, that’s a given.

  • Anonymous

     Good move on M$’ part. Much like Apple, they can control the user experience. 

    • Neoprimal

      That did not bode well for the Zune. 

      I pray this doesn’t come through. Though I haven’t been a Nokia user for a while, I respect their phones. They were tough, innovative (in hardware terms) and it would def. be the end of a cell phone era if Nokia no longer made them. 

      I like MS as much as the next person but they have an absolutely terrible track record for hardware – and this is coming from someone who is pro-MS (not fanboy, obviously, but I do prefer MS software vs. the alternatives). 

      They made networking hardware for a couple months and then ended it. They made a fingerprint device that didn’t work with their own 64bit OS and then promptly abandoned it. They made the Zune, and looky looky, there goes that. They made the Kin – we all know what happened there. I mean, great software engineers…not so good with the hardware. 

      I also don’t really see how this would work vs. the other manufacturers of phones with Windows 7 on them. There’s a reason AMD and Nvidia don’t push their own video cards out of retail right? I suppose it COULD be made to work, but I see it boiling down to Microsoft Windows Phone vs. Apple iPhone just as there was the Zune vs. iPod – and MS just isn’t in the position to take on Apple in that way, imho.

      • Dubba U

        I’m not a big Microsoft fan but you’re missing key hardware successes, …..mice, keyboards, and most importantly, the Xbox and Xbox 360.

      • Carmen

        I was thinking the same thing. They make THE BEST input devices.

  • http://www.twitter.com/danielhle DannyDefinit

    No-KIN-a.

  • Gayne Wretzky

    Yes! This is smart business for Microsoft. They need to have the Microsoft brand on the device.

    It is key to apples success, as they are responsible for both device and OS.

  • Anonymous

     If Nokia sells their cell phone business to Microsoft, what businesses will Nokia still be in? I wasn’t aware they did anything other than cell phones.

    • Beedi

      They will go back to selling rubber boots as they once did in the past. I hear that can be very profitable these days.

    • TheAngryIntern

      That was going to be my question as well.  I didn’t know they did anything outside the mobile phone market.

  • Guest

     So MSFT could kill it like it did Danger?

    • Anonymous

       or Rare

  • Anonymous

     Hey, thats the hp veers older brother.

blog comments powered by Disqus