Is embattled cell phone pioneer Nokia preparing to join the wave of Android followers? Some see such a move a distinct possibility following a candid memo by Nokia CEO Stephan Elop to employees. In the internal message, Elop admits Apple changed the smartphone landscape and the Finnish mobile phone maker must either join or create smartphone eco-system.
“Our competitors aren’t taking our market share with devices; they are taking our market share with an entire ecosystem. This means we’re going to have to decide how we wither build, catalyze or join an ecosystem,” Elop wrote.
Noting Apple has grown its share of the $300+ smartphone market from 25 percent in 2008 to 78 percent in 2010, Elop wrote: “They changed the game, and today, Apple owns the high-end range.”
“Apple demonstrated consumers would buy a high-priced phone with a great experience and developers would build applications,” the Nokia leader added.
Both Apple and Google’s Android have quickly reshaped the smartphone landscape, an achievement which took Nokia by surprise. “The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don’t have a product that is close to their experience,” Elop writes. “Android came on the scene just over two years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in the smartphone volumes. Unbelievable.”
In the wake of the Elop memo, Nokia’s stock has slid and the company reportedly has canceled its N9-00 phone based on the MeeGo operating system.
