14 DAY TRIAL // Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia won't come to the market with an Android or Windows Phone 7 device in the near future, a company's official stated recently, reiterating the handset vendor's commitment to keep using only its own OSes, Symbian and MeeGo (the former Maemo).
When asked whether Nokia would consider launching devices that would run under another platform than Symbian S60, Series 40 or MeeGo, Nokia's executive vice president and general manager for Markets, Niklas Savander, said simply “No.”
According to him, the answer is no because there are not too many gains available for Nokia in case it would make such a move.
“Like should we take on Android for example? No, is the short answer, not with the current product goal we have. There are two reasons. One is the incremental effort it would take and the benefit we would gain from it. So, no, there is no room for a fourth platform,” he said, asia.cnet reports.
Of course, there's more behind this answer than one might think, especially when it it comes to the world's leading mobile phone maker, Nokia.
“The longer answer is related to our very strong belief that we need to be more than just an electronics manufacturer. So we need to be confident that we can add a significant amount of value on top of whatever platform we choose,” Niklas Savander continued.
“Currently, we don't think the platforms out there which we are not using--Android and Microsoft--offers an incremental opportunity for us to add value that would sustain a competitive advantage over somebody else. So, no plans.”
While reaffirming Nokia's commitment to the operating systems already present on its devices, Savander also detailed some of the company's future plans for the Symbian and MeeGo platforms.
According to him, the MeeGo devices that would arrive on shelves from Nokia in the future are all “above the Symbian range in terms of functionality and price.”
“If you look at the Symbian products, they are priced at the lower-end of the high tier in most markets, below the iPhone and competing with the Android devices.”
“We absolutely see a role for MeeGo-based products at the very high end of our product range,” Savander stated.
Nokia's Symbian devices are bound to move to the mainstream segment of the market, while Meego devices would claim the upper level, and not only on the smartphone area, it appears.
“For sure, you'll see some more traditional form factor smartphones using MeeGo from us. But what we're looking into is whether we need to extend the MeeGo product concepts beyond smartphones,” Niklas Savander also stated.