14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, Espoo, Finland-based mobile phone maker Nokia announced a series of changes and restructuring as part of its plans to move to Microsoft's Windows Phone platform and leave the Symbian OS behind.
Among the changes, Nokia announced the transition of all Symbian development and activities to Accenture, along with 3,000 of Nokia's employees, as well as the axing of 4,000 jobs at various sites around the world.
However, the company seems to be confident that it made the best choice by going with Windows Phone for future devices.
The first Nokia Windows Phone might indeed hit shelves in time for Christmas, though the company expects volume production only for the next year.
On Wednesday evening, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, said during an interview on YLE television that there are great chances that we'll indeed see the first Windows Phone from the company in Q4.
“The year 2012 is when we'll see a portfolio of [Windows Phone] products shipping in volume. The pressure is on all of us, myself included, to have those first devices this year but we haven't announced a specific date yet,” he said.
He also stated that Nokia would make changes on the time when its products arrive on shelves, and that it would aim at bring new phones on shelves as closer to the official announcement as possible.
“Our pattern now is to announce launch dates of products very close to availability. In the past, there have been longer lead times and that hasn't always worked out. It is possible [that we'll] see the first new phone in the last quarter of this year,” Elop stated.
As for the Symbian team, the company says that it made all that was possible to ensure that they would remain employed after being moved to Accenture. They won't lose their jobs after Symbian is phased out.
“No indeed, the prospects are very good, because they will first help with Symbian and then go through an extensive retraining programme so they can support Windows Phone as well as other mobile activities around the world,” Elop said.