Yesterday, Nokia released six new products in Abu Dhabi, once again drawing a great deal of attention. The company's former CEO, Stephen Elop (currently responsible for Nokia's mobile phone business), explicitly stated during an interview with Sohu IT at the Nokia World Conference:
I am about to leave Nokia and return to Microsoft, where I will serve as the top manager of Microsoft's hardware division, overseeing all hardware products from mobile phones, tablets to Xbox.
In early September, Microsoft announced it would acquire Nokia's mobile phone and services department (including patent licensing fees) for $7.2 billion. If everything goes smoothly, the transaction will be completed in early 2014. The price of this transaction has been met with many doubts - "7.2 billion dollars is too low for Nokia." Elop responded to this:
The value cannot be judged solely by the acquisition amount; the investment community has highly recognized this transaction, and Nokia's stock has significantly rebounded.
Elop stated that for Nokia, the acquisition by Microsoft is another rebirth. "The mobile phone and services department only accounts for about half of Nokia Group's business. Nokia's remaining businesses such as network equipment, maps, and investments are very promising." In his view, facing the impact of Apple and smartphones, Nokia, which failed to keep up, needs salvation, and this acquisition by Microsoft is exactly that salvation.
After the news of the acquisition was announced, many Nokia fans, especially Finnish people, expressed their dissatisfaction with Elop, and this sentiment reached its peak after Elop's exorbitant "severance package" was revealed. Elop commented:
People, especially the Finnish people, have deep feelings for Nokia phones, which is very understandable. However, rationally speaking, this acquisition is a very important step for Nokia and a very correct choice.
Returning to his old employer, Elop will bear the heavy responsibility of developing Microsoft's hardware business, "I am very excited, we will face a broader market. Mobile is a huge opportunity, and the alliance between Microsoft and Nokia will bring greater breakthroughs in product areas."
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that Nokia Lumia smartphone sales set new records for the fourth consecutive quarter. The company sold at least 8 million Lumia phones in the third quarter from June to September, nearly three times the 2.9 million units sold during the same period last year, and far exceeding the 7.4 million units sold in the second quarter of this year. This undoubtedly gives Elop more confidence.
The featured image is from nokiagadgets.