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A Nokia (Microsoft) Android phone?

dynomot

dynomot

Android Expert
Well, I'm saddened by the continuing use by Microsoft of a once force in the mobile world. Saddened, but not surprised :

Nokia announces the X and X+, its first Android phones

My take on it iis rather conspiratorial on reading an email I composed to a fellow geek, but my sentiment stands. My email, verbatim minus the greetings :) :

"I was just wondering what are your thoughts regarding Microsoft using Nokia to launch a "non Google" *Android phone?*


Personally I think it is rather a clever move by Microsoft; cynical, but clever. Get a manufacturer you own to make a poorly specced, *mid range phone using your biggest rival's OS. *Don't allow them to use your rivals services, *and don't even allow them access to that OS's application store. Force them to use your services and your own repository of that OS's applications. *Yes they can "side load" *regular applications, *but who apart from a small minority are going to get hold of the installer files and do that?*


Know full well your rivals OS uses RAM much differently from how the masses have been taught - give it 3Gig of RAM and it'll use 2Gig just ticking over. In your rivals OS unused RAM is wasted RAM. *General misinformation by your own corporation has led the masses in general to believe that unused RAM is spare and needs to be as high as possible for smooth functioning, *because that is how your own PC OS works, *and your OS are in over 90% of personal computers world wide. *It's not better or worse; *just different, *but nothing like perpetuating the myth and starving your new mid range device running your rivals OS of RAM. *Knowing full well the only thing true about RAM, *no matter what OS you use is that more is always better. *It is more than likely that your new device will lag, *and freeze, *particularly as your going to be using a version of your rivals OS that is already two upgrades behind the "real thing". *


Now sit back, *watch the mid range phone take off (A Nokia running Android - Wow!) and be a smartphone your feature phone users on Asha devices *(you hope) *will aspire to. *Get them use to your services, *and show them not how good they are on "real" *Google Android, *but how good they are on your premier phone OS - Windows 8."
 
dynomot said:
Well, I'm saddened by the continuing use by Microsoft of a once force in the mobile world. Saddened, but not surprised :

Nokia announces the X and X+, its first Android phones

My take on it iis rather conspiratorial on reading an email I composed to a fellow geek, but my sentiment stands. My email, verbatim minus the greetings :) :

"I was just wondering what are your thoughts regarding Microsoft using Nokia to launch a "non Google" *Android phone?*
Click to expand...
Actually I've grown quite used to non-Google Android phones. There's a whole country of them. World's largest Android market as well. Nokia is still quite a well known brand here as well for their Symbian and feature-phones.
dynomot said:
Personally I think it is rather a clever move by Microsoft; cynical, but clever. Get a manufacturer you own to make a poorly specced, *mid range phone using your biggest rival's OS. *Don't allow them to use your rivals services, *and don't even allow them access to that OS's application store. Force them to use your services and your own repository of that OS's applications. *Yes they can "side load" *regular applications, *but who apart from a small minority are going to get hold of the installer files and do that?*


Know full well your rivals OS uses RAM much differently from how the masses have been taught - give it 3Gig of RAM and it'll use 2Gig just ticking over. In your rivals OS unused RAM is wasted RAM. *General misinformation by your own corporation has led the masses in general to believe that unused RAM is spare and needs to be as high as possible for smooth functioning, *because that is how your own PC OS works, *and your OS are in over 90% of personal computers world wide. *It's not better or worse; *just different, *but nothing like perpetuating the myth and starving your new mid range device running your rivals OS of RAM. *Knowing full well the only thing true about RAM, *no matter what OS you use is that more is always better. *It is more than likely that your new device will lag, *and freeze, *particularly as your going to be using a version of your rivals OS that is already two upgrades behind the "real thing". *


Now sit back, *watch the mid range phone take off (A Nokia running Android - Wow!) and be a smartphone your feature phone users on Asha devices *(you hope) *will aspire to. *Get them use to your services, *and show them not how good they are on "real" *Google Android, *but how good they are on your premier phone OS - Windows 8."
Click to expand...

As I understand what Nokia is doing with Asha and Android is low to middle cost devices intended for emerging markets, like China and India. Might not be available in the United States or Europe. Most here can't afford $700 Samsung S5s or $1,000 iPhone 5Ss or whatever. Windows Phone has been a fail so far in China, really because they're expensive and the carriers like China Mobile don't seem to be particularly interested in promoting that platform. Almost everything is Android.
 
Actually I think the "let's make Android look bad" part of the theory is unlikely. Most customers won't even realise there's Android under there, and a second-rate implementation is more likely to hurt the visible brands, Nokia and Microsoft.
 
It seems smart to me. Instead of "dumbing down" WP to make it work on budget hardware, just skin an open source OS like android ;)
I doubt if google even registered in the thought process (call me naive) :D
 
Hadron said:
Actually I think the "let's make Android look bad" part of the theory is unlikely. Most customers won't even realise there's Android under there, and a second-rate implementation is more likely to hurt the visible brands, Nokia and Microsoft.
Click to expand...

I can't see that Hadron, given that one of their biggest selling points is that it is Android.
 
Tbh id say its biggest selling point is that its Nokia. Miketd could probably confirm.
Id say the biggest draw to an android device is google services and this phone doesnt have them (although it can run android apps)
 
Yeah, the tech press notice that it's Android 'cos that's news after Nokia' s Window strategy and MS buyout. But that's not how it will appear to the customer, especially not the part of the market these are aimed at. It's a Nokia X, loaded with Microsoft services, and the fact that if you jump through some hoops it will run the majority of Android apps you can sideload isn't really going to be much of a marketing draw.

And let's face it, if you jump through the hoops of sideloading and find apps don't work, are you going to buy another phone from the same maker? Way too big a risk for the strategy to be that people will blame the underlying OS but trust the company who made the device.
 
funkylogik said:
Tbh id say its biggest selling point is that its Nokia. Miketd could probably confirm.
Id say the biggest draw to an android device is google services and this phone doesnt have them (although it can run android apps)
Click to expand...


I'm thinking it's going to be Nokia, possibly with Bing services. That's what they'll focus on and not the "Microsoft" or "Windows" brands. Which they'll keep for their high end Windows Phone devices. Which they'll principally try and sell in the UK, US, etc. And these lower cost non-Windows Nokia phones for countries like China, India, much of Africa, etc. Google doesn't seem to show much interest in Android in China anyway.

Windows Phone has been out for over two years now and I've yet to see one in the wild. I go to the local China Mobile flagship store, they've got two non-functioning Windows Phone dummies on display. In amongst a couple of hundred functioning Android phones. They've just started selling Apple iPhones, so naturally that's a big in-store feature as well. Windows Phone doesn't have a chance here. LOL ...quite a few people are still using their old Nokia feature-phones, and they're still available as well, probably old stock. But they're going over to low cost smart-phones now, that's what I'm seeing especially over the last year. This is what I think Nokia will want to get into. Apple does well because they've focused on luxury, for those with the money.

There's already three major manufacturers that I know that do phones that run versions(forks) of Android, but they don't use the word "Android" or show cute green robots in their promotion and ads. Meizu calls it Flyme, Oppo calls it ColorOS and Xiaomi calls it MIUI. They all have their own app distribution channels. They can side-load Android APKs from other sources, but the manufacturers and carriers may not tell users that.
 
I love the irony in the situation. Convince Nokia that a merger with another company(Microsoft) is better than putting someone else's OS on their hardware. Allow them to release devices onto the market emblazoned with your name(Nokia) while running their OS(WP). Then force them to use a restricted version of the competitor's (Android) OS anyway.

If Nokia had realized that Android was developing into a dominant OS and rode the wave while continuing to develop their brain child(Symbian) things might have turned out better for Nokia.
 
ndex477 said:
I love the irony in the situation. Convince Nokia that a merger with another company(Microsoft) is better than putting someone else's OS on their hardware. Allow them to release devices onto the market emblazoned with your name(Nokia) while running their OS(WP). Then force them to use a restricted version of the competitor's (Android) OS anyway.

If Nokia had realized that Android was developing into a dominant OS and rode the wave while continuing to develop their brain child(Symbian) things might have turned out better for Nokia.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree, we Nokia conspiracists know all this though! It was never a merger though it was a "partnership" with Nokia agreeing to let a Microsoft executive become CEO. Then proceed to lower the stock price to critical levels by rubbishing his companies own OS (burning platform anyone ?), promoting and using his old employers OS and Nokia's new "partner". Then when Nokia stock bottomed, their credit rating became "junk" allowed Microsoft to ride to the rescue and buy them out. Mr Stephen Elop worked wonders for Microsoft, and will probably head them up soon enough. Not so much Nokia though.
 
My (conspiracy) theory, as it stands lacks credibility, thanks to someone who lives where most the "next billion" are going to come from, I'm glad you had input in this thread mikedt :). I knew of only the one fork of Android in China - MIUI. If Nokia sell their new devices and don't even mention (or at least don't trumpet the fact) that they are Android based then my theory is lame.

Mind you I have given them an alternative strategy, albeit a risky one :)
 
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