There is some more information about the upcoming changes in Steve Ballmer's letter to Microsoft employees.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/Press/2013/Sep13/09-02email.aspx [microsoft.com]

This outlines a lot of the personnel changes. For example, Stephen Elop will be coming back to Microsoft and Nokia teams will mostly stay in Finland.

for a total transaction price of EUR 5.44 billion in cash

"CASH" - how many suitcases does it take to transfer EUR 5.44 billion in cash?

Microsoft exec, Stephen Elop, leaves to run Nokia. Nokia's stock price falls into the gutter. Microsoft buys Nokia cheap. Elop returns to Microsoft.

Hmmmm.

According to this article [theverge.com...] Microsoft has not bought "Nokia". The Nokia brand stays with Nokia and will only be used on feature-phones from now on.

Yep. Same premise, though.

My understanding having read the linked articles is that the Nokia branding will not be used on future devices? Major coup for ms, but Nokia is a respected and trusted brand. A hardware phone with Microsoft branding will come across as "new kid on the block"

It does appear to be a smart buy.

Mack.

Not sure its such a good buy - Nokia has been a failure in smart phones, although it has recovered some ground since Lumia phones launched.

Given how committed Nokia has been to MS since Steve Elop became CEO, I do not see why Nokia as part of MS will do better than an independent Nokia - and its a reason for other phone makers to avoid Windows Phone.

A hardware phone with Microsoft branding will come across as "new kid on the block"

Not even close: quite a few people out there remember Nokia from their trusted 3210 or so, eventually (although it takes a while) they will get replaced. But those people will not buy a MSFT branded phone.
All those that didn't want a MSFT tablet, won't touch a Microsoft phone either. They've tainted the brand and don't realize it it seems.

Had they bought the name Nokia, the patents, they might have had something, now: not so much.

And it'll be a moron who signs up to make competing phones using the same software as MSFT is using in theirs - MSFT can wipe you out overnight no matter how good you are. Better not touch their software and use something else (e.g. android).

>But those people will not buy a MSFT branded phone.

How do you know? Feature phones are going to remain available for a while, yet, and low cost smartphones will start to make an impact. I don't see how someone that bought a Nokia will not look at a Microsoft phone, unless it is overpriced and doesn't do what other low-priced smartphones do. It's up to Microsoft to come up with the offering.

> MSFT can wipe you out overnight no matter how good you are.

I don't see how that is different from Google, Android and their own phones.

I'm hearing from people saying they are concerened about Google's grip on them. Surely, we need playng field with more options than just Android or iOS.

I think this was orchestrated by shareholders who also own Google so they could finally sink MSFT.

This is good for both Nokia and Microsoft ... and spells bad news for Google/Android ... and that's a good thing.

How do you know? Feature phones are going to remain available for a while, yet, and low cost smartphones will start to make an impact. I don't see how someone that bought a Nokia will not look at a Microsoft phone, unless it is overpriced and doesn't do what other low-priced smartphones do. It's up to Microsoft to come up with the offering.

MSFT really isn't going to make a next 3210, they're going to make windows phones ... which those that still use a 3210 will hate with a passion. They'll have not much choice, but the sturdy, "chuck norris" of phones is not on the market anymore for quite a while. So indeed they'll have to compromise. But those that I know personally that still use an old nokia will want a lean phone when it comes to features. So I guess they'll go for the dirt cheap Chinese ones and consider them expendable. The environment is the big loser unfortunately.

> MSFT can wipe you out overnight no matter how good you are.
I don't see how that is different from Google, Android and their own phones.

That's very different: Google cannot charge a penny for android (open source you know). MSFT can hike the price up for windows at will. They can even set the price of windows licenses for OEMs higher than for their entire phone... Google can of course stop developing android, but nothing is stopping e.g. Samsung from taking up where Google left and continue it for themselves. Sure Google can do better than Samsung, but they have no option of pricing Samsung out of the market by setting new conditions/prices on android.

Microsoft really bought a sinking ship, and missed the more interesting parts of it. It was a ship that was sinking due to poor choices in the recent past, and the one making those calls is now headed back to Microsoft. Can't help to wonder if they'll put him in charge of sinking MSFT itself as well once the Ballmer is ousted.

DrDoc:

This is good for both Nokia and Microsoft ... and spells bad news for Google/Android ... and that's a good thing.

While I agree that this is a good move on the part of Nokia, who made a really bad decision adopting MS software, i believe it's a horrible move for MS who are throwing money away to save a pig.

I bought a Nokia N8 when they first came out & loved it. Still have it although I yearn for a new Samsung S4.

I would NEVER buy a MS software phone. Not becuase I hate MS but because their software sucks.
What they've done with MS Office & Expressions just gets me angry - (but that's another topic.)

If anything I think that it will be a gift to Google / Android. Time will tell but it's not going to be a success for MS. (IMHO)

I think this was orchestrated by shareholders who also own Google so they could finally sink MSFT.

There are about 87,000 variants on this story. My favorite is the one with a flock of goats, some jackals and a lion.

That's very different: Google cannot charge a penny for android (open source you know).

Not only that, if Google mucks around too much with Android to device vendors dislike, then it can be forked.

bad news for Google/Android ... and that's a good thing.

I disagree. Google is too powerful is search, but in the OS market its MS that is too powerful.

I think this was orchestrated by shareholders who also own Google so they could finally sink MSFT.

Its too small to damage MS. It might damage MS in the mobile market, but MS is not exactly a success in that market anyway.

If you really want to sink MS, get them to buy something BIG. The nearest they came was the offer for Yahoo which would have lead to disaster if Yahoo had not been stupid enough to reject it.

I don't see how it will do damage to msft in the mobile market. They clearly want to get involved with devices. If they where to start from scratch and develop their own range of handsets, take them through to the manufacturing stage and into production, it would take a long time and may work out more expensive that the purchase of the nokia Division.

It reminds of a speach Steve jobs made where he stated if you want to make good software you will want to control the hardware. I think msft are catching on.

I bet msft wish they had bought Motorola Mobility when they had the change as opposed to letting Google get in there first.

10 years ago, who would have thought a search engine would be in direct competition with a software company over phones?

Mack.

Apple's approach has always been to control the hardware - but that gave them a much smaller share of the PC market than MS's approach of using a standardised and relatively open platform.

What both Google and MS should do is standardise the tablet platform. It would get rid of Android's biggest disadvantage vs iOS (most devices are not upgradeable to new OS versions).

I think it would be more true to says that OS suppliers need to EITHER control the hardware OR use a standardised hardware. At the moment Android is getting the worst of both worlds.

On PC hardware I can install any version of Windows I have x86 install media for, any of a number of different Linux distros, Android, BSD variants, Solaris, and a number of minor and research OSes.

On a tablet I am pretty much stuck with what the vendor put on it (with a few minor exceptions, that only some tablets).

Even though most people use the OS that came on a PC, the choice is what allows innovation to thrive. There would have been no Android without Linux, and no MacOS/iOS without BSD and Mach - and Linux, BSD and Mach would have died if they could not run on PC hardware.

Closed tablets are closing the future.

While I agree that this is a good move on the part of Nokia, who made a really bad decision adopting MS software, i believe it's a horrible move for MS who are throwing money away to save a pig.

I think it is also WIN for MS, if i am correct in my views, they are here to protect there strongest hold area, i.e. OS and Office. So its an investment in Nokia to save OS footprint of Windows. think if nokia continue to perform bad and due to stake holder and shareholder pressure, they decide to start offering Android phones!. they are the ONLY committed win OS phone maker to MS and they never want them to sink or go to other platform no matter what the price may be. it is long term card they played. saving OS and Office mean saving all the range of MS products including but not limited to Exchange, SharePoint etc.