In 2011 Nokia’s CEO, Stephen Elop, made a brave decision for the direction of the company and switched from its failing proprietary Symbian mobile phone operating system to Microsoft’s Windows platform. The move was bold and a desperate attempt to regain some of Nokia’s lost market share.
Now two-years after the grand experiment investors at the annual shareholders meeting, held in Helsinki today, voiced their frustration and disapproval of the present course of Nokia and doubted if the switch to Windows was the right course of action afterall.
Nice guy. Wrong move
Stephen Elop, well-liked by Nokia shareholders, still faced some stern criticism about the company’s business performance. The Lumia series of Windows powered phones has gained popularity, but dims in comparison to sales numbers racked up by rivals Apple and Samsung.
Hannu Virtanen, a shareholder at the annual business meeting said:
"You're a nice guy ... and the leadership team is doing its best, but clearly, it's not enough. Are you aware that results are what matter? The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Please switch to another road."
Hannu’s comments are not without validity as the general acceptance of Nokia Lumia smartphones have been slow, in spite of generally good reviews from various tech websites on the Internet.
One reason for the resistance by consumers, according to some industry watchers, is due to the Metro-styled user interface, which is comprised of various colored tiles.
Stay the course
In response to the overall skepticism of the attendees at the shareholder’s meeting, Elop stood his ground and said that switching in mid-stream would be a mistake:
"We make adjustments as we go. But it's very clear to us that in today's war of ecosystems, we've made a very clear decision to focus on Windows Phone with our Lumia product line. And it is with that that we will compete with competitors like Samsung and (Google's operating system) Android."
But other industry pundits disagreed and said Elop has run out of ideas. Juha Varis, senior portfolio manager at Danske Capital said:
"He has closed doors. They don't have new ideas now. Their fate is all in Windows Phones."
Microsoft needs to change
If Windows phones hope to have a chance at seriously competing with Apple and Android phones, it must overhaul the blocky appearance of its operating system.
In today’s world of glamorous smartphone user interfaces, Microsoft’s Metro style is a throwback to the graphics of the 1980s, and this one simple thing could be holding Windows phones, and Nokia for that matter, from being a bigger success than then are today.
Via Reuters
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