stephen elop

Nokia on the edge: Inside an icon's fight for survival

HELSINKI, Finland -- I came here to listen for a death rattle.

It was a late Monday morning in late November when I arrived, and there was no sunlight. None. The sky was gray, bleaching out the city's colorful buildings. I asked the cab driver whether it would get any brighter, but he wasn't confident. The sun comes up late in the day and fades early in the afternoon this time of year. As even the Finns concede with a stoic chuckle, it's depressing.

Unsurprisingly, it's considered the worst time of the year to travel to … Read more

Elop says Surface Windows Phone could help 'ecosystem'

A Surface phone might be a good idea after all, Nokia's CEO said today.

Stephen Elop, speaking during an investor call, said that a Windows Phone from Microsoft would be a "stimulant to the ecosystem," according to The Verge.

"We're encouraging of HTC and Samsung and Microsoft or whomever to have devices in the market and to be making whatever investments that helps spur the ecosystem on," Elop said, according to the report.

Rumors have been circulating for months that Microsoft was going to make its own Windows Phones and possibly market them under … Read more

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop: We'll spend to break through (Q&A)

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop knows that the U.S. is a clutch market for Nokia's revival, and competition is only getting hotter.

With the Nokia Lumia 920 coming to AT&T -- and apparently only AT&T -- Nokia will have to work even harder to battle Android and the iPhone on multiple carriers apiece, while also fending off HTC, whose lookalike HTC Windows Phone 8X will also flood the market on three providers.

Earlier this week, I sat down with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop in San Francisco to dive into Nokia's strategy for breaking through.… Read more

Nokia's turnaround hopes come to focus with new Lumia phones

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop isn't one to shy away from bold proclamations.

"The Lumia 920 is the world's most innovative smartphone," Elop told CNET, proudly holding up the company's latest flagship device.

Strong words, but then again, this is the company that proclaimed that the "smartphone beta test was over" with the Lumia 900, a campaign that ultimately backfired on Nokia. And while supporters of Apple, Samsung, and even HTC may vehemently disagree with Elop's assessment, it's that kind of confidence that's required if he is to see his company … Read more

5 blunders that put Nokia in the hot seat

If Nokia goes down, it won't be CEO Stephen Elop's fault.

The company appears to be in a nosedive after it warned again that its financial performance would disappoint. In addition, the company said it would cut 10,000 positions, or nearly 10 percent of its work force, by the end of 2013, as it reshuffles its management team and showed a few executives out the door.

While the clock is ticking, Elop still has a chance to pull the company out of its nosedive. Things don't look good, though, and they could get worse before they … Read more

Nokia plans 10,000 layoffs, cuts second-quarter outlook

Nokia will cut 10,000 positions by the end of 2013, the company announced today.

The layoffs are part of a strategy on Nokia's part to "rescale" its operation. In doing so, it plans to close facilities in Ulm, Germany and Burnaby, Canada; consolidate certain manufacturing operations; and streamline its IT, corporate, and support functions.

"These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia's long-term competitive strength," Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said today in a statement. "We do not make plans that may … Read more

S&P slashes Nokia's credit rating to junk

Just when things couldn't get much worse for Nokia -- the mobile phone maker's credit rating is taking it on the chin.

Standard & Poor's today cut the rating for the Finnish mobile phone maker to junk, anticpating lower sales ahead.

Following a similar move by Fitch Ratings earlier this week, S&P cut Nokia's rating to BB+ from BBB-. BB+ is considered the highest speculative grade, "speculative" being another word for junk.

S&P said that the weaker rating reflects a lower estimate for sales from Nokia's Devices and Services … Read more

Former Nokia exec says Nokia's in trouble, Elop is to blame

Here in the U.S., the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows phone has sold better than Nokia expected, but significant profit loss elsewhere has led to some vocal -- and colorful -- opinions from a former Nokia executive.

Speaking exclusively to CNET UK, Lee Williams, who served as Nokia's senior vice president of Symbian Series 60 OS from 2006 to 2009, paints a portrait of Nokia CEO Stephen Elop as a cost-slashing leader who lacks long-term vision.

Williams goes even further to accuse Elop of sacrificing Nokia's fat and healthy cash cow -- Symbian -- for the chance at "US cultural magic," at the expense of the company's Finnish identity.… Read more

Nokia CEO talks of Windows Phone foothold in U.S.

LAS VEGAS--Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said this week's announcement of the company's first major Windows Phone for the United States is only the beginning in Nokia's long-term strategy to re-establish itself in the U.S. market.

For several years now, Nokia has largely been absent from the U.S. when it comes to smartphones. Despite its repeated promises to make a comeback in the states, the company has not been able to crack into the market with products that U.S. carriers are willing to subsidize and promote.

But Elop believes that's all about to change, … Read more