Nokia CEO dismisses buyout rumours, questions Android openness
Nokia's CEO says his company is not for sale, declaring it will move three times faster than before to bring out distinctive Windows Phone handsets.
Nokia is not for sale. That's the message coming loud and clear from CEO Stephen Elop, speaking today at the Open Mobile Summit in London, the Telegraph reports.
Rumours have surfaced that both Microsoft and Samsung are interested in a takeover of the troubled mobile phone company. Elop said they were "baseless".
The speculation is understandable after Nokia slashed its profits forecast to zero, yet Elop is adamant his company can rise again.
Reiterating a statement made in a previous interview that Nokia must release products quickly and aggressively, he suggested Nokia would move three times as fast as it had done before. That said, we're still not expecting Nokia Windows Phones until the autumn, despite this now being its main focus.
Talking up Microsoft's platform at the conference about open technologies, he questioned just how open Google's Android OS really was. iOS is closed -- that's a given -- but, showing a picture of an open Android box, Elop said: "There are still flaps on the box; it is not clear how open they will be in the future."
Speculation, of course, and it's still far easier for users to hack their way out of the Android box, should they want to, than the average Apple user can escape iOS.
As for those elusive Nokia Windows Phones? "The very first Windows Phone products that come out from Nokia will have unique Nokia differentiation," he promised, suggesting it was more important to compete with Apple and Android than with other Windows Phones.
The difficulty for Nokia is finding a place to fit in the market. Apple and Samsung dominate the high-end smart phone market, while Microsoft's high standards for Windows Phone hardware mean it could be difficult to make a profit from cheaper handsets, as has been Nokia's mainstay in the past. Ultimately a buyout might be the best option.