Do you think MS is doing the right thing by acquiring Nokia's Devices & Services unit?

Strike-1: They've got a phone with no apps...Purchasing Nokia will not solve that problem.

Strike-2: They've got a phone that runs on Win-8... Bzzzt....Thanks for playing, but I'm not interested.....

Strike-3: It's Microsoft, whose motto is: "Yesterdays ideas...tomorrow..."

Regardless of what {I|you|we|they} think of Microsoft, it is necessary to have a product that all competitors must at least meet, if not improve.

Can you imagine a world where {insert fave} simply sat on its laurels and refused to listen?

And, BTW, I'm no fan of Nokia either. To be blunt, their products stink and have all the performance of Vodaphone Australia.

So go for it Steve.

Gordon.

I read an article (online, I think it was Yahoo News) that said they HAD to do it because Nokia which has been making most of the phones for MS was about to pull the plug on MS, leaving them with a dead business. I hope for their sake they can make a go out of it, but I see MSFT stock dropped 4.55% today, and Mr. Balmer has a very poor track record for innovation. Also Nokia's stock is down 50% in the last 3 years. This reminds me of the Sears & Kmart merger, but I'd love to be wrong.

But 2 bricks sink as fast as 1.

The draconian measures to lock out apps and developers are well discussed and well, yes the Redmondites I chatted with always tell me I'm wrong to think I should be able to port my app and let our company get free access to our app.

Really? It's our app. Erect a barrier to adoption?
Bob

MS has to respond to the release of the Ubuntu Mobile OS. I kind of figured with the release of Windows 8, MS would throw down the gauntlet but with Nokia? Really? I don't think there's gonna be much competition there.

I detest cell phones. I only have one because the wife demanded I have one. So, when I went in, and the guy started talking about "smartphone" this and 'smartphone" that, I told him I only wanted a STUPID phone. got it, too. Twenty bucks, and another 20 per month. Y'all can keep all that junk I don't need nor want it.

Now to get back in the game they are going to have to double down. Go back to their roots when they gave away word until wordperfect died. a smartphone for less then $100.00 and a unlimited service plan for less then $25.00 a month. Eat dirt for a year and then reap the rewards.

Microsoft hijacked Nokia long time ago. Epop already destroyed the company. What is happening now is just a pure formality. First, they underestimated the smart phone craze. Then, sticking to their ancient system rather than adopting Android. Then,the final blow going for Windows. No matter how good they might be that OS is a killer. No way out.
And now, Epo is going back to Microsoft. the circle is closing.
I hate that. I love Nokia phones. But it is what it is.

Nokia probably had nothing to lose in this. Like all other handset makers than Samsung and Apple, they were to have a problem surviving. There is no danger of monopoly in this aquisition, and Nokia I believe is currently manufactured in Europe rather than China. There is the mutual benefit in the merger, money from the giant to develop the Nokia handset, and MS may possibly make its operating system a better interface with the handset applications. MS would then also have a handset that could interface with its new OS 8 for desktop PCs, and demonstrate whatever qualities that system is to achieve. And this transitiion may bring a third handset into the competition. Also, the Nokia is a featured handset for T-Mobile, a new contender in the the cell phone market. If MS fails, at least they tried to help smaller businesses rather than stashing away their money.

i'm a nokia fanboy; had lots of them over the years. def nok builds the best handsets. but, once I left Symbian for android, I felt I had entered the space age. I did try wp7 cause I thought it would be neat to have an os same as my pc; but msft should be punished for 7 cause it was not ready for prime time. went back to android in a week. then I tried again with wp8; that lasted almost two weeks. better, but still not a serious contender for android. but I always love the feel of a nok phone. unless nok breaks off a division to make android phones, guess it's all over between us. maybe i'll try wp9 or 10; hope they're closer to android someday. what do I mean by that? APPS. Give me all my android apps in wp, and i'll probably switch again. still say nok should start a new division, Aikon, make android phones.

By encouraging Ballmer to "retire", Micro$oft has started on a long path back to being a leader. There are a lot more that we never hear about that also need to get gone. The company needs new and fresh ideas, but it also MUST learn to listen to what its customers want.
Corporate America (and most likely the world's corporations as well) do not want to have to expend large amounts of scarce resources just because somebody at Micro$oft wants a new user interface. They can't afford the time or the money. Get the job done right the first time for a change.
Home computer users seem to have decided to stick with what works, simply because they can't afford to buy a new set of software every couple of years at the whim of Micro$oft. When PC operating systems were priced in the $50.00 range, it was even sort of fun to explore new ones. At well over $200.00 for an OS and somewhere around $400.00 for MS Office, it ain't fun anymore. Get the job done right the first time for a change.
The company needs to be careful in setting its sights on phones. When the phone carriers reach market saturation, which is approaching rapidly, I doubt they will be "subsidizing" the devices any longer. When that happens, look for the sales curve of new devices make the trajectory of a brick look like that of an airplane at takeoff.

And quickly I hope. A Windows 8 phone? Oh pleeeze.