Nokia not planning Android switch despite Android dev job ad
Nokia is not planning an Android phone, but is recruiting Android experts to work on the new Here maps app.
Nokia's planning an Android phone? "Oh no it isn't!" says a Nokia boss, in true panto-season style.
A Nokia job posting calling for Android expertise has set the rumour mill twirling faster than a fairy godmother's wand. But Doug Dawson, Nokia's boss of talking to the press, has squashed claims the Finnish phone-flingers are planning to switch from Window Phone to Android for the follow-ups to the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820.
It's all a hilarious misunderstanding, Dawson explains on Twitter. The job advert aims at recruiting someone with experience of Android in order to work on Nokia's new Here Maps app, which works on other phones and tablets as well as Nokia phones.
So the ad relates to Here Maps and "nothing more", according to Nokia. Still, you can't blame us for getting excited when the posting promised a role in a "start-up environment" to develop "exciting new products" for "mobile phone technology".
Nokia sold the family cow to Microsoft over a year ago, but the handful of beans that is Windows Phone has yet to produce a magic beanstalk. Not only does Windows Phone hold a negligible share of the phone market, but Microsoft embarrassed Nokia by cutting off the first generation of the software when unveiling Windows Phone 8.
No wonder many think Google's Android software could be neither too hot nor too cold but just right for Nokia. Opinions are mixed among phone fans today, however. CNET reader Mealeagru reckons, "Nokia should really diversify, betting the farm on Windows Phone 8 is very risky and they are the only manufacturer to do it. And Microsoft isn't even grateful, they are bound to release their own phone next year."
But Jonathan Aze says, "Nokia are too late going into a market which is already dominated by Samsung," while Matt Winston asks, "Nokia has released some good phones, but what can they do that dozens of Droids can't do?"
Is Nokia about to turn into a pumpkin, or could it still find its Prince Charming? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.