Nokia's CEO May Give Last Speech As Head Of Company, Say Analysts
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is probably the most oddly named CEO in the world,
but it's okay, since he's the head of the planet's biggest phone maker
in terms of global market share. But Nokia isn't the giant they once
were, and holding the lion's share of the phone market is becoming
much, much more difficult with new players like Apple and HTC really
stepping up their game. Nokia has yet to really come out with a
"superphone" that can rival the iPhone, DROID and HTC Incredible (not
to mention the Google Nexus One), and the company's true smartphone
share has been slipping because of it.
Thankfully for Nokia, they're still selling loads of phones in developing markets--cheaper handsets with less functionality. But that song-and-dance may not cut it for much longer, and investors seem to be growing frustrated while waiting for Nokia to finally take a serious swing in the smartphone market. The N900 was a dude (Maemo doesn't even exist any more as a standalone OS), the 5800 XpressMusic turned out to be a featurephone, and the N8 is getting awful first reviews.
According to a new Reuters report, "Kallasvuo, who has spent more than half of his life at the company, could give his last speech to shareholders if Nokia cannot roll out a serious challenger to Apple's iPhone for the key holiday-sales season at end of the year." That's right, the Nokia chief may be saying his goodbyes soon unless a 180 is seen quickly. Also, Nokia's announcement that Symbian^3-based phones would be delayed from Q2 to Q3 sent shares downward further, as the next generation iPhone is likely to launch well before then.
Many industry analysts are now predicting that the end is near for Kallasvuo, but there's no concrete proof just yet. We would understand him stepping down, but in the end, we just want some real smartphone competition from Nokia. For a name so big, it's crazy to think that no Nokia phone really rivals the other top-tier smartphones on the market.
Thankfully for Nokia, they're still selling loads of phones in developing markets--cheaper handsets with less functionality. But that song-and-dance may not cut it for much longer, and investors seem to be growing frustrated while waiting for Nokia to finally take a serious swing in the smartphone market. The N900 was a dude (Maemo doesn't even exist any more as a standalone OS), the 5800 XpressMusic turned out to be a featurephone, and the N8 is getting awful first reviews.
According to a new Reuters report, "Kallasvuo, who has spent more than half of his life at the company, could give his last speech to shareholders if Nokia cannot roll out a serious challenger to Apple's iPhone for the key holiday-sales season at end of the year." That's right, the Nokia chief may be saying his goodbyes soon unless a 180 is seen quickly. Also, Nokia's announcement that Symbian^3-based phones would be delayed from Q2 to Q3 sent shares downward further, as the next generation iPhone is likely to launch well before then.
Many industry analysts are now predicting that the end is near for Kallasvuo, but there's no concrete proof just yet. We would understand him stepping down, but in the end, we just want some real smartphone competition from Nokia. For a name so big, it's crazy to think that no Nokia phone really rivals the other top-tier smartphones on the market.
