Elop’s interview and why Microsoft+Nokia makes much sense now !!

“Elop has told Pocket-lint that we shall soon be seeing the Nokia brand name within other devices and not just the company’s own phones.”

“You’ll starting seeing the word ‘Nokia’ on a map that you get from Microsoft properties over a period of time,” Elop explained to Pocket-lint in an interview behind closed doors at CES in Las Vegas. “Even if you are on a BlackBerry device, who recently said they were going to start using Bing Maps.”

“Part of the relationship we established with Microsoft is that we are clearly placing a bet on the Windows Phone platform. [In return] they are placing a bet on our location-based platform: mapping, navigation and so forth,” said Elop.”In the time ahead, what you will see is, across all the Microsoft properties including Bing maps, more and more work will be done by Nokia.”Elop also told Pocket-lint that Nokia’s deal to help Microsoft improve its navigation services is a way to protect the Finnish company and make sure the agreement wasn’t as one sided as perhaps people currently perceive:

“We did that for important reasons as we had the better mapping assets so it made sense. But it also creates some balance in the relationship with Microsoft,” he said.

Source

That is where, I now see much sense in (Microsoft + Nokia) Tango. Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop’s controversial decision of adopting low-lying windows phone platform can be explained with more confidence now.

• Elop must have foreseen how it will be 2011 onwards. Android ecosystem with players like Google, Samsung ,LG, HTC and many more all involved can be very intimidating for a rival. As we can see now,even Apple is facing tough time beating them.
• Nokia adopting WP OS and being paid for doing so was the first balancing act,largely ignored by doubters.
• Now MS has also shared the burden of marketing of Lumia devices,even using its own stores and online presence to endorse it.

But the use of Nokia branding for Bing maps gives Nokia a far better position in the ongoing MS-Nokia relationship,and gives a mild shock to the critics.

• It is obviously giving Nokia a great chance to market itself to the users of rival companies and platforms.
• Earning potential can be huge in future as the spread that nokia’s mapping is going to get is across BB and other WP manufacturers.
• Better balance for Nokia in the overall WP ecosystem even with respect to MS,being the hardware and even software provide for maps.

So, let us know what you think about our analysis in comments below.