TOI, the leading English daily in India has got a chance to interview “Vipul Mehrotra”, a director at Nokia, responsible for the company’s smart devices in India. He has also spent four years working on the strategy for Nokia’s future and he was also the man who led the negotiations with Microsoft before the company decided to throw in its lot behind Windows Phone.
The interview is quite detailed and Vipul has answered a range of questions from why Nokia fell, why windows phone eco system, why ditch Meego to is there any Plan B. We are just gathering most important points from his interview below.
- When the industry changed, the OS became more of an enabler instead of being a differentiating factor. Nokia had a leadership change (Steven Elop, the current CEO replaced Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo in September 2010). These are two, let’s say, discontinuities, that affected us.
- The buzz is already back. The Asha series is a great success. Nokia is coming back, step by step! The earlier Lumia phones were one step. Asha phones are other. PureView 808 was received very well. Nokia is happy with the response Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 are getting.
- As far as Android is concerned, they decided against it because Nokia has been a leader and we want to lead. Nokia cannot be one of the many companies making Android phones.
- Meego required huge investment in terms of resources and time. Nokia could have done it but going with Microsoft was the better option. By not focussing on the OS, Nokia can work on the ecosystem where we can leverage our strength in design, maps and music etc.
- Lumia 920 and 820 are just beginning. Nokia is very sure of the success of new Lumia phones. As for the Plan B, there is none. Nokia has many more exciting devices in pipeline.
- Asha phones, which are very affordable, give a full smartphone experience. Nokia believes Asha phones can compete with low-end android devices.
- Nokia is number one in the WP ecosystem and they are going to keep it like this. As for the pace, Nokia is now different. He promises that with Nokia’s expertise in design, soon other companies will have to catch them.
