Microsoft buys Nokia phones: The last gamble ... - 20minutes.fr

In 2000, Nokia was worth 185 billion euros. On Monday, the company sold its jewel-the-phone division to Microsoft 3.79 billion, plus 1.65 billion to exploit its patents for 10 years. A constant failure for the Finns, who missed the turn of smartphones, despite its famous designs. A gamble last chance for Microsoft, while its Windows Phone platform is still unable to take off.

What awaits Microsoft

chance to control the chain from A to Z, from design to manufacturing to marketing. In short, adopt the Apple model. Microsoft tried the solution home with the tablet surface. And showed a loss of $ 900 million. Absorbing 32,000 Nokia employees, Microsoft buying experience at exorbitant prices. Before the deal, the Redmond company had 60 billion of cash in his trunk. With the impending departure of Steve Ballmer, it potentially provides a natural general manager in the person of Stephen Elop, a former Microsoft installed at the head of Nokia in 2010. But with 130,000 employees, voices are already demanding a split of the giant poles to separate business and consumer.

It obtains the phone, Nokia

chance of survival. With the collapse of its market share, Nokia was in the red, burning cash at full speed. The agreement with Microsoft in 2011 to move to Windows Phone has not borne fruit. In the second quarter, Nokia sold 30 million smartphones, of which only 7.4 million of its flagship range Lumia. Microsoft will have to sell 50 million for the acquisition to be profitable, according to Bloomberg. The advantage is that the marketing effort is not diluted between the two companies. According to most observers, it is a marriage of convenience between two outsiders who do not really have any other choice.

The challenge facing Windows Phone Android and iOS

a hardware becomes almost-as-a standard toothbrush, smartphones differ on two fronts: the services and apps. On the first, Microsoft has caught up, including leveraging the cloud with SkyDrive. The second, however, Windows Phone has not yet reached a critical mass, with 3.7% of smartphone sales in the second quarter to become a priority for developers. The absence of Instagram, Pinterest or Snapchat scares many consumers, especially the younger ones. Microsoft certainly made efforts, with more than 160,000 apps available. Vine and Flipboard is coming soon. But the dynamic is the same: the next big thing will land first on iOS and Android. “The acquisition does not solve this problem,” says for 20 Minutes Gartner analyst Van Baker. According to him, it would have Microsoft “reaches 10% market share to attract developers.” And if the company is going to sell the package to home phones, it is unlikely that other manufacturers are scrambling at the gate.

Everything changes, nothing changes for the consumer

The main gain for the consumer is that Nokia phones and their fantastic camera will continue to exist. Hope Microsoft is that buyers from emerging countries are sufficiently faithful to the Finns to migrate from an old phone to a Lumia smartphone, especially in South America, where Windows Phone managed to become the second most platform People behind Android. And if that’s not enough, Microsoft could still break the bank. According to Bloomberg, the company keeps an eye on the BlackBerry, to a buyer.

Philippe Berry