Nokia made the right choice when it partnered with Microsoft on Friday last week, according to research firm Ovum.
The organisation said that while Nokia’s decision to move from its Symbian operating system to Windows 7 software by teaming up with Microsoft was a bold choice, it was the right one.
“This is a bold decision by Nokia but absolutely the right one, both for itself and for Microsoft given the drastically changed landscape for smartphones in the past couple of years,” Ovum analyst, Nick Dillon, said in a statement.
“There were few short term options available to the company to help it get back on terms with Apple and especially the Android masses, which in 2011 look set to overtake Nokia in terms of smartphone shipments, bringing with it the full wrath of the investor community."
Dillon said the move could go one of two ways and Nokia needs to take the opportunity with open arms while trying to maintain its independence.
“Nokia now has the opportunity to cast itself in the role that Intel has taken in the Windows PC market as a mutually beneficial, symbiotic marriage between equals rather than as simply a box shifter,” Dillon said.
“However, there remains a danger that Nokia could end up as merely a vehicle for Microsoft and services should it fail to differentiate from other Windows Phone 7 makers such as HTC, Samsung and LG.”
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