As you probably already know, this year’s Nokia World will be held next week 26-27 October in London. Congratulations if you’re one of the lucky ones attending. This will without a doubt be one of the Nokia Worlds that’ll be remembered for years to come. Whether it will be looked back fondly or in despair remains to be seen. Nevertheless the stakes are high as are expectations. Failure to impress would seriously undermine the company’s new strategy, which could have catastrophic consequences. Uncertainty would grow. Investors would loose the little faith they have left. Strategy would be revised. Management would see changes. Turmoil would continue and the company would fall impossibly behind of its competitors. This would more or less mark the end of the company as its current form. Nokia would be split in three parts. Samsung would buy mobile phone business, Microsoft smartphones and navigation and NSN would stay as an independent company or be acquired buy Ericsson or Huawei. Impossible you say? In today’s world of technology nothing is impossible. However unlikely the above scenario might be it is still a possibility. Though, I personally think it is highly unlikely. Not because it would be somehow unrealistic but because it is based on the assumption that Nokia would fail to deliver. I strongly believe this not to be the case.
So what should we be expecting from Nokia World? I don’t think it’s any secret that Nokia will be introducing new handsets at Nokia World and at least one of those will be running the already publicly available Windows Phone 7.5 aka “Mango” Operating System. It is also known that the first Nokia with Windows Phone device will be available this year in selected European markets. And you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out which countries are going to be among the first ones to get that device. It will be the biggest markets and the ones that did not get the N9. Rest of the world including North America will follow suit in Q1 2012. Nokia and Microsoft have stressed many times that their aim is to make the Windows Phone ecosystem the most operator friendly so expect operators to play a big part in the launch of Nokia with Windows Phone devices.
This years Nokia World will be peculiar also in the sense that it is as much about Nokia as it is about Microsoft. Nokia World will mark the re-launch of Windows Phone, which thus far has failed to gain any significant traction. Expect Microsoft to have the same determination than what they had when they re-launched the Xbox.
It is often forgotten but Nokia is much more than just smartphones. Expect Nokia World to concentrate on these three elements: smartphones, the next billion and future disruptions. The N9 is an amazing evidence of the capabilities that the company has. So erase S60 and N97 from your mind and think MeeGo-Harmattan and N9 and you know what to expect.
Nokia World 2011 will be, maybe more than ever, about Nokia the company. New devices will certainly be launched but the most exiting launch will be the refreshed Nokia. Last year Anssi Vanjoki introduced the N8 and the E7 and said that the fight starts now and that Nokia is back. This year it will be self evident without saying.
Good things come to those who wait – and oh how Nokia fans have waited.
So, what are you expecting Nokia to unveil?
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