Nokia unveils the N8

[Falkata]

Oh I see. Is it part of the touch screen stereo etc? Or is it a separate screen? I've seen some Mazdas and other brands now feature "in-dash GPS" on a second screen.

It´s part of the touch screen, not a separated one. The car is a 2007 Honda civic Type S

[Vulpix]

Nokia Investors Lose Patience 3 Years After IPhone

May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Nokia Oyj has had three years to come up with a rival to the iPhone. Investors say that’s long enough.

Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo tried to convince shareholders today at the Finnish company’s annual meeting that Nokia, the world’s largest mobile-phone maker, will have new smartphones this year that will “help close the gap” with Apple Inc., Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry and devices based on Google Inc.’s Android software.

“Patience is running out and people are starting to worry about eroding brand value,” said Max Jul Pedersen, who helps manage $95 billion at Danske Capital in Copenhagen and is considering selling his Nokia shares. “Nokia has very little to show for their big research and development budget.”

Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, spent almost six times as much as Apple on R&D last year, yet has failed to develop a device with the same mass appeal as the multi-application iPhone. The company’s shares have tumbled about 20 percent in the two weeks since it reported first-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates, wiping out 8.2 billion euros ($10.5 billion) in market value.

Now 34 billion euros, or $44 billion, the company’s market capitalization compares with Cupertino, California-based Apple’s $230 billion, and is a shadow of its 1999 peak of 203 billion euros, the highest of any European company.

[...]

‘May Be Too Late’

Nokia on April 27 announced the N8, its first phone using a rewritten software platform designed to improve usability. The touchscreen phone will be shipped in the third quarter.

Yesterday, Nokia and Microsoft Corp. released the first software component from their partnership, seeking to challenge RIM, the Canadian maker of BlackBerry handsets.

Still, Nokia will have to be swifter and more nimble to keep up with rivals, investors said. Nokia’s annual R&D budget of about $7.7 billion is 14 percent of revenue, compared with Apple’s spending of $1.3 billion, or 3 percent of sales. Nokia’s expenditure also includes figures for its networks division.

“The high-end user they’ve lost to the iPhone has signed up for iTunes and put their information on Apple; Nokia won’t get them back or not without an enormous amount of pain,” said Stuart O’Gorman of Henderson Investors Ltd. in Edinburgh, who sold his shares the day Nokia announced first-quarter results. “You have to run so fast to stay still in this market. It may be too late.”

Dividend Payout

Nokia’s average selling price for all models has plummeted 44 percent in the last five years to 62 euros. Nokia charged, on average, 155 euros in the first quarter for a smartphone, down from 190 euros nine months ago.

“Nokia is cutting prices because it’s the only way they can keep market share,” said Francisco Jeronimo, a London-based analyst at IDC. He expects the company’s share of global shipments and profits to decline further, and says Nokia may lose its European market leadership to Samsung Electronics Co. as early as this year.

[...]

Listening to Investors

Nokia replaced its finance chief last year after posting the first loss since the company began reporting quarterly in 1996. Sales chief Timo Ihamuotila took over from Rick Simonson, who now runs the low-end phone unit. Kallasvuo was selected by previous CEO Ollila.

“If they change the CEO or something, that could be a trigger to the stock price performance,” said Niklas Lund, a fund manager at Alandsbanken Asset Management in Helsinki. “That’s not likely. He was handpicked by the chairman and you would have to change them both. Investors don’t really get heard on the board.”

[Eldritch]

Kallasvuo's days as CEO are numbered. Expect to see him replaced shortly.

[anonymaus]

May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Nokia Oyj has had three years to come up with a rival to the iPhone. Investors say that’s long enough.

Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo tried to convince shareholders today at the Finnish company’s annual meeting that Nokia, the world’s largest mobile-phone maker, will have new smartphones this year that will “help close the gap” with Apple Inc., Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry and devices based on Google Inc.’s Android software.

Kallasvuo's days as CEO are numbered. Expect to see him replaced shortly.

I think he'll be replaced, too, because he only opened his eyes pretty much today. The story Foxie quotes is missing the most critical element -- and biggest bang made in the industry since the Nexus One -- which is so far being under reported:

By combining services with devices, Nokia is in a stronger position to grow and create more value for our shareholders. We still have plenty of work to do, but we have built a solid foundation. We believe in our strategy."

source

So that's the real story. They finally fucking woke up and realized that software is the point, and hardware is only there to enable it. Unfortunately for them, theirs still isn't good; nevermind that the name of their mobile OS sounds like a popular sex toy.