Help me understand the backlash

[nessinhaw]

I don't care if the phone is a Monkey Wards, Studebaker or Edsel if it's reliable, good quality with good price and has the features I'm looking for that is going to get my money.. The brand name was the least thing I was interested in, I think that's a younger generation fad.

how colorful and full of unicorns the world would be IF every single consumer had the same thought...unfortunately, we live in a mean world where the regular consumer doesen't give a **** if the brand is not famous, they only care about showing off their Galaxy lol

just like a part of consumers cares about those stuff, the other part doesen't at all...and you'd be surprised how many pplz are like that!

so yeah, since it is impossible to educate all this poor souls, brand names are somewhat important to attract them!

 

[Tom Snyder]

If you look at Microsoft's most recent acquisition, and use that as a potential model for how the new phone branch might work, it could be good. Skype is independent of Microsoft as a whole, they do their own thing. Seeing as how Microsoft said that the phone branch would remain in Sweden, I can see this as the model that will be used. Closer collaboration in terms of the integration of hardware / software, but still have the independence to develop new phone models could make this a very interesting time for Microsoft / Nokia

I really hope it does work out for the customers, I now work for the worlds largest xxxxx manufacture, which took over the company I work for, which ranked in the top 10 with the worlds largest, at the time of the buyout, things worked out good for about 5 years for customers and employees, after that they have cut the employee numbers by 75% and sorta told customers pay our price or do without because we now control the global market since we have taken out any competition. Not a good solution, and I can see the global cell phone market doing the same.

 

[Noahma]

I really hope it does work out for the customers, I now work for the worlds largest xxxxx manufacture, which took over the company I work for, which ranked in the top 10 with the worlds largest, at the time of the buyout, things worked out good for about 5 years for customers and employees, after that they have cut the employee numbers by 75% and sorta told customers pay our price or do without because we now control the global market since we have taken out any competition. Not a good solution, and I can see the global cell phone market doing the same.

Microsoft is far from the company it used to be. They really need to be competitive in the mobile market, they have no time or position to pull the "my price or the highway" line.

 

[Tom Snyder]

Microsoft is far from the company it used to be. They really need to be competitive in the mobile market, they have no time or position to pull the "my price or the highway" line.

I'll agree, seems like they hit the wall when they tried to combine mobile OS with what I'd call regular computer OS, not what the customers with business OS and programs want or find practical.

 

[Noahma]

I'll agree, seems like they hit the wall when they tried to combine mobile OS with what I'd call regular computer OS, not what the customers with business OS and programs want or find practical.

The proverbial neuter of Microsoft happened way before Windows 8. It happened with all of the anti trust suits were filed and Microsoft was broken up.

I personally like Windows 8 (and yes I use it in my design studio). I think 8.1 will fix a lot of the uneasiness about it. It is like a slap in the face however going from the "metro" to traditional desktop.

 

[pengfoong]

Everybody have their own reasons in getting something. To each their own.
What makes sense to you doesn't necessarily register with another person. Same thing the other way round.
Everybody looks at something at a different perspective.
If they are unhappy about the acquisition, just leave them alone. It's their opinion after all.

 

[ag1986]

Brands are powerful and often the #1 reason why someone chooses one product over another. Like after DaimlerChrysler bought Mercedes-Benz. Nobody would've got Mercs if that name and badge had not stayed on. Hell, I drive an Audi A8 that's better than my neighbour's five year old C-class and my parents are still convinced he has the better car because and only because it's a Mercedes-Benz. This is similar to how many people in emerging markets like India think about Nokia - the name indicates quality to them. They do not care that it's made by the same people in the same factories, it's just not a Nokia and that is that.

 

[Angry_Mushroom]

Here's my take on the backlash. It's still cool to hate on Microsoft. I bought a Nokia because it seemed to offer the best OS support of the other manufacturers. While I am a bit apprehensive... I feel MS will do good with the future lineup of Lumia devices. MS is this big for a damn good reason, and I feel they'll continue to grow in the future. Gonna bury my Nokia Lumia 810 so that it may be discovered millions of years into the future not unlike that monolith in 2001: Space Odyssey.

 

[Luminatic]

My first reaction was "****, no". Fully emotional, fully upset, one reason being that Nokia = European brand.
Once the mental dust settled, I started seeing the chances and risks - chances being a closer hardware and software relationship, more and easier influence from Nokias stemming from having long experience with building phones, more funds, stemming from MS. Risks I see are a possible loss of the feeling of corporate identity amongst (former) Nokia employees, a change in the working atmosphere towards the bad (don't forget that working culture in the U. S. is, generally seen, quite different compared to Europe, and whether you like and approve it or not, the typical American working culture isn't for everybody, and it's neither the only not the best working culture of the world). Also, more often than not its the buying company that has the say, leading to a two-class system inside the company. These employee related risk could lead to demotivation and, at the end of the day, to too many good people incl. know how leaving. Another possible risk I see is that MS' disadvantage of sometimes forgetting their non-US clients (Just compare U.S.Bing to Swiss Bing as an example) will be getting stronger and the Nokia influence of being more global (at least in my eyes - example: Nokia Music which was working in my country when the MS counterpart wasn't) getting lost.
I an apprehensive about that deal and just hope the people in charge handle it with wisdom and care. When they do it right, the outcome could be something better than the sum of its parts.

Lets hope for the best.

 

[nessinhaw]

Brands are powerful and often the #1 reason why someone chooses one product over another. Like after DaimlerChrysler bought Mercedes-Benz. Nobody would've got Mercs if that name and badge had not stayed on. Hell, I drive an Audi A8 that's better than my neighbour's five year old C-class and my parents are still convinced he has the better car because and only because it's a Mercedes-Benz. This is similar to how many people in emerging markets like India think about Nokia - the name indicates quality to them. They do not care that it's made by the same people in the same factories, it's just not a Nokia and that is that.

exactly...a brand is NOT just a name!
a brand implies identity, meaning, recognition, relation, attachment...and yes, also power!

 

[Reflexx]

Yes. A brand is powerful. The purpose of a brand is to get you to associate certain feelings with a product or service. It's a psychological mind game.

The funny thing is that everything behind the brand (the stuff that makes is good) can be exactly the same. But if you just change the brand name people will be confused; or in some cases may feel anxiety, stress, and a sense of panic.