Should MS open all Nokia exclusives to all OEMs to promote growth?

[snowmutt]

This is a thought I have had bouncing around in my head since we heard MS was going to buy Nokia's phone division. (Man, even months later that still just seems unreal to me.) I am including it on the WP 8.1 forum as this is when this debate will matter.

Nokia has become the top WP manufacturer and MS felt it had no choice but to make this purchase as opposed to losing it's driving force behind the growth of it's phone OS. There is no secret as to how Nokia became #1 for WP devices: Excellent hardware, fun design, great support, and exclusive content. It is the exclusive content I want to discuss, as both hardware and design are strengths of several other OEMs as well, and the support will fall to MS.

The exclusive content ranges quite a bit for Nokia Lumia's. Most revolve around their camera applications. From the basic tools of Nokia Camera, to Creative Studios, Nokia Cinagraph, Photo Beamer, and a few others Nokia has taken one of their known strengths- camera hardware- and turned it into a software monolith of options. But there are a few others as well. Nokia has branched into a few entertainment apps such as their own Ringtone maker, an app for movie trailors, and Nokia Social for chatting. There are a few tools such as Nokia Xpress cloud application and the Transfer my Data. Nokia City Lens is also a WP Lumia exclusive.

I am not including Nokia MixRadio, as it is not a Lumia exclusive, nor am I thinking much else in their mapping tech as that is going to be their bread and butter once MS finishes the purchase of Nokia's handset. They will get those maps on as many diferent sources as they can. Also, there a few "Nokia exclusives" such as the Weather Channel app that I have no idea what really makes them different, so I am not thinking those.

My question is simple: Should MS open these up to all OEMs? MS is going out of their way to get OEMs to develop WP handsets, and with Lumia devices sitting at 90% sales due in no small part to these excellent apps, wouldn't allowing other manufacturers access to them remove one of the sticking points in their hesitation to go all in? MS is lowering fees, removing hardware requirements, allowing storage of apps to memory cards, and basically opening up all the roadblocks to get these guys to use their hardware to push WP. Wouldn't this move also work to that end?

OR.... dang it, they are still Lumia's, even if they are not Nokia anymore. These exclusives are what sets them apart, and we need this. We need Lumia devices to be set apart, and MS has done enough.

What do you all think? I am actually leaning to opening them up. I want Samsung, HTC, LG, ZTE, Lenovo/Motorola, and all other manufacturers to have all the tools they need to be succesful WP producers. But we are a heavy "Pro-Nokia" community, so I just was curious as to what my Brothers and Sisters At Arms were thinking.

What are your thoughts?

GROUP DISCUSSION: GO!! :smile:

 

[N_LaRUE]

Well there's two sides to this situation. If we're talking specific to Nokia applications and not apps that are Nokia exclusive then I would say no. HTC and Samsung also have exclusive apps for their devices and unless they're going to share too I don't see the reason.

We need to keep in mind that Nokia has worked it's **** off where the others have not done much. That's why people buy Nokia phones.

 

[snowmutt]

I don't disagree, except it will not BE Nokia any longer. It will be a part of Microsoft, and MS has a very different agenda then Nokia. MS wants other OEMs to have it as easy as possible to adopt WP and profitable as possible. They have tried it the other way, and it hasn't worked. If they open these app exclusives up, then a Samsung will have all thes other apps to work their camera hardware off of as well as their own. Same with HTC.

As far as I know, no other OEM has exclusive apps except those two. And at last count, I think HTC only had 7 exclusives. Just playing Devils advocate, I do not see how WP ever gets to above 10% sales, much less challenge the big two at a higher level, unless these other manufacturers are pushing WP.

 

[Mafiatounes]

It would be nice if MS incorporated some of the function apps of nokia in WP like folders, camera etc.

Sent from my RM-937_eu_belgium_962 using Tapatalk

 

[akthelonelyman]

yeah take all the hardwork by nokia and give it to OEMS who did fuk all in promoting windows for free. but then again its not nokia anymore so who knows.

 

[SnailUK]

yeah take all the hardwork by nokia and give it to OEMS who did fuk all in promoting windows for free. but then again its not nokia anymore so who knows.

A little less subtle than i'd have put, but this mirrors my response.

The moment everything Nokia gets made available to everyone, Nokia goes from being the best OEM, to the one of the worst.

Maybe thats better for the platform long term, but short term, all it does is annoy all the current Nokia users (which is the majority of us)

 

[snowmutt]

A little less subtle than i'd have put, but this mirrors my response.

The moment everything Nokia gets made available to everyone, Nokia goes from being the best OEM, to the one of the worst.

Maybe thats better for the platform long term, but short term, all it does is annoy all the current Nokia users (which is the majority of us)

Again, I COMPLETELY understand. I guess I am just looking at it different then a lot of other people. I am here because I love the OS, not so much Nokia. I buy Nokia because it is the best option with the OS I enjoy. If tomorrow, Lenovo becomes that better option, I am fine with that.

I want to see WP grow, not so much the Lumia name after MS buys Nokia's hardware. As such, I want other manufacturers excited about it. I just do not know if it grows if Microsoft has these exclusives and is the only manufacturer taking it serious.

Does anyone think MS can make a Lumia brand of WP a 15% or better worldwide seller (maybe about 200 million handsets a year) on it's own?

 

[neo158]

I think it depends on what apps we're talking about, Nokia developed apps should stay as exclusives as they differentiate Nokia devices from the rest. All exclusive Games and non Nokia Apps should be open to all Windows Phones.

I suppose you could say that this is what they are doing already with their timed exclusives!!

 

[snowmutt]

Seems fairly straght up. As usual, I seem to be in the minority.

This MS purchase of the Lumia hardware division is just the great unknown for WP's future. It will influence so much about the way WP grows or fails. By the Holiday season of this year, we will see just how many of these other OEMs are truly interested in developing and supporting our favorite OS. I am very concerned about how it all shapes out. If Nokia's lasting influence on WP is that these apps they developed gets other OEMs to jump in and produce great devices, I would be fine with that.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Again, I COMPLETELY understand. I guess I am just looking at it different then a lot of other people. I am here because I love the OS, not so much Nokia. I buy Nokia because it is the best option with the OS I enjoy. If tomorrow, Lenovo becomes that better option, I am fine with that.

I want to see WP grow, not so much the Lumia name after MS buys Nokia's hardware. As such, I want other manufacturers excited about it. I just do not know if it grows if Microsoft has these exclusives and is the only manufacturer taking it serious.

Does anyone think MS can make a Lumia brand of WP a 15% or better worldwide seller (maybe about 200 million handsets a year) on it's own?

I was exactly opposite of you. I arrived here because of Nokia first; Windows Phone was an afterthought.

I was a BlackBerry user who wanted to change. The reason I got my 900 was because it was a Nokia device. I used Nokia Symbian devices prior to BlackBerry. I knew nothing about Windows Phone when I picked up the 900. All I knew is that I didn't like HTC at the time, since I knew people who had problems with HTC Androids. I also avoided Samsung, since I had a friend who had terrible battery life with the Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket, which was the only Samsung device I was familiar with at the time (I was brand new to Windows Phone and didn't know the Focus even existed until I joined WPCentral).

I had made up my mind that I was getting the 900 after CES 2012, and I didn't join WPCentral until about a week before purchasing my 900.

 

[akthelonelyman]

Again, I COMPLETELY understand. I guess I am just looking at it different then a lot of other people. I am here because I love the OS, not so much Nokia. I buy Nokia because it is the best option with the OS I enjoy. If tomorrow, Lenovo becomes that better option, I am fine with that.

I want to see WP grow, not so much the Lumia name after MS buys Nokia's hardware. As such, I want other manufacturers excited about it. I just do not know if it grows if Microsoft has these exclusives and is the only manufacturer taking it serious.

Does anyone think MS can make a Lumia brand of WP a 15% or better worldwide seller (maybe about 200 million handsets a year) on it's own?

yeah but i think majority of windows phone users is here bcoz of the nokia brand. the 90% marketshare to an extent is an evidence of it.

 

[AngryNil]

Yes.

Microsoft, as the software provider, should not be withholding software features to bolster (what will be) its own devices. This extends to HERE - if Microsoft is serious about keeping it around, then the whole suite needs to be bundled with Windows Phone. It needs to be competitive with Android to OEMs, and Google provides mapping and navigation. Heck, even Tizen and Firefox OS provide HERE.

 

[snowmutt]

The one app I am having the most problem finding information about is Nokia Mix (or Radio, or Music, or whatever they call it these days). Does that come over in the deal as it is a mobile exclusiv? Does it get rolled into the XBOX Music service somehow? Or does it stay with Nokia as part of their new services stragety? They have all kinds of agreements and deals worked out with record labels and artists, it is a valuable asset.

Anyone heard anything?

 

[snowmutt]

Yes.

Microsoft, as the software provider, should not be withholding software features to bolster (what will be) its own devices. This extends to HERE - if Microsoft is serious about keeping it around, then the whole suite needs to be bundled with Windows Phone. It needs to be competitive with Android to OEMs, and Google provides mapping and navigation. Heck, even Tizen and Firefox OS provide HERE.

HERE Maps stays with Nokia, although I am sure it becomes the "baked in" mapping service with WP as part of the deal. City Lens is a WP exclusive though, and I believe WP keeps that tool as opposed to it going to Nokia. (Think I read that somewhere.)

And I appreciate you summing up my thoughts better then me: Microsoft is STILL a software company first. That is why a healthy set of manufacturer partners is their goal and why I think it makes sense to use all their tools to make that happen. Devices and servise is a growing portion of MS, but still not their strength.

 

[mrzees]

They should, to an extent.
Most of the Nokia exclusives should be open to all. Cinemagraph and all those secondary camera apps should be made available.
That said the only app that should remain exclusive should be Nokia Camera. There is no better camera ui out there, and ingenuity should be rewarded. What MS could do (and I think its already available) is make the Nokia Imaging SDK available to all. Nokia drive still remains the right of Nokia and not microsoft to give away. So basically OEMs can enter an agreement with Nokia to have that app on their phones as well.
Another thought to consider is that WP is such a closed OS there is very little to differentiate different OEMs. Its not like Samsung can have a TouchWiz skin on top of WP8.1 Apps and Hardware are the separation. All OEMs from WP7.1 started on the same footing. In fact, Nokia was late to the party yet by WP7.8 and onward has pushed the envelope of differentiation. How many times should OEMs get a fresh start? Nokia exclusives represent an investment that no other OEM was willing to make. FOOD FOR THOUGHT

 

[Kage Maru]

I think they should. Even though it may be unfair that Nokia did all this work and HTC, Samsung, etc. benefit from it, that shouldn't matter if it can expand the WP market.

Though, I don't know if some apps like the Nokia Camera app would work on other phones. I was under the impression that their camera apps were tailored for their camera hardware. Though of course I could be entirely wrong on that.

Also I thought Nokia mapping technology replaced Bing maps for all WP since the WP8 update, no?

 

[snowmutt]

I think they should. Even though it may be unfair that Nokia did all this work and HTC, Samsung, etc. benefit from it, that shouldn't matter if it can expand the WP market.

Though, I don't know if some apps like the Nokia Camera app would work on other phones. I was under the impression that their camera apps were tailored for their camera hardware. Though of course I could be entirely wrong on that.

Also I thought Nokia mapping technology replaced Bing maps for all WP since the WP8 update, no?

Bing Maps is still an option, but I believe HERE maps is now baked in so that any searches you make from your homescreen goes to Nokia's service.

I have zero idea if their camera software would only work with their cameras, but that doesn't seem like a huge adjustment to get it to work on other tech if that is true. Need someone smarter then me to answer that one.

 

[AngryNil]

​

HERE Maps stays with Nokia, although I am sure it becomes the "baked in" mapping service with WP as part of the deal. City Lens is a WP exclusive though, and I believe WP keeps that tool as opposed to it going to Nokia. (Think I read that somewhere.)

Yeah, what I was getting at previously is that Microsoft should be trying to minimise the disadvantages of other devices as much as possible. While the bulk of that is integrating Nokia firmware features into the OS, it also includes clarifying their story where external entities are involved. Nokia struck deals for exclusive apps in their collection, and those should be released to the wider store. Microsoft is not acquiring HERE, but either way, it needs to provide a standard navigation solution to its users and manufacturers to put it on par with Google, Apple and even BlackBerry. That probably means bundling the HERE suite of Maps, Drive, Transit and City Lens right now, though I guess Microsoft could do its own thing in future.

Oh, and I believe I heard previously that Mix Radio is being acquired. A quick search brought me this CNET article.
Nokia Mix Radio will be a 'key contributor' to Microsoft, says Nokia exec | Mobile World Congress - CNET Reviews

 

[snowmutt]

Had not heard anything about Nokia Radio before that link. Thanks nil!!