Nokia hopes to take on Apple in the US with new Yahoo partnership
In hopes of increasing its smartphone presence in the U.S., Nokia on Monday announced a new "strategic alliance" with Yahoo, with the search company powering e-mail and instant messaging services for the Ovi platform.
The two companies said they will "leverage each others' strengths in e-mail, instant messaging and maps and navigation services." The deal will make Nokia the exclusive global provider of Yahoo maps and navigations services, while Yahoo will become the exclusive provider for Mail and Chat services in Nokia's Ovi platform.
"Delivering great user experiences -- both online and on your mobile -- is what this alliance is all about," Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said. "We're enabling millions of Yahoo customers in key markets including North America to discover the unique capabilities that Ovi Maps brings."
At an accompanying press conference Monday, Kallasvuo admitted that Nokia has failed to make a splash in the U.S. smartphone market. This as Nokia remains the dominant force in the global market, carrying the lion's share of smartphone sales, as well as all cell phones.
"We are an unusual global company in the sense that we are clearly a global leader in our industry, and yet we do not lead in the U.S.," Kallasvuo said.
Nokia, a Finnish handset maker, has felt threatened by Apple as the iPhone has seen tremendous year-over-year growth, as Nokia, while still dominant, has lost some footing. One recent study found the iPhone to be the third-largest smartphone platform in the world, with its 15.4 percent behind only Research in Motion (19.4 percent) and Nokia's Symbian (44.3 percent).
Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo announce their companies' new partnership.
The two companies are engaged in a number of lawsuits related to patents. The first shot in the legal battle was fired by Nokia last October, when it accused Apple's iPhone of violating patents related to GSM and wireless LAN technology.
Under the terms of the new Nokia-Yahoo deal, select co-branded service offerings will become available in the second half of 2010, with global availability expected in 2011.
"What a combination," Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said. "We're excited to expand the reach of our best-in-class Mail and Messenger services, bringing personalized experiences to more people across the mobile web, particularly in emerging markets where we are seeding the next generation of Yahoo users."
Nokia's partnership with Yahoo comes as Apple's relationship with Google -- which is the default search provider and powers the Maps and YouTube applications on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad -- has soured. In the growing rivalry between the two industry giants, Google last week compared Apple to "Big Brother" from the company's iconic 1984 ad. The company also announced Google TV, a new Android-powered platform that aims to take on the Apple TV in the set top box market.
As tension has grown between Google and Apple, one rumor from earlier this year suggested Apple could partner with Microsoft to make Bing the default search provider for the iPhone OS. Currently, the only options available to users are Google and Yahoo.
In addition to search, Yahoo and Apple also have a partnership for software on the iPhone, as the No. 2 search company provides data for the native Stocks and Weather applications found on the iPhone. Apple CEO Steve Jobs even gave a surprise motivational speech to employees of Yahoo in 2007.
The two companies said they will "leverage each others' strengths in e-mail, instant messaging and maps and navigation services." The deal will make Nokia the exclusive global provider of Yahoo maps and navigations services, while Yahoo will become the exclusive provider for Mail and Chat services in Nokia's Ovi platform.
"Delivering great user experiences -- both online and on your mobile -- is what this alliance is all about," Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said. "We're enabling millions of Yahoo customers in key markets including North America to discover the unique capabilities that Ovi Maps brings."
At an accompanying press conference Monday, Kallasvuo admitted that Nokia has failed to make a splash in the U.S. smartphone market. This as Nokia remains the dominant force in the global market, carrying the lion's share of smartphone sales, as well as all cell phones.
"We are an unusual global company in the sense that we are clearly a global leader in our industry, and yet we do not lead in the U.S.," Kallasvuo said.
Nokia, a Finnish handset maker, has felt threatened by Apple as the iPhone has seen tremendous year-over-year growth, as Nokia, while still dominant, has lost some footing. One recent study found the iPhone to be the third-largest smartphone platform in the world, with its 15.4 percent behind only Research in Motion (19.4 percent) and Nokia's Symbian (44.3 percent).
Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo announce their companies' new partnership.
The two companies are engaged in a number of lawsuits related to patents. The first shot in the legal battle was fired by Nokia last October, when it accused Apple's iPhone of violating patents related to GSM and wireless LAN technology.
Under the terms of the new Nokia-Yahoo deal, select co-branded service offerings will become available in the second half of 2010, with global availability expected in 2011.
"What a combination," Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said. "We're excited to expand the reach of our best-in-class Mail and Messenger services, bringing personalized experiences to more people across the mobile web, particularly in emerging markets where we are seeding the next generation of Yahoo users."
Nokia's partnership with Yahoo comes as Apple's relationship with Google -- which is the default search provider and powers the Maps and YouTube applications on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad -- has soured. In the growing rivalry between the two industry giants, Google last week compared Apple to "Big Brother" from the company's iconic 1984 ad. The company also announced Google TV, a new Android-powered platform that aims to take on the Apple TV in the set top box market.
As tension has grown between Google and Apple, one rumor from earlier this year suggested Apple could partner with Microsoft to make Bing the default search provider for the iPhone OS. Currently, the only options available to users are Google and Yahoo.
In addition to search, Yahoo and Apple also have a partnership for software on the iPhone, as the No. 2 search company provides data for the native Stocks and Weather applications found on the iPhone. Apple CEO Steve Jobs even gave a surprise motivational speech to employees of Yahoo in 2007.
Comments
Wow... How exciting!
Yeah, not likely to generate much consumer excitement for either company.
Good for them tho, dying together is much better than dying alone.
I guess I'll be ditching my Iphone now for a Nokia. [i'm being heavily sarcastic BTW].
Good for them tho, dying together is much better than dying alone.
I wanted to say something else, but that captured my sentiments PERFECTLY.
"What a combination," Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said. "We're excited to expand the reach of our best-in-class Mail and Messenger services, bringing personalized experiences to more people across the mobile web, particularly in emerging markets where we are seeding the next generation of Yahoo users."
And after we seed them, we are going to cultivate them, harvest them, and sell them at the market.
"We are an unusual global company in the sense that we are clearly a global leader in our industry, and yet we do not lead in the U.S.," Kallasvuo said.
It makes a whole lot of sense for Nokia to step up its US efforts. This is a huge untapped market for them, with the smart/expensive phone sector growing extremely fast.
It makes a whole lot of sense for Nokia to step up its US efforts. This is a huge untapped market for them, with the smart/expensive phone sector growing extremely fast.
It's not "untapped". Nokia has simply failed in the US market.
(Referring to the headline 'Nokia hopes to take on Apple...'"
Nokia still does not get software, and they still do not get services.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokian_Footwear
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokian_Tyres
Maybe Nokia should have bought Palm. WebOS plus the Yahoo deal could have given them some presence in the US market. Instead, this Yahoo deal just smells like two losers propping each other up.
Apple/Stevo did it, though.
I have been so 'spoiled' by Apple's computers, Software, iPods, iPhones, AppleTV, iPad...that I am very reluctant to even look at, never mind, purchase other hardware, cameras, TV's, GPS stand alone units. The last thing I want to do is have to navigate through clunky interfaces. Especially other smart phones....couldn't bare to have to use a Blackberry after using the iPhone!
Good luck yahoo and Nokia...you will sell a lot as long as it is cheap!
Wow... How exciting!
Agreed mate, I mean who is Yahoo anyhow?
Yahoo is such a 90's thing..... I mean for me anyhow the companies products have no appeal, and I can not see them fitting into my digital life.
The deal will make Nokia the exclusive global provider of Yahoo maps and navigations services, while Yahoo will become the exclusive provider for Mail and Chat services in Nokia's Ovi platform.
Yahoo becoming the exclusive provider of Mail and Chat on the OVI platform?
I might be reading this wrong, but it seems to imply that rival Email and IM services will not be offered on the OVI platform.
This means Nokia buyers will not get access to Gmail...
..or AIM ... or MSN or Skype..
How about Facebook Messenger?
They say Apple is trying to lock-down users. But this takes the biscuit. This takes a big truckload of biscuits.
C.
It's not "untapped". Nokia has simply failed in the US market.
People must have very short memories seeing as Voicestream was nothing but Nokia phones before DT bought them.