If attacking is the better method of defence then Nokia's new head of its mobile solutions unit, Anssi Vanjoki, has launched an all-out assault to revive the company's ailing smartphone fortunes.
Rejecting previous company statements, Vanjoki has made plain that Nokia is not dropping Symbian in favour of MeeGo on its Nseries smartphones. In an attempt to clarify the picture, Vanjoki admitted there had been some confusion about Symbian and Nseries. "The Nokia N8 will be our only Nseries device on Symbian^3," he said, but noted that a Symbian^4 Nseries device is "a very strong possibility."
Commenting on how he would return Nokia to the No. 1 position in smartphones, Vanjoki said: "Achieving this will require performance and efforts over and above the norm. This is a role I've personally been preparing for over the last 20 years. We have all the assets--including R&D and product development--at our disposal under one roof--to produce killer smartphones and market-changing mobile computers."
With a refreshing display of honesty, the new exec acknowledged that Symbian had faced problems. "Symbian has taken a lot of criticism lately--some of it fair, some not," he said. But he insisted that Symbian OS would continue to be "our platform of choice" for Nokia smartphones.
Referring to MeeGo, Vanjoki insisted that the role of this software was "as a computer operating system taking mobile technology into a new world of connected devices." He added that this OS was "looking awesome," adding, "We believe it will power the computers of the future. And the computers of the future will not be tied to a desk or even a lap--they will fit in your pocket."
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