Nokia does not need to make any more large acquisitions to improve its business position, and the Finnish giant will instead look to focus on online services and improved user experiences, according to Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.
Kallasvuo said in an interview Friday that Nokia, the world's largest handset maker, had "collected all the basic building blocks," and would focus on innovating despite the tough economic climate and weak prospects for handset makers globally.
"Now in 2009, consumers must be able to even better realize that the user experience provided by Nokia is exquisite," Kallasvuo said in an interview with the Finnish Talouselama business weekly. "We no longer lack the pieces which would require large acquisitions."
Nokia said it would focus on delivering online services, and recent activity suggests that the company plans to do just that. Nokia is reportedly in partnership talks with the popular social networking website Facebook and is looking to launch an over-the-air Symbian application storefront next week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
"We are in a situation where we have to combine the old ... with the new," Kallasvuo told Talouselama. "We are no longer just the market leader which needs to defend its position. Now, we have the opportunity to attack in a new way."
However, not all is rosy for the company, which recently said it would cut research and development jobs and temporarily lay off workers on a rotational basis. Nokia also saw its sales plummet and market share drop to 37 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 38 percent in the third quarter of 2008 and 40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.
"We are now in the toughest environment ever," Kallasvuo said. "Nokia is no way in a crisis, but the challenges are huge."
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