Nokia and Yahoo as companies have quite a few things in common. Both have been facing tough times in the market, brought unsusptected and charismatic leaders, and are in midst of making a come back by reevaluating their priorities. Yahoo’s new CEO, Marissa Mayer realized a fundamental flaw in the company–the engineers were forced to use decade old technology while develop products for the next decade. Stuck with BlackBerry all this while, Marissa Mayer decided it was time for Yahoo to dump the clunky phones and move on. A widely reported decision by the Mayer is Yahoo’s handing out of smart phones to all employees.
Yahoo will distribute handsets and even pay for their employee’s data+voice plans (not an unheard of perk). The options that will be offered are:
- iPhone 5
- A bunch of new Android phones
- Lumia 920
The mention of Lumia 920 can be seen in two different ways:
- Mayer sees Windows Phone 8 as the 3rd mobile ecosystem instead of the declining BlackBerry
- Mayer sees Microsoft as a critical partner and including Lumia 920 was a political move
In either case, it is a win for Nokia. The Lumia 920 is the flagship Windows Phone 8 handset and as I wrote before, it has captured buyer-attention. Not missing this opportunity, Nokia’s Media Relationship manager Douglas Dawson took to Twitter and asked Yahoo employees to wait for the Lumia 920. Unlike the iPhone 5, no Windows Phone 8 device is available for pre-order or expected to be in user’s hands before November. Dawson says Nokia has an exclusive offer for Yahoo employees who’ll wait for Lumia 920:
Dear Yahoo! employees: The Lumia 920 is worth the wait…and we’ll throw in a wireless charging plate. Totally serious.
— Doug Dawson (@DougatNokia) September 17, 2012
A really smart move on Nokia’s part for what it’s worth. But it still doesn’t beat Apple’s ability to take buyer money today and get the devices in hand by month-end.
