Nokia CEO Says "Watch Out" to Android Phone Makers
Phone makers depending on Google Inc's Android software should worry about the Web search leader's deal to buy Motorola Mobility, the head of rival Nokia said on Wednesday.
Nokia has teamed up with Google arch-rival Microsoft for mobile phone software, while phone makers such as Samsung Electronics, HTC Corp and Motorola have bet on Android.
But Google's plan to buy Motorola for $12.5 billion has generated some analyst concern about whether Motorola will get preferential treatment over rivals Samsung and HTC. Elop said these concerns may be justified.
"If I happened to be someone who was an Android manufacturer or an operator, or anyone with a stake in that environment, I would be picking up my phone and calling certain executives at Google and say 'I see signs of danger ahead,'" Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop told a Helsinki seminar.
As for Nokia, Elop appeared to suggest that Google's move reinforced the logic for Nokia's agreement with Microsoft
"The very first reaction I had was very clearly the importance of the third ecosystem and the importance of the partnership that we announced on February 11, it is more clear than ever before," Elop said.
He also said that since the February announcement of the deal with Microsoft, there are now 25,000 to 30,000 applications delivered for the upcoming platform.
Before Elop become CEO of Nokia last year, he was president of Microsoft's Business Division.
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