Nokia: We Have a Contingency Plan if Windows Phone Fails

From X-bit Labs: After the announcement of 10,000 global job cuts sent shares of Finnish phonemaker Nokia Oyj.'s (HEX:NOK1V) stock into a deeper tailspin, the executive ranks were rustled and a new chairman -- Risto Siilasmaa -- was installed.

Speaking with YLE.fi, a Finnish news site, the new chairman said that Symbian is, for all intents and purposes dead. He comments, "Symbian’s market share has come down close to zero."

That makes it all the stranger that Nokia is launching one of its most high end handsets -- the PureView -- with the now effectively end-of-life Symbian Belle.

Nokia, which has seen modest success with its distinctive Lumia 900 LTE handset, is hopeful that Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) upcoming Windows Phone 8 wil further drive its receovery. Mr. Siilasmaa says he expects the new OS to be a hit.

But in a surprising comment, he also remarked that Nokia had a "contingency plan" should his company's Windows Phone offerings flop. That admission comes despite partner Microsoft paying royally to prop up the embattled phonemaker.

The big question is what that "contingency plan" is. Seemingly the only possibility would be to jump onboard the Android ship. But with Nokia's weak U.S. market penetration the big question is whether that option is even feasible.

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