Stephen Elop Gets Real with Nokia

When traveling Europe back in the early 90's, we Yanks were always publicly abashed by the coolness of Nokia handsets, and privately embarrassed.  Our hosts dazzled us with what they could do with Nokia.  And for a decade, Nokia was the standard for quality, function and form.  You may recall the uber coolness of the Nokia chrome slider unveiled to us by James Bond?

Well, things have changed.  And the normally perspicacious Finns were "caught out" by progress.  Quality, UI, and function were eclipsed by first Apple, then Android.  So much so that their once dominant share position is eroding every month, with no end in sight.  Enter the new guy, Stephen Elop.

Endgadget on Nokia's Call to Action

This morning, Endgadget reported on a memo new CEO Stephen Elop has published internally that is a call to action in the most stark terms.  It is the kind of missive we all dream of writing.  I wish him well, for I fondly recall the robust, signal snaring Nokias we used to love, and envy.  I always like to see the Finns win.

Elop's resume is often cited for including a stint at Microsoft.  I know him for his time at Boston Chicken, back when it was cutting edge.  He may have learned a lot about business, markets, success and failure.  Now he is trying to fix Nokia.  John Gruber bets this will include Windows Phone 7.  Makes sense, and would be a good solution to marry a decent software solution with great hardware.