Huawei chairman Richard Yu claims that the Chinese smartphone manufacturer would be open to purchasing Nokia, but hinted that some fundamental things would have to change with regard to Windows Phone.
Speaking to the Financial Times ahead of the launch of the Huawei Ascend P6, the world’s thinnest smartphone to date, Yu revealed that Huawei was “considering these sorts of acquisitions,” but that it “depends on the willingness of Nokia.”
Yu’s comments reflect Huawei’s intentions to rapidly emulate Samsung and Apple at the top of the smartphone market. It is already the third largest smartphone manufacturer by volume behind these two companies
Such a move would be Huawei’s first major acquisition of this sort. A Huawei-Nokia partnership might well have “some synergies,” as Yu puts it, but there would be some radical changes in the direction of the Finnish company should Huawei get its way.
In particular, Yu doubts the future of Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, which Nokia famously adopted ahead of Android in 2011.
“Whether Windows Phone [will be] successful is difficult to say – it has a very small market share,” said Yu, before calling the platform “weak.”
“[Windows Phones] are weak but still require a licence fee. That’s not good. Android is free,” he said.
Next, see if Nokia and Huawei makes our list of the best mobile phones of 2013.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
