Nokia’s N97 has just made itself extremely unpopular with carriers – in case anyone of you wonders why, let me tell you that it is all about Skype.
The usually well-informed Mobile magazine claims the following:
O2 and Orange responded furiously to Nokia’s declaration that it will equip its upcoming flagship Nseries device, the N97, with Skype.
…
One operator source told Mobile: ‘This is another example of them trying to build an ecosystem that is all about Nokia and reduces the operator to a dumb pipe. Some people like 3 may be in a position where it could make sense to accept that. But if you spend upwards of £40m per year building your brand, you don’t want to be just a dumb pipe do you?
From my point of view, Nokia now has two choices:
Give up
Nokia can go the way Windows Mobile manufacturers have gone for a long time: make customers download the Skype client themselves. While this may be an extra click or two, it is more than enough to pacify carriers most of the time.
Attack
Some carriers (like Hutchison) love Skype due to their extremely powerful data networks paired with a very small customer base (thereby making them vulnerable for inter-carrier routing fees). If Nokia manages to deliver an impressive product, they could try always try to pull an Apple…
In the end, neither of the two options is too good a choice. Stay tuned for further info as we get it!
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