Pale Blue Dot

By TDI Staff

Nokia and Yahoo! Announce New Partnership

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May 24, 2010 07:01 PM

Despite my previous post heralding Morph, Nokia’s micro-technology concept, as the next-big-thing, I have to say I couldn’t get all that excited by the new mobile partnership announced recently between Nokia and Yahoo!

Frankly, who cares?

Each company announced that by teaming up, they hoped to "continue to deliver compelling Internet experiences that address the core needs of consumers, developers, operators and advertisers. The companies will utilize their respective global distribution advantages and brand recognition across consumer audiences. Select, co-branded service offerings are expected to become available from the second half of 2010, with global availability expected in 2011."

In non-PR speak, this translates to: “We both saw our U.S. numbers tanking. We are desperately attempting to establish a new customer base by pre-installing Yahoo! email on all Nokia devices.  Nokia will be the global, exclusive provider of Yahoo! maps and search engines. Then you’ll all love us and start using our products!... Right? RIGHT?”

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this ain’t going to do nothin’. Let me explain.

Nokia and Yahoo! are one in the same: leading loser companies in the United States. Both do well in the international market—Finland-based Nokia retains its spot as the global mobile leader—but neither seems to have figured out how to break into the U.S. market.

But, to be honest, who’s going to buy a Nokia over the new Blackberry, or iPhone, or Droid? And who would choose Yahoo! over Gmail, Google Maps, or the Google search engine? They’re up against a tough market where most people simply aren’t going to get excited about their products. While they’re too big to ignore, I predict that the splash they’re making isn’t big enough to keep people intrigued for long.

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