In August 2012, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop seemed committed to the Windows Phone platform from Microsoft, saying, "In today"s war ... (between) Android, Apple and Windows, we are very clear, we are fighting that with the Windows phone." Now it looks like his firm stance has wavered, just a little bit.
In a new interview on the Spanish language website El Pais, Elop is asked flat out if they plan to launch a mobile phone that runs on Google"s Android OS. Elop"s translated response isn"t a total denial:
In the current ecosystem wars we are using Windows Phone as our weapon. But we are always thinking about what"s coming next, what will be the role of HTML 5, Android... HTML5 could make the platform itself—being Android, Windows Phone or any other—irrelevant in the future, but it"s still too soon to tell. Today we are committed and satisfied with Microsoft, but anything is possible.
Nokia has gone all out in supporting Windows Phone more than any other smartphone maker. The launch of Windows Phone 8 saw several different models from Nokia released and more are reportedly in the works. Last week, rumors hit the Internet that a smaller and thinner version of the Nokia Lumia 920, using an aluminum body is in development for launch later this year.
Update: Nokia has reached out to Neowin and provided the actual transcript of Elop"s message and it is a bit different that what was previously reported. Here is what Nokia says Elop actually stated:
So, the way I think about it is, in the current war on ecosystems, we are fighting with Windows Phone. That’s what we’re doing. Now, what we’re always doing is asking, how does thatevolve? What’s next? What role does HTML5 play? What role does Android or other things play in the future? We’re looking further into the future, but it terms of what we’re bringing to market, and what we’re immediately focused on, we’re focused on Windows Phone.
Nokia is committed to Windows Phone, full stop. Nothing to see here, move along.
Source: El Pais | Image via Nokia