Nokia and WP8

So much for synergy. A few days ago, Microsoft announced WP8 to much self-generated fanfare and a bitter fact: You can’t upgrade older devices to WP7. Used to be that’s not so much of a problem. But iOS has shifted the customer expectation towards upgradeability being a necessity. The result: a lot of disappointment and a big drop in stock price for Nokia. For sure other WP7 device makers were also affected. And for sure they already have WP8 devices on the works. But Nokia had touted “special advantages” when it decided to partner with Microsoft. Don’t you just hate it when your strategic partner doesn’t strategize with you? Couldn’t Microsoft have handled it a little bit better? When Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich was announced, not all devices were expected to be able to run it. And even now adoption has been low. And yet that affair seemed better handled.