HTC reacts to Nokia and Microsoft Alliance

After the announcement of the alliance between Microsoft and Nokia, they were mix responses all over the internet. Some QT developers were pissed off, saying there is no point any more in developing if Symbian is turning into a franchise and Meego is a dead on arrival platform. Other Ovi developers are saying why should they develop any app for a dying platform. As far as consumers are concern it does not really matter. People buy Nokia phones because they are from Nokia and not phones which are Symbian or Windows OS based. Immediately after the announcement the Nokia stock fell approximately by 14% yesterday.

HTC, however, has taken the news pretty good. HTC says it is not worried about the alliance in terms of competition. They have invested tremendous resources on the Windows Phone 7 platform, and they will continue to do so in the future. HTC says they feel confident in what they are doing and the partnership is actually a validation to what they were doing from so many years. To quote:

Jason Mackenzie (President of HTC for North America and Latin America) said Nokia's partnering with Microsoft is "a validation of what we're doing."

"Nokia's following a similar lead to what HTC's been doing, in not investing in our own platform, taking solid platforms and filling the gap to deliver a solid experience to the end user," he said.

As for the competition HTC will face from Nokia phones running Windows, it's "one more competitor," he said.

"I feel confident in what we're doing," he said. "We've got a fresh brand that's resonating with consumers."

"Obviously Windows Phone 7 is a platform we've invested tremendously on" and "we'll continue to support that," he said.

Asked if the Nokia deal will improve the momentum of Windows Phone 7, Mackenzie said: "It broadens the ecosystem, which is good for everyone. We'll see."

[ via SeattleTimes ]