Nokia is contemplating support for ‘multiple ecosystem patterns’, which was interpreted to “Nokia looking for another OS, preferably Android”. I will not say this is huge, since we already know it. Nokia already has multiple ecosystem patterns with its Symbian, Symbian^3 and Meego. It doesn’t need new ecosystem, if that’s what Elop meant. There was also news that Nokia might get cozy with Microsoft. If Nokia has to take a detour from its Symbian/Meego strategy then it better do that with Android and not Microsoft. For the simple reason that the ecosystem of Microsoft isn’t that big. Android is.
Android has consistently gained market share and for the last quarter it stands at 26% 
market share. Nokia’s Symbian has 37% market share for the same quarter. Symbian is down from 45% market share. There are hardly any other ecosystem available which Nokia can adopt right now. It already has Symbian and Meego. We are left with Android and Windows. iOS, Bada and RIM are proprietary operating systems used by the respective manufacturers.
Hardware was never Nokia’s problem. Nokia N8, a smartphone which can easily replace your digital camera with a 12 megapixel shots, has become a flagship product. Nokia can continue to produce same kind of phones and embrace Android for app support. If you are holding a Nokia phone, then it’s hard to say “ Oh! there’s an app for that”. iOS and Android users can say that. Nokia cannot continue its feature phone strategy and apply to smartphones. Smartphones are different. They need an app ecosystem to go with it. Nokia can take Android and customize it like Motorola or Samsung. All it needs to do is take the first step. It is not as if Nokia will be married to Android. They can follow Samsung strategy, push its Symbian platform but sell some Android phones. You know to see if it works.
If any of this is not making Nokia to heed, then this little statistic should help :
Nokia makes about 15 times more phones than Apple, they make less than 15 times the profit that Apple does. (source)
How can Nokia explain that?
Source : WSJ
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