Yokia! Why Nokia should buy Yahoo?

Forget Microsoft, News Corp. or even Apple. Nokia, the world’s no.1 mobile handset maker, should buy Yahoo. Or so says Information Week’s Stephen Wellman.

Wellman puts forward a compelling argument: If Nokia is repositioning itself as a Web services company, to combat falling profit margins on its hardware, then acquiring Yahoo would help to give the company a much needed presence on the desktop (not just mobile), as well as beef up its Web offerings and Internet brand recognition in general.

“Nokia is now a Web company, not just a handset maker. But, the company acts as if the Web is just mobile and has no desktop component. This isn’t a very smart strategy”, writes Wellman. All of Nokia’s mobile web rivals: Google, Microsoft and, of course, Yahoo all have desktop products.

“These Web giants are leveraging their vast desktop Web audiences to grow their mobile initiatives. While Nokia has tons of mobile phone customers, it doesn’t have as many Web application users”, notes Wellman.

As well as gaining a presence on the desktop, a Yahoo acquisition would help Nokia to further develop its range of location-based services (building on its purchase of GPS company Navteq), again to fend off challenges from Google. Ditto mobile advertising. In addition, Yahoo would give Nokia an instant bump in its U.S. brand recognition. Despite claiming a 40% worldwide market share for mobile phones, Nokia doesn’t compete nearly as well in North America.

Overall, however, a combined Yahoo/Nokia (Yokia!) would provide Google with a formidable competitor in the pending battle for the mobile web. This is, as ex-Microsoftee Robert Scoble likes to point out, the real reason why Microsoft is attempting an aggressive takeover of Yahoo.

Alternatively, a nightmare scenario exists for both Microsoft and Yahoo: Yahoo sells it ad business to Google in return for an ad-revenue partnership. Meanwhile, the Open Handset Alliance starts to produce real results and Google’s Android becomes a widely adopted mobile OS. The result? Google dominates the mobile Web (i.e. mobile ads) as it does on the desktop.

Forget Microsoft, News Corp. or even Apple. Nokia, the world’s no.1 mobile handset maker, should buy Yahoo. Or so says Information Week’s Stephen Wellman.

Wellman puts forward a compelling argument: If Nokia is repositioning itself as a Web services company, to combat falling profit margins on its hardware, then acquiring Yahoo would help to give the company a much needed presence on the desktop (not just mobile), as well as beef up its Web offerings and Internet brand recognition in general.

“Nokia is now a Web company, not just a handset maker. But, the company acts as if the Web is just mobile and has no desktop component. This isn’t a very smart strategy”, writes Wellman. All of Nokia’s mobile web rivals: Google, Microsoft and, of course, Yahoo all have desktop products.

“These Web giants are leveraging their vast desktop Web audiences to grow their mobile initiatives. While Nokia has tons of mobile phone customers, it doesn’t have as many Web application users”, notes Wellman.

As well as gaining a presence on the desktop, a Yahoo acquisition would help Nokia to further develop its range of location-based services (building on its purchase of GPS company Navteq), again to fend off challenges from Google. Ditto mobile advertising. In addition, Yahoo would give Nokia an instant bump in its U.S. brand recognition. Despite claiming a 40% worldwide market share for mobile phones, Nokia doesn’t compete nearly as well in North America.

Overall, however, a combined Yahoo/Nokia (Yokia!) would provide Google with a formidable competitor in the pending battle for the mobile web. This is, as ex-Microsoftee Robert Scoble likes to point out, the real reason why Microsoft is attempting an aggressive takeover of Yahoo.

Alternatively, a nightmare scenario exists for both Microsoft and Yahoo: Yahoo sells it ad business to Google in return for an ad-revenue partnership. Meanwhile, the Open Handset Alliance starts to produce real results and Google’s Android becomes a widely adopted mobile OS. The result? Google dominates the mobile Web (i.e. mobile ads) as it does on the desktop.

What do you think? Should Nokia merge with Yahoo? And yes, before you ask, Nokia does have the cash.

What do you think? Should Nokia merge with Yahoo? And yes, before you ask, Nokia does have the cash.

雅基亚！为什么应该是诺基亚收购雅虎?

     微软？新闻集团？抑或是苹果？这些都靠边站吧！其实是诺基亚，这个世界手机制造业的老大，最应该买下雅虎。Stephen Wellman在《信息周刊》上如此说到。
     Wellman言之凿凿：如果诺基亚重新定位自己是一个网络公司的话，那么收购雅虎应该能提升其在桌面（不单是手机）上的竞争力，同时使其网络服务能力和品牌认可度得到加强。这样一来，诺基亚产品利润下滑的形势可以得到缓解。
     Wellman 认为，诺基亚现在是一个网络公司，不再是一个单纯的手机制造商了。但是，目前公司除了移动互联网之外，并没有发展桌面产品。这显然非明智之举，因为诺基亚的网上对手们如谷歌、微软还有雅虎都有各自的桌面产品。而同时，这些网络巨头都在拼命地发展桌面网络用户来弥补移动用户的短板。然而，诺基亚则相反，它有数以几十亿的移动手机用户，却没有多少互联网用户。
     如果能在桌面产品上打开局面，收购雅虎将使诺基亚的本地服务（建立在收购GPS厂商Navteq基础上的）向更深层次拓展，从而可以避开谷歌的锋芒。移动广告市场上亦如是。另外，雅虎将有助于诺基亚品牌更能深入美国市场。因为尽管诺基亚宣称有40%的全球市场份额，但在北美市场的表现却差强人意。
     总之，在移动互联网领域，诺基亚和雅虎的结合将会形成谷歌的一个强劲对手。前微软高管Robert Scoble指出，这才是微软急于收购雅虎的真正原因。
     雅虎把它的广告业务卖给谷歌后，广告收入的分成只能看谷歌的脸色。这对微软与雅虎来说都不好受。同时，开放手机联盟（OHA）发起冲锋的号角，谷歌 Android开始广泛采用手机操作系统，结果像控制桌面产品一样，谷歌控制了移动互联网（比如移动广告）的终端市场。
     您怎么看？您认为诺基亚应该收购雅虎吗？其实还有一个问题，诺基亚能拿得出那么多钱吗？

译后感：
     继年前微软提出收购雅虎之后，雅虎加紧了防御战事。刚看到新闻说，Digg模式的"Yahoo Buzz上线了，从这一举动可以看出，雅虎有意回归其“新闻门户”定位了。几年前Yahoo在搜索业务方面的急功近利导致了其赔了夫人又折兵，在门户方面被AOL和微软超越，在搜索方面又远落后于谷歌。所以，不管是被收购还是奋力自救，雅虎似乎都难摆脱式微的命运。

     另外，从诺基亚这两年的频频动作可以看出，这个手机巨头早就不安于目前的状态了。MOTO的出局似乎传达了手机产业逐渐在步当年CRT电视的后尘：如果不朝互联网转型、走高附加值路线的话。尽管表面上看诺基亚目前还风光无限，但手机终端的低利润和朝必需品方向的演化，再加上苹果、谷歌这些巨头们都纷纷涉入手机业，这都逼迫着诺基亚去转型。怎么转型？最直接的办法应该是收购一个互联网公司。收购雅虎目前对诺基亚来说的确有点难以下咽：不仅是一笔巨大的开支，另外在整合上也存在一定的难度。在我看来，不如先收购一个SNS，一方面可以朝手机交友方面发展，另一方面可以积累一下互联网方面的经验。这个方向应该不错。