History has been written today. Nokia, one of the largest phone makers of the world will stop making phones, and Microsoft, primarily a software company will take the reins in its hands alongwith 30,000 odd employees becoming a manufacturer. The transition wasn't smooth, Nokia's manufacturing plant in Chennai, India as well as the one in Masan, South Korea which were part of the deal have now been excluded. The South Korean factory was a small unit with 200 employees and will be shut down, while the Indian plant with 8000 odd employees faces an uncertain future as Nokia is still fighting the Indian government on charges of tax fraud.
Nokia's Devices and Services team including CEO Stephen Elop, Juha Putkiranta, Chis Weber, Timo Toikkanen and Jo Harlow are moving to Microsoft today.
Effective today Nokia becomes two separate entities as Microsoft Mobile Oy and Nokia Oyj. John Kneeland, Product Manager - Developer Platform at Nokia describes how things will be for the "Nokians".
On April 25, that Nokia ceases to exist, and in its place are two companies that officially have nothing to do with each other: Microsoft Mobile Oy (where the heart of the company will go) and Nokia Oyj (where I will be).
Tomorrow I will still be an employee of Nokia. I will go to my office in Sunnyvale. It will be the same building it was yesterday. It will still say NOKIA on its facade basking in the California sun. But half of the people I've worked with will be gone. Up through today we shared everything. Tomorrow we will share nothing but our memories.
Nokia will live on at Microsoft as more than just a name, but soon it would fade. But Nokia will be there as a separate entity which would help you out through location services, network infrastructure but never manufacture phones again. Here's to that iconic Nokia ringtone, which too will make way for something new.
