Just like I'm assuming that he was brought in to sell the Xbox brand your Assuming that he wasn't brought in for that exact reason. It happens and it sucks but its part of life.

Elop does not have the authority nor the inclination to sell any of it or break it apart. I don't like Elop much but he actually did a pretty decent job at Nokia, without him they would have gone bankrupt or been taken over years ago as they were in a very rapid spiral down when he jumped on board, he didn't completely save them but he did recover enough to give them a relatively soft landing which given their position at the time was a minor miracle and was more than most expected as being possible. Those that think getting rid of Xbox would help MS's share price really have no idea, the division is a tiny blip on the financials, the entire lifetime investment in the division for the last decade is less than a single quarters profit, with or without Xbox the share price would be basically unaffected though with it they at least protect several other key businesses.

Fair enough. Just wishful thinking I guess. It would probably be really hard to enforce fairly.

I have it the other way around. Ever since Elop joined Nokia, they have gone down even faster than what they were originally. Immediately when he joined he pretty much proclaimed to the world that Nokia's current platforms were dead. He said this while not having any alternative....who does that?

Well .. let me be honoust here, I think the XBox and Surface division is going to lean more towards interactive and social connected TV one way or another.

MS has the knowledge of the required hardware, the technology ( Network / DRM / DirectX ) and the infrastructure ( Azure for example ) to design, produce and launch a serie of devices where you can watch whatever and whenever on the you like on the device of your choice and combine it with social connectivity and  interactivity.

But they should have started with the right mix of Hardware/Tv/Media/Custom OS from the beginning with the right people and partners, and not the game-console route, cause although it offers an entry into the living room, it's a different audience than which they were intended to address in the first place.

There needs to be more creativity, synergy and consumer understanding to stay relevant in the coming decenia, and maybe Stephen could be the right man for the job.

... and if he's not, send me an application form :D

The current platforms were dead and had been for a good year or 2. Their smartphone market share had been in freefall for 2 years and the only thing supporting the business was traditional "dumb" phones which had a rapidly diminishing market and profit margin as smart phones encroached. The dumb phones was masking the companies horrible condition to most pundits that didn't look closer at the business.

Yet their dumb phones remain responsible for most of its growth...

Anyways my point was that you dont make statements like that when you dont have an alternative. His statement at that time had a direct impact on propelling Nokia's downward spiral.

If the CEO of a company is openly proclaiming that their platforms are dead...why would carriers and networks not think the same way? This guy was pushing the windows ecosystem long BEFORE they even had a windows phone....that seems odd to me.

Of his former job was to ruin Nokia then he succeeded.

disagree. the announcement actually slowed their spiral somewhat as it showed they had someone in charge that actually understood how dire a situation Nokia were in, sadly he didn't do enough to save them, but I am not sure that anyone could have.

YAY!

No Bing, and Microsoft might be out too!