Nokia troubles reminiscent of Moto’s a few years ago

All of the news and speculation that surrounds Nokia Corp. (NOK) brings to mind shades of Motorola Inc. (MOT) a few years back. Motorola was once queen of the ball with a solid name brand and No. 1 leadership position in the United States, only to drop from the top because the company relied too heavily on the Razr phone and didn’t have a strong follow-up product.
Nokia finds itself unable to navigate the smartphone space today, losing ground to competitors  as its competes with the likes of Apple Inc. and manufacturers using Google Inc.’s operating system. The Finnish-based manufacturer is also facing increased competition on the low end of the handset market, where it has dominated for years.
There are well-documented concerns around Nokia’s failings in the OS space, but I think the company is not likely to implode as quickly as its stock drop indicates.  Experts have been writing off Research In Motion Ltd. for years, as they have for Palm, Sony Ericsson Co. Ltd., and other companies that are not the favored supplier of the day.
Nokia’s statement that it wouldn’t meet annual projections, its subsequent jaw-dropping stock decline, analyst calls for the company to split in two and finally the resignation of its CTO definitely underscore the company’s need for a new direction, but I think it can be re-invented in a way like Motorola, where a couple of strong moves keep the ship afloat. Proper execution will be critical. Sanjay Jha was refreshingly frank when he talked about Motorola’s troubles and the time it would take to get the comapny back on track. Nokia investors deserve that same openness.