Nokia CEO pits Nokia MeeGo against Google Android

Nokia's new chief executive has made the controversial decision to continue developing its in house operating systems MeeGo and Symbian rather than adopting Google's Android operating system.

Stephen Elop revealed that the major decision was made owing to Nokia's dwindling share in the smartphone market. Huge competitors such as Apple and Google have been dominating the smartphone market and have been forcing the Finnish giant out of the competition.

Nokia's go-it-alone strategy, adopted by CEO Stephen Elop, was promoted at the European conference, targeted at application developers where the company showcased its new MeeGo operating system in a bid to take back its share of the smartphone market.

The decision has faced criticism from analysts, who believe Nokia may be better off getting on board the hugely successful Android bandwagon. Google's Android platform has become the world's second largest smartphone operating system in just two years and industry insiders are questioning Nokia's decision to go-it-alone.

Elop's decision to stick with MeeGo and Symbian software to operate its midrange smartphone has faced criticism, with some industry experts believing that Nokia could have developed a lot quicker, had it not always insisted so adamantly on being independent.

However, Alberto Torres, Nokia's executive vice president for MeeGo computers, argues it also would tie its hands in distinguishing its smartphones with new innovations, ultimately benefitting Google's search business at Nokia's expense.

Nokia's decision to push MeeGo over Android stems in part from MeeGo's capability to support not only smartphones, but a variety of products consumers use including tablets, televisions and even automobiles, it says.

Jonathan Banner, a London-based software developer, said "I think they've got a strong chance, but it is early days" he added. "If they get MeeGo sorted out, it's game on."

Nokia's big problem, though, has been Symbian, which has been plagued with complaints from consumers and software developers that it is stodgy and hard to use compared to Android.