“I am committed, perhaps even obsessed, with getting Nokia back to being number one in high-end devices,” he said.
It is the failure of Vanjoki and his predecessors to come up with a smartphone and operating system to halt the march of the North American rivals that led to Kallasvuo’s sacking last week.
Nokia still has 40% of the smartphone market, according to the latest Gartner figures, but its share is down six percentage points over the last year.
Its margins and ASPs are well below those of Apple and RIM, however. It has lost $64 billion (€49.9 billion) in market capitalization since the first iPhone was released in 2007.
Informa Telecoms & Media analyst Gavin Byrne said the firm might yet reconsider its decision not to use Android, the fastest-growing mobile OS.
“Although the company remains profitable, if it continues to underperform in the important smartphone segment, pressure may grow for Nokia, and Mr Elop, to reconsider its stance regarding Android,” Byrne said.
“In the longer term, the company must seriously evaluate its strategy to delivery an end-to-end user experience,” Byrne said.