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Cisco Going Mobile, Acquiring Nokia?

Posted by Zonk on from the sniffing-around dept.

Keruo writes "Sunday Business paper is reporting on its latest issue that Cisco Systems is considering of acquiring some large player in the mobile telephone field. According to a Reuters article the paper also suggests that the company is most likely Nokia. Neither of the companies have yet commented on the rumour." From the article: "Cisco's mainstay networking market was fast changing with the convergence of fixed-line and wireless networks, and Cisco needed a merger to acquire the technology to create intelligent wireless applications, which Finnish-based Nokia could provide."

2 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Nokia might need this by badzilla · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Nokia has this image as "king of the wireless" but in fact this has been slipping in the last couple of years as their primary product (handset) has been under threat of commoditisation by many other vendors primarily Far-Eastern.

    To their credit Nokia saw this coming a long time ago and have strenuously tried to diversify into (a) server-side systems for mobile e.g. specialised mobile groupware and (b) network infrastructure with a security highlight such as dedicated (BSD) firewall boxes and VPN systems.

    So maybe they do have something attractive for Cisco and might even view it as a merger.

    Trivia: Nokia invented the first non-black Wellington Boot.

    --
    "Don't belong. Never join. Think for yourself. Peace." V.Stone, Microsoft Corporation
  2. Cisco and linksys. by Blapto · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When cisco acquired linksys, build quality went down the pan. My pre-cicso equipment is solid stuff, built to last. The WRT54G I've got now feels flimsy and from what I've heard from other users is pretty prone to damage.
    I'd rather this doesn't happen, as at the moment Nokia is an excellent company that doesn't need messing around with.