Nokia (NYSE:NOK) Still Has a Lot Going for it

The internal memo from Nokia (NYSE:NOK) CEO Stephen Elop definitely gave a slap in the fact to the company, and was based some on reality, but probably not as dire as it was made to look by Elop to get the attention of his people in preparation for the changes he has in mind.

That's not to say the challenges aren't real, but if they face them and respond to them, Nokia should be able to continue to thrive over the long term.

Last year Nokia lost about 6 percent market share, not a small amount by any means, and something they obviously can't afford to do annually.

The good news is it appears they have the right man for the job leading the company, and that's the most positive piece that had to be in place to successfully go forward.

Some forget or don't know that Nokia is still the worldwide leader in mobile phone sales, and the battle between Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is pushing down prices and margins, especially on the part of Apple, which probably play well into Nokia's hands.

Elop will lay out his strategy for the company on Friday, and expectations are he's going to embrace Windows Phone 7 as an operating system for the company.

Immediate response to that has been negative, but in the long run it could be a very positive decision and outcome, if that is what the company is going to do.

Whatever happens, things will be clearer on Friday, and Nokia should look a lot better as to their future than they were just a few days ago.

Nokia was trading at $11.02, down $0.71, or 6.10 percent, as of 12:39 PM EST.