Brillo's barmy Cisco/Nokia rumor (and blackout doctor)

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Cisco to buy Nokia? speculates a little-known UK Sunday paper (pub. Andrew "Brillo" Neil; circ. 204,005). I'm saying nothing after my blog melted from a blizzard of hits from Finland after I criticized the Nokia 770. So here's what other bloggers are saying...

TechDirt is scepticism personified:

Merging the two would be quite a challenge, and the most likely situation would be Cisco leaving much of Nokia as is, while slowly working to merge the equipment areas where they overlap (similar to the way they've handled the Linksys acquisition).

But French blogger-journalist Luc Saint-Elie defends the idea (if my French is up to the job):

The rumor's not so stupid. Cisco and Nokia collaborate on VoIP: a hot sector right now. Cisco has the infrastructure and Nokia has the handsets. See how it makes sense?

Darrell Houle runs the numbers:

Nokia certainly has global reach, a solid reputation, and has been smarting recently which makes it a good target for acquisition. Nokia’s market value sits around $71 billion US, whereas the Cisco’s value is around $123 billion.

As El Reg's Tony Smith points out, this isn't the first time:

They have also been rumoured to be looking at merging before. Most recently - February 2005 ... The rumours may have been revived following Nokia's management reshuffle pre-announced last week.

Unstrung's Justin Springham spots the arrival of the wireless industry’s silly season:

As much of Europe shuts up shop for the next few weeks and heads to the nearest beach, the rumor mill is cranking into action. Analysts have been quick to dismiss the idea of a deal, declaring it "unlikely" in light of Cisco's acquisition history. Ah, summer! Roll on September...

Engadget howls "but why?" and then jokes,

What would they name their spawn—Ciscokia, or Nocisco?

Buffer overflow:

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Richi Jennings is an independent technology and marketing consultant, specializing in email, blogging, Linux, and computer security. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. Contact Richi at blogwatch@richi.co.uk.