Nokia

Great work-life balance. There are so few tech companies (particularly global corporations) that care enough about their employees' home lives to encourage weekends off.

401K matching was terrific as well, and the medical/dental benefits were top-rate until the last year.

Working with the latest in wireless technologies, software, and test equipment.

Great co-workers, whom not only know and ply their trade effectively but couldn't care less about office politics.

Decisions by upper management and executives... yes, this is a gripe often heard in the corporate world. However, when you go from one "burning platform" and jump headlong into another "burning platform" (i.e., Windows Phone), it became a more steady decline. The Metro UI of Windows 7 and 8 is unique, but hardly a favorite among mobile phone users. The early death of the Microsoft Kin mobile phone should have rung alarm bells, not to mention the fact that Windows 7 devices couldn't be upgraded to 8, and the lack of apps (which should have been tackled early on).

I'm going to miss working for Nokia, and I hate having to part with a company I cared about.

I know Satya is very competent in software and the cloud computing environment. However, Microsoft now holds the keys to Nokia's mobile department, and it doesn't look good.

People do not buy smartphones due to productivity, but for all the capabilities the handset has to offer. These include apps, videos, media (camera/video), music, messaging, social networking, etc.

If these features are lacking or are subpar experiences, the devices will not sell.

Windows became successful first through productivity, but then grew to be a dominant player by appealing to the masses with a user-friendly UI in Windows 95. It also succeeded by bundling web browsers, media players, and access to the largest software libraries available to any computer.

Now, those experiences can be found on mobile devices with the Google Android and Apple iOS software.