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Microsoft, Nokia join hands
[February 16, 2011]

Microsoft, Nokia join hands


Feb 16, 2011 (The Economic Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- In a smartphone world dominated by Apple's iPhone and Google's Android, Nokia's partnership with Microsoft is being seen by many as a last ditch effort to woo consumers.



Nokia's aging Symbian platform has done little to combat the might of the iPhone and Android in the high-end smartphone market, while Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, though visually stunning, is not picking up pace as expected.

However, come 2012, and we'll start to see Nokia phones powered by Windows Phone 7. The phones will leverage Nokia's expertise at designing hardware while the Ovi app store will merge with Microsoft's.


Since Microsoft has very specific hardware requirements for devices that run Windows Phone 7, the new Nokia phones are expected to have 1Ghz processors.

Incidentally, Stephen Elop, Nokia's pragmatic new CEO who spearheaded the partnership, is new at Nokia and their first non-Finnish CEO. He is also a former Microsoft executive. He's been famously in the news for the leaked Nokia internal memo which calls its employees to action, describing the company's current situation as a "burning platform." Although not 'official' yet, pictured here is the first concept rendering of a hybrid Nokia-Microsoft phone. While the first Nokia-Windows devices are slated for the beginning of 2012, if Stephen Elop has his way, they'll probably be launched closer to the end of 2011.

To see more of The Economic Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to economictimes.indiatimes.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Economic Times, India Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com.

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