Nokia and Microsoft form partnership
Baku, February 11 (AZERTAC). Nokia has joined forces with Microsoft in an attempt to regain ground lost to the iPhone and Android-based devices.The deal will see Nokia use the Windows phone operating system for its smartphones, the company said. It means that Nokia`s existing operating systems will be sidelined.
Speaking at the launch of the partnership, Nokia`s chief executive Stephen Elop revealed that there would be “substantial” job losses as a result of the tie-up.
Nokia will remain “first and foremost...a Finnish company. Finland is our home and will remain our home,” he said.
But job losses around the world, including in Finland, will be inevitable, he added.
Speaking about the new partnership with Microsoft, Mr Elop said that “the game has changed from a battle of devices to a war of ecosystems”.
Microsoft`s Bing will power Nokia`s search services, while Nokia Maps would be a core part of Microsoft`s mapping services. The new strategy means Nokia`s existing smartphone operating systems will be gradually sidelined. Symbian, which runs on most of the company`s current devices will become a “franchise platform”, although the company expects to sell approximately 150 million more Symbian devices in future. There was no specific announcement about when the first Windows-powered Nokia phone will be available. It was also revealed that talks with Microsoft only began in November, illustrating how quickly the deal has been pushed through. Earlier this week Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop sent a memo to staff warning that the company was in crisis. The memo, published first by technology website Engadget, said that the mobile giant was standing on a “burning platform”.
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