Microsoft and Nokia Join Forces

The software maker and handset pioneer are now a team.

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Microsoft and Nokia have announced today that the relatively new operating system Windows Phone 7 will be the official OS of Nokia's smartphones going forward. The move ousts Nokia's previous operating system, Symbian, which is still the most popular in the world, but has been essentally drowning in the smart phone era.

Windows Phone 7, rolled out last fall, is still finding its legs and is currently only available via a hanful of T-Mobile and AT&T devices. Its biggest claims to fame are so-called "Live Tiles" for speedy social networking and news feeds, and Zune and Xbox Live integration. In Nokia, Microsoft has a partner that is still the world's most popular handset maker, though the Finnish company's presence in the American smart phone market has been dead on arrival.

Nokia, for its part, hopes that Windows Phone 7 will help them compete against increasingly dominant devices running Android and iOS. The company is expected to produce a line-up of new phones running WP7 for 2012.

[Wired]

 

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