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Russian mobile blogger Eldar Murtazin has claimed that Nokia and Microsoft held discussions about a range of Nokia smartphone hardware running Windows Phone 7.
In a wide-ranging opinion post, mobile-guru Murtazin alleged that a meeting took place last month, initiated by the ‘new leadership’ of Nokia, in order to explore the creation of a new range of Windows Phone devices to be sold under the Nokia brand.
In September, Microsoft’s business president Stephen Elop left the firm to take up the top job at Nokia after a tumultuous period in the firm’s management structure.
Murtazin called the move a ‘desperate measure’, citing the imminent arrival of even less expensive Android-based smartphones and the difficulty that either company would have of forging a market in the face of such stiff competition.
Murtazin, editor of www.mobile-review.com, has been in hot water with Nokia as recently as July Murtazin’s unflattering coverage of a leaked prototype N8. Saying they had no response from Murtazin, the unhappy smartphone maker says it was forced to ask the Russian authorities to assist.
For all that, Murtazin called such a move a ‘loss’, saying Nokia was a potent development team and the company was showing signs of steady progress and that the adoption of Windows Phone would signal powerlessness and a lack of control.
The post is being taken seriously by a number of analysts. IDC analyst Al Hilwa told eWeek that Windows Phone 7 may be a lifeline for Nokia. “The hardware competition is fierce and companies like Samsung and LG have made enormous gains on the device side by being agnostic and opportunistic,” Hilwa pointed out.
The original blog post translated from the original Russian is here.
