Nokia Adopts Windows Phone OS

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Nokia, the world’s largest phone maker, will use Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS as the main software for its smartphones in an effort to stem Nokia’s sliding market share.

Nokia to adopt Windows Phone OSUnder the deal, Nokia and Microsoft will jointly create phones and services, with each focusing on their core competencies. Nokia will contribute to hardware design and distribution in many countries.

The phones will use Microsoft’s Bing search engine and Nokia Maps (Nokia purchased map maker Navteq in 2007).

Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop, said at a news conference in London on Friday, “Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s now a three-horse race.”

In 2010, the Android OS accounted for 22.7% of the worldwide smartphone market, behind Symbian, which fell in share from 46.9 percent in 2009 to 37.6 percent. Microsoft declined to 4.2 percent and Blackberry dropped to 16.6 percent, while Apple’s iOS climbed to 15.7 percent, according to Gartner said Tom’s Hardware.

Source: Nokia, Tom’s Hardware

Photo via Nokia: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer

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