Nokia gets Windows Phone 7, Bing, Xbox Live and Office in partnership with Microsoft

by Samuel Gibbs on February 11, 2011 at 03:50 AM

It's finally happened, Nokia's just announced that it'll be partnering Microsoft in a 'Broad Strategic Partnership' to not only take on Windows Phone 7 for future smartphones, but trade existing software technologies. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, a former Microsoft executive himself, announced that he has managed to push through a union that'll see not only Windows Phone 7 taking primary duty on Nokia's smartphones going forward, but integration of Bing services for search, maps, and ads, plus Xbox Live and Office. Nokia Maps will also be integrated into Microsoft's mapping services, while the Nokia content store will be absorbed into Microsoft Marketplace.

Is this the right move for Nokia? They make decent hardware for the most part, but in recent years their operating system of choice, Symbian, has failed to keep up with the rapid evolution of other modern smartphone platforms. It just goes to show, that more and more, it's the software that can make or break modern gadgets. Whether Windows Phone 7 will make or break Nokia, we'll have to wait to find out.
Hit the source link for the full press release or make the jump for the announcement video embedded after the break.

Tags: Bing, cellphones, Microsoft, Nokia, WindowsPhone7, WP7, Xbox Live, XboxLive