Rumor: Nokia to partner with Microsoft to produce WP7 phones

According to foreign media reports, Nokia will cooperate with Microsoft to manufacture WP7 phones, as disclosed by Eldar Murtazin, the editor-in-chief of Russian mobile phone evaluation website mobile-review.

According to Eldar Murtazin, Nokia has been negotiating with Microsoft for over a month to expand their cooperation, initiated by the new management team of Nokia. It is reported that these negotiations are not about technology exchanges, nor are they about developing more Microsoft programs on Nokia phones. The real purpose of this negotiation is to jointly create a new type of WP7 phone, which will be sold through Nokia's distribution channels and branded with Nokia's name.

Mobile-review is a well-known site in the industry, famous for its early exposure of new machines from various mobile phone manufacturers. Many of the previous disclosures about Nokia's new machines have eventually become reality. The editor-in-chief, Eldar Murtazin, was once arrested by the Russian police after forcing Nokia to initiate legal proceedings due to his early exposure of Nokia's next-generation N8 smartphone, so this news seems credible.

If the news is true, it proves that Nokia's previous statements about supporting the new Symbian and Meego systems, as well as its confident remarks about its own software strategy, were all exaggerated empty talk. It remains unknown whether producing WP7 phones is a temporary measure for Nokia, or if it indicates that they have already conceded defeat. (Koshan)