Nokia and Microsoft get friendly over Windows Media
Never thought we'd see this happen, but the threat of Apple fooling around with Motorola (whether real or perceived) has thrown Nokia into the arms of Microsoft (again!). Earlier today Nokia announced they were licensing Microsoft's ActiveSync, now they've revealed their plans to add support for Windows Media Audio files, Windows Media DRM 10 and Media Transfer Protocol to their handsets. They don't get too down and dirty with the specifics (like which phones will be compatible or not), but from the looks of it this arrangement would let wireless carriers offer a download service (which Nokia is developing with Loudeye) that could sync up with Windows Media Player 10, and would also include the ability to transfer over DRM-protected WMA files from a PC. Not sure whether this means we can expect a bunch of Nokia phones that work with Napster To Go, but this is something of a slap in the face for RealPlayer. Just last week those two companies were making nice, even issuing a press release about how they were "extending their collaboration".
