StrategicAlliance
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Microsoft doles out the dough to Nokia and Samsung, plans Mango marketing bonanza for year's end
Know who loves it when other OEMs call him big poppa? Ballmer, that's who. So much so that he's opened up the company's coffers to Nokia and Samsung for a holiday blitz of Mango marketing. Hold onto your hats though, it's no carte blanche access to Redmond's Gringotts. According to a report on Mobile Magazine, inside sources claim MS has set aside ₤28 million (about $44 million) for the endeavor, with about ₤20 million of that reserved for Nokia's first Windows Phone 7.5 handset. This joint marketing effort is reportedly a broader extension of the cooperative agreements all parties agreed to, ensuring future WP devices get the media saturation they deserve. So, keep your eyes peeled this upcoming winter. We have a feeling you won't be able to escape the commercial onslaught, anyway.
Nokia and Microsoft sign definitive agreement, bring Windows Phone handsets closer to realization
Microsoft and Nokia's industry-altering announcement of a strategic alliance back in February has today been bolstered with the signing of a definitive agreement between the two companies. In announcing the inking of the paperwork, the Microkia crew point out that they're already hard at work developing "a portfolio" of Nokia Windows Phone devices, which will be shipping "in volume" in 2012, but there's still a twinkling hope that they can get something out on the market in 2011. Nokia devs have started porting key applications and services to Windows Phone, with mapping and navigation getting a highlight mention, while there will indeed be a "Nokia-branded global application store that leverages the Windows Marketplace infrastructure." Notably, this is described as a single portal where devs can serve their apps to users of Windows Phone, Symbian and Series 40 devices -- it'll be interesting to see how they work out the details of that. There's also confirmation that Microsoft will pay Nokia multiple billions of dollars as part of the agreement, some of which will be spent on completing an intellectual property-sharing agreement between the two teams. So yes, the third ecosystem is well and truly on its way.
Windows Phone's new UI and Xbox games are most exciting aspects of Microsoft deal, says Nokia poll
In search for feedback on its momentous decision to dump Symbian in favor of Windows Phone, Nokia has put up the above poll on its Conversations website canvassing opinions about what users anticipate most out of the new deal. There's no consensus choice, with the equivocation of reactions being underlined by the fact that the "Other" option was the modal response, however of the given categories, a UI refresh and Xbox-related gaming boons turned out to be most important. No surprises there, Symbian's touchscreen UI shortcomings are well known about while the Xbox tie-up has been one of Microsoft's big selling points for Windows Phone 7 since its start. We'd just ask Nokia to be quick about delivering on these things -- spending too long in anticipation mode won't be good for our health.
Exclusive: Nokia's Windows Phone 7 concept revealed!
Look what we've found! This is the first image you'll see anywhere of the early fruit of Microsoft and Nokia's budding new partnership. We have it on good authority that the technicolor phones on show are conceptual devices produced by the two companies. You shouldn't, therefore, go jumping to conclusions about retail hardware just yet, but hearts should be warmed by the familiarity of Nokia's new design -- the shape of these handsets is somewhere between its recent N8 and C7 Symbian devices and there is, as usual for Nokia, a choice of sprightly colors. The trio of keys adorning the new concept's bottom give away its Windows Phone 7 ties, but also remind us that the N8 and E7 are highly unlikely to receive any WP7 upgrade love. The best part about this whole discovery, however, might be that it confirms Steve Ballmer's assertion that the engineers of both companies have "spent a lot of time on this already." So, who else is excited about owning an Engadget-blue Microkia device? %Gallery-116352%
Nokia posts video of Microsoft partnership announcement online
Wow, we have to hand it those Nokia social media types, they're on top of their game. A mere couple of hours after Stephen Elop and Steve Ballmer took the stage in London, the video of their joint announcement of a Nokia-Microsoft partnership is up and ready for repeated consumption. For those of you just catching up now, Windows Phone 7 has become Nokia's "principal smartphone strategy," MeeGo is getting transformed into an experimental "learning" platform, and Symbian... well, maybe you should sit down for this one, Symbian's being killed off. There's more to the strategic alliance unveiled today, including the WP7 Marketplace subsuming the Ovi Store and some Bing and Ovi Maps interaction, so why not press play above and let the men in charge tell you about it?
Nokia and Microsoft enter strategic alliance on Windows Phone, Bing, Xbox Live and more
It's happened. Former Microsoft exec and current Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has married his future and his past in the holy matrimony of a "strategic alliance." Windows Phone is becoming Nokia's "principal smartphone strategy," but there's a lot more to this hookup -- scope out the official press release just after the break. Microsoft's Bing and adCenter will provide search and ad services across Nokia devices, while Nokia will look to innovate "on top of the platform" with things like its traditional strength in imaging. Ovi Maps will be a core part of Microsoft's mapping services and will be integrated with Bing, while Nokia's content store will be integrated into (read: assimilated by) Microsoft's Marketplace. Xbox Live and Office will also, as is to be expected, feature on these brave new Microkia handsets. An open letter on Nokia's Conversations site, penned jointly by Stephen Elop and Steve Ballmer, sets out the foregoing details along with the following statement of intent: "There are other mobile ecosystems. We will disrupt them. There will be challenges. We will overcome them. Success requires speed. We will be swift. Together, we see the opportunity, and we have the will, the resources and the drive to succeed."
Lenovo and NEC partner up to become Japan's biggest PC vendor
Lenovo's insatiable ambition for growth has taken another boost today with the news that China's best-known computer maker is partnering up with NEC for a "strategic alliance" in Japan, the world's third biggest PC market. Under the terms of the deal, a new NEC Lenovo Japan Group will be formed, wherein Lenovo will benefit from 51 percent of the shares and NEC will own 49 percent plus the choice of first CEO, for which it's selected its own Hideyo Takasu. Lenovo will also pad NEC's pockets with $175 million of change and contractual formalities are expected to be completed by the end of June this year. Sadly, specifics on how this will benefit consumers are light on the ground -- both companies will continue to sell products under their respective brands and there's only general talk of collaboration, economies of scale, harnessing operational synergies, and leveraging each company's strengths. At least you'll know your computer's been made in the spirit of fraternal cooperation. Full PR after the break.
