Nokia, the world’s largest-volume cell phone maker, and software giant Microsoft are joining forces.
As part of a new agreement, Nokia will adopt Windows Phone as its choice smartphone platform, and Bing will become the default search engine on all of Nokia’s phones.
In return, Nokia will provide services such as mapping programs and other software to help flesh out Microsoft’s offerings, as well as leverage the handset giant’s relationships with cellular carriers.
The companies’ chief executives jointly penned a news release that went out early Friday morning in advance of the formal announcement in London. The materials describe the strategic partnership as “long term,” though no timeframe was given.
Some experts say Nokia may be better served by looking to Google’s Android platform instead. Android, a system provided to manufacturers for free, has quickly risen as the biggest challenger to Nokia’s mobile dominance.
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