Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Microsoft's Alliances And Acquisitions

Image representing Steve Ballmer as depicted i...Image via CrunchBase
Forbes: Nokia’s Smartphone Chief On Microsoft Alliance, Future Windows Devices: the Finnish giant’s transition from its homegrown Symbian platform to Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system ....... The future of Nokia and, to a certain extent, of Microsoft’s mobile ambitions largely hinges on the success of the two companies’ alliance. ..... several Nokia devices were already running Mango, the latest version of Windows Phone software. ...... the first batch of Nokia Windows Phones will be a “small portfolio” of multiple devices. ...... Nokia was an early advocate for NFC, which enables phones to wirelessly exchange data such as payment information, mobile tickets, business card contacts and website links. ...... Early Nokia Windows Phones may also include a China-specific device.
Microsoft allied with Nokia, the number one name in mobile phone hardware. Nokia was struggling under the onslaught of smartphones and it looked like Android was about to take over the world. And Microsoft was largely missing in action. The Windows phone was widely considered a joke.

Bing - But It's Not Google - used to be an industry joke as well. Search was best left to Google.

Windows and Office looked passe. Chrome was coming. Google Apps were all over the place. The smart crowd was into Google Apps.

But Bing plus Facebook is one hell of a ride. And Nokia plus Windows could still deliver on two fronts.

And I still think Steve Ballmer bought Skype for media attention.

But Microsoft does feel like it has some of its mojo back. And add to that its 3D computing moves. This giant will still run a few more laps.

Microsoft's Second Act?
Could Skype Be Microsoft's YouTube?
Microsoft's Gesture
Image representing Microsoft as depicted in Cr...Image via CrunchBase
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