Third Ecosystem by Nokia and Microsoft

Today after Stephen Elop’s interview it became clear Nokia and Microsoft decided to combine assets to build new ecosystem. It would help both companies to challenge the existing Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms. This cooperation will be profitable for two companies: Nokia will try to return its positions of the most popular phone maker, while Microsoft can more successfully promote Windows Phone 7 and other products like Bing, Office and Xbox Live.

Nokia’s smartphones will run Windows Phone 7 in future and this will allow Nokia to offer phones with a larger range of price points, and share more market segments and geographies.

Under this partnership we can assume:

• Nokia would adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.
• Nokia would help drive the future of Windows Phone. Nokia would contribute its expertise on hardware design, language support, and help bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies.
• Nokia and Microsoft would closely collaborate on joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.
• Bing would power Nokia’s search services across Nokia devices and services, giving customers access to Bing’s next generation search capabilities. Microsoft adCenter would provide search advertising services on Nokia’s line of devices and services.
• Nokia Maps would be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services. For example, Maps would be integrated with Microsoft’s Bing search engine and adCenter advertising platform to form a unique local search and advertising experience
• Nokia’s extensive operator billing agreements would make it easier for consumers to purchase Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.
• Microsoft development tools would be used to create applications to run on Nokia Windows Phones, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem’s global reach.
• Nokia’s content and application store would be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a more compelling consumer experience.

According to Elop’s words Nokia and Microsoft intend to enter into a strategic alliance. They will bring a new mobile experience that would be based on stellar hardware, innovative software and great services.

Once Nokia’s WP7-powered smartphones win users hearts, it will help Microsoft’s platform to become more popular. Nokia wouldn’t be another Windows Phone OEM and that’s a right decision, don’t you think so?