Nokia confirms switch to Windows Phone 7

I think Windows Phone 7 has just found it's HTC like Google did for Android.

I think the Nokia-Microsoft collaboration here could save both and I'm glad about that. I used to love Nokia phones (still kinda miss my N82) and they still make great hardware, and now with great software they can go back to having great all-round phones.

By jameslove on 11 Feb 2011

Hmmmm

Been tempted to give WP7 a try when my contract is up in about 10 months) and a Nokia handset would be tempting so long as it's not the angular brick designs a lot of them have been to date. Nokia hardware is always great so this could be an awesome partnership

By EddyOS_2K9 on 11 Feb 2011

Awesome news!

I think it's fair to say WP7 on an N8 would just be so good :) Now, get me NoDo and keep it coming MS - this time next year, I'm all over some Nokia!

By onegin101 on 11 Feb 2011

A good move

This could actually be exciting news in the mobile phone market. Though I'm a current iPhone 4 user, the idea of a Nokia combined with WP7 is exciting. If they can get it right, I'll jump ship from the Jobs camp to a phone from two of my favourite vendors.

By Jules75 on 11 Feb 2011

A good move 2

I like WP7, I prefer using it to my iPhone.

This makes sense, WP7 is a good platform, which works and allows Nokia to quickly get out some handsets to try and rescue their market share, whilst giving them time to concentrate on MeeGo and make a good product out of that.

By big_D on 11 Feb 2011

History repeats

This all sounds familiar:

Palm started putting Windows Mobile on their Treo phones back in 2006 when their PalmOS was long past its sell-by date. It kept them going long enough to finish development of their WebOS for the Pre phones.

However, Palm got bought out by HP in 2010.

I owned a Nokia E61 for a while and it was great hardware. However, Symbian had grown fat and become non-intuative. The marriage of Nokia and Microsoft could be great. It will have to be exceptional to defeat the mighty Apple and Android.

By Stiggy on 11 Feb 2011

Lost me!

I wont buy anything with Microsoft on it so I wont be buying any more Nokias.

By langdona1 on 11 Feb 2011

Very pleased

Apple's success with the iPhone has been largely down to the immaculate integration of hardware and software. If Microsoft and Nokia cooperate closely enough to emulate that integration they can become serious players in the smart phone market rather than also rans.

For many years Nokia was my brand of choice and I would enter a shop with the intention of liking their offerings. Sadly for the last 5 years or so none of their stuff has appealed.

By SirRoderickSpode on 11 Feb 2011

Love my Android but...

If they put WP7 on N8 I will drool.

By Josefov on 11 Feb 2011

Let's get our priorities right...

What are they going to call this combined platform? It has to be... Mokria.

I'm serious - branding is everything.

OK, not entirely serious.

By Noghar on 11 Feb 2011

Uncharted territories

Nokia are in for a rougher ride than they expect because the current version of WP7 has been badly implemented so far. If they are going to use it without ironing out those faults they will continue losing market share.

They don't have an alternative though. They have got serious problems.

By Manuel on 11 Feb 2011

@langdona1

You sound like a sheep! All I here is, "Baaa". You're the kind of person that follows the crowd, and at present are probably an iPhone or Android fanboy without even trying the Windows Mobile 7.
If you hate anything with Microsoft so much, why are you reading a PC magazine?

By jazzy_jeff_81 on 11 Feb 2011

@langdona1

You sound like a sheep! All I here is, "Baaa". You're the kind of person that follows the crowd, and at present are probably an iPhone or Android fanboy without even trying the Windows Mobile 7.
If you hate anything with Microsoft so much, why are you reading a PC magazine?

By jazzy_jeff_81 on 11 Feb 2011

Sheep

lol Jazzy_Jeff_81. Who is the sheep now? Repeating what you said. YOu can't go around accusing someone of being a fanboy when there are only 2 major mobile device OS's. If I was recommending Palm you'd accuse me of being similarly sheepish. The fact is WP7 is flawed and microsoft have admitted it too. YOu may love it but that doesn't mean it is not flawed - just look at the sales charts and you will see people are purchasing items that fulfill their potential, not ones that have potential.

By Manuel on 11 Feb 2011

A lot of first time posters in support of Microsoft here

Funny how when Microsoft wants positive publicity they have an agency plaster comment boards with mindless support drivel "It's great!" "This is good!" "I love it!" but none of them really addresses the issues.

Nokia may or may not need an interim solution, but why is a to-be-paid-for solution better for them than a free one? What is wrong with them using Android, Big_D? If Nokia hardware is as good as people seem to claim, that in itself would give them an advantage over other players making Android powered hardware.

Why buy in an inferior phone OS when a better, free one is available in Android? Yes, it's good for Microsoft. They get brand leverage on market share as well as with their iTunes copycat MS marketplace effort.

It's right out of the early-days Microsoft playbook: get into partnership with the biggest hardware maker and build market share - but we all know what happened to IBM after that. It is of course vintage Ballmer, but will it work today? Not for Nokia methinks...

By SwissMac on 11 Feb 2011

@SwissMac

Nothing wrong with them using Android instead / as well.

Android has a lot of problems though, which WP7 doesn't currently have (not that WP7 is perfect either).

Being late to the market, Microsoft seems to have studied iOS and Android and incorporated the lessons learnt by both sides.

The Zune software is much better than iTunes on Windows. I haven't tried their sync software on my iMac.

The iPhone / iTunes mix is great on a Mac, but iTunes is an eyesore on Windows and causes the whole machine to grind to a halt at times - the same goes for Safari, great on the iMac, but causes the whole machine to stutter under Windows.

I have an iPhone 3GS and the introduction of multi-tasking was a huge step backwards for iOS, IMHO.

I've used a couple of Android handsets and I never got on with it.

I find WP7 refreshing and reminds me why I liked iOS when I got my iPhone, simple and fast. In the meantime, iOS feels fat and bloated.

By big_D on 12 Feb 2011

Also

The WP7 market is still fresh, Nokia have a chance to make a Galaxy S or Desire impact on the WP7 market. With Android, there are already iconic handsets, so it would be harder to differentiate themselves.

The minimum hardware spec also means that you don't get a "bad" experience. Like Apple building the iPhone, with the hardware specification defined by Microsoft, it means that you won't get companies launching "budget" handsets on hardware that makes for a bad experience.

By big_D on 12 Feb 2011