It's a rumour that won't disappear, and one that crops up at least once every couple of months. The idea of Nokia buying into Windows Phone 7 popped up again when ex-Microsoft man Stephen Elop took the helm at Nokia a few months back, and now it's doing the rounds again. We still think it's a crazy idea, however. Join us after the break to find out why...
With ex-Microsoft man Stephen Elop now in charge of Nokia, it seems the internet can't produce enough rumours about Nokia and Windows Phone 7. Leading the current crop of rumours is Eldar Murtazin – a chap known for stories that have to be taken with a pinch, or bucket full, of salt.
According to ZDNet, Murtazin's newletter states that Nokia is currently in talks with Microsoft about including Windows Phone 7 on future devices.
In this case, we agree with ZDNet, which goes on to say:
“Nokia is working hard on future versions of Symbian and their MeeGo OS with Intel so I highly doubt they are going to throw in the towel and adopt a Microsoft OS that is in its infancy and has a long way to go.”
One of the biggest reasons we can't see the inclusion of Windows Phone 7 happening on a Nokia handset in the near future is Qt. Nokia has spent a lot of money on its development platform, and Qt makes it easier than ever to create games and apps for its own operating systems.
Qt also makes it incredibly easy to port games and apps between Symbian and MeeGo – thereby supporting all of Nokia's handsets. Windows Phone 7 is a completely different platform, so Nokia would effectively have to start again with the Ovi Store – a service that's growing on a huge basis every day.
There's also the small matter of existing customers. Nokia currently has the largest customer base, with hundreds of millions of Nokia users around the world, and not all of these users are tech savy. By sticking with Symbian – with MeeGo available for more adventurous users – current owners are guaranteed a similar user experience.
It means owners of Nokia feature phones will be able to upgrade to devices like the Nokia N8, without feeling lost or not being able to navigate the OS. With Windows Phone 7 in place, users would have to get used to an entirely new experience.
It seems that ZDNet agrees, stating: “Those who use Nokia devices generally like the familiarity and functionality of Symbian so a device running WP7 may turn them off”.