With the Nokia-Microsoft partnership now finally official, a lot of attention is currently being focused on just what each side is getting. And much of that attention is failing to recognise the strength of some of the services Nokia brings to the table. Join us after the cut as we take a closer look at Nokia's hidden gems. Read on to find out mre about Nokia's unsung hereoes: Ovi Maps, Ovi Store, Ovi Chat...

As any long-term Nokia smartphone user will know, owning a Nokia is as much about the broad range of services Nokia provides for its users – mostly completely free of charge – as it is about the actual hardware you're buying and the operating system running on it.

And so much of what has been written about the company and its recent decisions, whether justified or otherwise, fails to recognise just how strong these services are, and in particular how much potential they bring to the partnership with Windows Phone 7.

An excellent piece over on My Nokia Blog has taken a more in-depth view of things, and in particular three Nokia services that are set to play a pivotal role in the company's future: Ovi Maps, Ovi Store and Ovi Chat.

When you consider that Navteq was valued at €5.7bn when Nokia bought it in 2007, it's no exaggeration to say that Ovi Maps is the jewel in Nokia's crown, and no doubt the major attraction in any deal with Microsoft. Ovi Maps and turn-by-turn navigation is completely free for all Nokia users worldwide, so has a huge user base, while the newly launched 3D mapping beta shows the kind of innovation going on behind the scenes.

Compared to the App Store and Android Market, meanwhile, Ovi Store may well fall short of the mark, but compared to any other app store out there, it's far and away the most established in terms of both reach and value. Nokia users in 190 markets rack up five million downloads a day from the 40,000 apps available, with the vast majority able to take advantage of the convenience of credit card billing.

Then there's Ovi Chat, a service whose potential Nokia has never come close to fully realising. Consider, for example, RIM's BBM chat service for BlackBerry users. While the brand's user numbers and market share continues to dwindle, the appeal of free messaging to other BlackBerry users around the planet has seen an unlikely surge in popularity with casual consumers. Tapping into the Nokia userbase more effectively and integrating Ovi Chat with other services represents a huge opportunity.

The My Nokia Blogs piece goes into more depth in discussing these Nokia assets, so we'd very much recommend giving it a read. But the point remains: developing these services, and making money from them, is going to play a huge role in Nokia's future, and the success of the Windows Phone partnership.

Do you agree? Has Nokia made the best of its key assets, and will aligning with Windows Phone help or hinder its efforts? Give us your thoughts in the Comments.