Even with its purchase of Nokia, Microsoft won't forget its Windows Phone partners

A big name tech company with a mobile OS buys one of its leading partners and questions arise about whether these other partners will get frozen out. Sounds like Microsoft's purchase of Nokia, but we're really talking about Google's purchase in 2011 of Motorola. Yes, the very same questions asked back then about Google are now being asked about Microsoft. And the Redmond based software giant is answering the exact same way that Google did.

Microsoft Executive VP Terry Myerson says that the acquisition of Nokia "will help make the market for all Windows Phones, from Microsoft or our OEM partners." But just like other Android manufacturers became suspicious of  Motorola and openly wondered if Google would play favorites with Motorola, Microsoft could face the same suspicions from other Windows Phone manufacturers. Microsoft already competes with its tablet producing partners with the Microsoft Surface RT and Microsoft Surface Pro tablets. HTC, Samsung and Huawei are current Windows Phone partners that come to mind, after Nokia.

When Google acquired Motorola, it also acquired a backlog of models that it had to get past before stamping its ideas on a Motorola handset, something that seems to have started with the Motorola Moto X. Remember, Google is spending $500 million advertising the phone. As for Microsoft, it is unknown what kind of backlog Nokia has, although it supposedly does have the Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet rumored to be introduced at the end of this month and launched in November. There is also the rumored Nokia Sirius tablet, expected to be unveiled September 26th. The tablet, allegedly seen in a photograph wearing the Verizon brand, would compete with the Microsoft Surface RT.


source: WindowsPhone, AllThingsD via Engadget