Nokia’s biggest gamble was back in 2011 when it put all its eggs into the one basket, the Microsoft basket. Nokia had the option to keep battling with its own aging OS Symbian, jump on the Android bandwagon or prove itself with something else, which it has tried to with Windows Phone. Nokia has just revealed something that is on its mind though; their fear of the possibility that Microsoft might make its own Surface Windows Phone, or that they may even abandon the system altogether.
As spotted by ZDnet on Nokia’s SEC report (a report they have to file for stockholders which sets out possible risks to the business), Nokia acknowledged that there is the possibility that Microsoft is building its own Windows Phone, in which they said that:
“Microsoft may act independently of us with respect to decisions and communications on that operating system which may have a negative effect on us. Moreover, if Microsoft reduces investment in that operating system or discontinues it, our smartphone strategy would be directly negatively affected by such acts.”
Nokia has never expressed such serious concerns for the matter, suggesting that maybe Microsoft has got something on the cards in this matter. Nokia is currently the only major player for Microsoft’s OS and single-handedly is slowly gaining market-share for the Windows Phone operating system.
Of course this filing is just for their potential risks, and such fears are quite common in these types of reports, but the fact that they did not include this in last years report may be a sign that a Surface phone could be coming from Microsoft and Nokia is very much aware of it.
The likeliness of this happening is still unknown. Microsoft has expressed views in the past to extend its surface range that already includes its 2 tablets and a huge touchscreen table. The addition of a smartphone would make sense and could be a huge problem for Nokia especially if Microsoft’s hardware is up to the same standard that its Surface tablets are.