Some motivation behind Microsoft's purchase of Nokia's handset division may be to tap CEO Stephen Elop as the successor to outgoing Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, observers have speculated.

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Microsoft's proposed $7.2 billion purchase of Nokia's handset division has been called as a victory for Nokia, completing its transformation into a network infrastructure business. But now the difficult task of gaining traction in the highly competitive smartphone hardware market will be Microsoft's job.

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In a pair of statements released early Tuesday, Microsoft and Nokia announced that the two companies have entered into a mutual agreement in which the Windows Phone maker will purchase the Finnish firm's Device and Services Business, as well as license patents and mapping assets, for $7.17 billion.

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It hasn't been nearly as successful as Microsoft hoped and promised a year ago, but the Windows 8 platform continues to inch forward in market share, most recently surpassing the overall installed base for Apple's Mac OS X.

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Microsoft's Surface tablet lineup, which has thus far failed to gain traction against Apple's iPads, saw a permanent price cut this week, most notably among the high-end Surface Pro, which now sells for $100 less.

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With Chief Executive Steve Ballmer set to retire and Microsoft undergoing major structural changes, employees at the software giant are said to be spooked, sparking concern that retaining current workers could be a challenge.

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Though a statement by Microsoft suggested the forthcoming retirement of Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has been in consideration for some time, a new report says the reality is Ballmer did not intend to leave the company so soon.

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Microsoft announced on Friday that its chief executive Steve Ballmer will retire within the next 12 months, once his successor has been chosen, bringing to an end a 13-year reign over the software giant.

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Microsoft is looking to make a bigger splash in the education segment for both its hardware and search divisions, offering schools the ability to earn free Surface RT units in exchange for regular use of its Bing search platform.

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Over the past fifteen years, both Apple and Microsoft have invested in Apple, while Microsoft has also invested in itself. Here's a look at how those investments worked out, with particular attention to stock buybacks, a panacea certain billionaire investors are prescribing for Apple.

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After taking over as Microsoft's chief executive in 2000, Steve Ballmer presided over the liquidation of Apple's stock his company had acquired three years earlier in its $150 million investment in Apple. In retrospect, that was a fantastically bad idea.

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Even as it prepares a critical update to its Windows 8 platform, Microsoft has become the target of a lawsuit alleging that the software giant misled investors regarding both Windows RT and the Surface RT device it released last year.

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Microsoft continued to bash the iPad in its latest Surface RT commercial, this time digging up and re-airing old arguments against the Apple tablet, like a lack of keyboard and higher price point.

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While efforts by Apple and Samsung to enforce their respective patent rights are often equated as back-and-forth arguments among twin giants who irrationally refuse to settle their legal disputes rather than innovate and compete in the market, there's a vast difference between the legitimacy of their respective intellectual property claims and what each company is demanding.

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While market research firms publicly report that Apple's iPad is "losing market share" in tablet shipments, their data also says something else: Apple continues to obliterate Samsung, Google's Android, Microsoft, Amazon and the rest of the industry in tablet profits.

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It was revealed on Tuesday that Microsoft has made only $853 million on its Surface tablet since the product line was introduce eight months ago, a number less than the company's write-down to adjust for unsold inventory, as well as an ad campaign pushing the device and Windows 8.

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High stakes in an impending iPhone 4 ban by the International Trade Commission have created some unlikely bedfellows, with a trade group representing Microsoft coming to the defense of rival Apple.

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Apple's new automotive initiative with iOS in the Car a prime focus for the company. Here's a look at the strategy behind it, and the company's options for bringing the new feature to market next year.

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Apple's chief executive Tim Cook described the company's 2014 launch of iOS in the Car as "very, very important" and a "key focus for us." Here's a look at what the industry thinks, the competition Apple faces in automotive, and why it's pushing so hard for an immediate launch next year.

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This last week, Microsoft announced disappointing earnings that reflected the battered market for PCs and the company's inability to gain traction in smartphones. But most notable was the $900 million "inventory adjustment" related to Surface RT, Microsoft's beleaguered iPad contender. How could it have failed so badly?

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