Nokia reacted quickly on Wednesday to a report claiming its phone business was acquired by Microsoft for $19 billion, calling it "baseless." But one Wall Street analyst had another word to describe a hypothetical deal between the two companies, at least for Apple investors: "heaven."
Gartner's latest forecast for worldwide smartphone operating system market share predicts that Google Android will be present on nearly half of all handsets sold next year, while the iPhone and its iOS operating system will account for 19 percent of units sold.
A new forecast of the global smartphone platform market from research firm IDC has predicted that Microsoft's Windows Phone platform will see a resurgence in the next four years, overtaking Apple's iOS platform which powers the iPhone.
Nokia will receive billions of dollars from Microsoft for adopting the Windows Phone platform on future smartphones, as the two companies struggle to compete with Apple and Google in the mobile space.
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Neil Hughes
Slash Lane
Katie Marsal
