Well, seems both parties (Microsoft and Nokia) were considering different options before rumors of the buy out began. According to The Verge, while Nokia was testing Android in a variety of different ways, Microsoft was busy experimenting with a
Surface Phone. Terry Myerson, who now heads the Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox operating systems,was in charge of the secret Surface phone project. We understand the company had originally considered the idea of its own phone devices as a “Plan B” if Nokia wasn’t successful with Windows Phone.
The Tale of Nokia’s Windows Phone dominance
The status currently is known by everyone that Nokia dominates the Windows Phone platform at 80 percent, market share, a figure that concerned executives at Microsoft. Instead of an ecosystem of partners using Windows Phone like they do Android, Nokia has been the sole dedicated handset maker. Most of other Windows phone OEMs (Samsung, HTC, Huawei, etc.) were not committed to the ecosystem as the pushed more Android than Microsoft could count. This meant that if Nokia pulled out of the Windows phone game Microsoft’s future in the mobile business would be uncertain
Meanwhile, in Finland, Nokia was also building its own Android devices According to. The New York Times. Sources familiar with Nokia’s plans have revealed that the company was growing increasingly frustrated last year with Microsoft’s work to push Windows Phone to lower price points. An effort that was also known as “Tango” that could result into cheaper handsets with lower specifications, but Nokia needed more.
Nokia Android device for all
It was also rumored was going to fork its own version of Android in a similar way to Amazon for low-end devices. But Nokia’s experimentation with Android was not limited to the bottom of the line: the company was also testing Google’s platform on its mainstream Lumia. According to the Verge, Microsoft became aware of that particular effort, but as the testing was early on in the Windows Phone partnership, it’s not believed that it contributed to Microsoft’s decision to purchase Nokia’s device business.
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