Microsoft’s Acquisition of Nokia Finally Set to Close This Month

It’s been a long time coming, but Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s handset division will soon be complete, according to a post on Neowin today. The news comes by way of a letter sent to Nokia customers about the acquisition being finalized, and how it’ll affect customers’ contracts and data with the company going forward.

The letter reads (translated from Spanish), “Nokia currently expects to complete the sale of their businesses Devices & Services to Microsoft in April 2014. With the completion of this transaction, a Finnish subsidiary of Microsoft [will] take responsibility for your personal and contractual relationships for products and services with this business.”

There isn’t much else about what the acquisition will mean for customers besides this, though, so we’ll simply have to speculate on what kinds of changes might take place when Nokia Devices comes under Microsoft’s purview. The Neowin post points specifically to the recently released Nokia X smartphone, a handset that runs on a Windows-styled version of Android, and is available in European, Asian, and African markets, and not in the United States. Will Microsoft tolerate an Android phone in its lineup when the acquisition is completed? Or will the company embrace Nokia’s Android dalliance and start finding ways to integrate that OS into its other products?

It’ll be interesting to find out what happens next. Since Microsoft is now starting to roll out Windows Phone 8.1, it’ll be in a better position than ever to deliver devices that users might take a second look at. Having more control over the company that makes your most recognizable devices will only work in Microsoft’s benefit.

If Microsoft and Nokia can work the same kind of magic that Apple’s been able to employ with its own devices—a seamless vision of software and hardware—Windows Phone may stand a chance in a mobile market dominated by Android and iOS.

[Source: Neowin]