Last week I described how my initial skepticism about Windows Phone 7 was softening, based on glimmerings of interest in the mobile developer and CIO communities. Today, Microsoft poured some gasoline on that little flame by announcing with Nokia that WP7 would become the default OS for Nokia’s smartphone line.
As Vic Gundotra (Google’s VP Engineering) snarkily Tweeted about the rumored announcement, “Two turkeys do not make an Eagle” – Nokia has been floundering in the smartphone segment for years now, and many smart analysts have written off WP7 as too little, too late from Redmond. I don’t think NokiaSoft fundamentally changes the market dymanics for either company, but I admire the boldness of the move and can’t help but root for them as underdogs who are bringing some scrap and hustle to one of the most interesting games in tech right now. This will be fun to watch.