A Windows Phone device has been long speculated, ever since the debut of Surface tablets. The hypothesis was further fueled five months back when Nokia CEO supported the idea of a Windows Phone device as a stimulant to the ecosystem.
Now in a recent filing, Nokia admitted that its business could see a negative impact if Microsoft was to develop its own Windows Phone device. The Form 20-F filing details several aspects of the corporate partnership between the two giants.
According to a story over at ZDNet, Nokia has a section solely to describe how the company’s partnership with Microsoft is subject to risks and uncertainties:
“Microsoft may make strategic decisions or changes that may be detrimental to us. For example, in addition to the Surface tablet, Microsoft may broaden its strategy to sell other mobile devices under its own brand, including smartphones. This could lead Microsoft to focus more on their own devices and less on mobile devices of other manufacturers that operate on the Windows Phone platform, including Nokia.”
If you are wondering why that bit is there, the company is required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to provide what it calls, a quantitative and qualitative disclosure about market risks.
Regardless, the news is not entirely unexpected.
Another thing the Finnish mobile giant lists is not being able to convince Microsoft to create features or functionalities for the Windows Phone platform, which they deem most important.
Plus the fact that its employees are dissatisfied with the partnership because of Microsoft’s proposed smartphone development — it seems more and more like a certainty now.
Late last year several reports surfaced that Microsoft was aggressively looking to expand its Surface family, with new devices and form factors. A custom Windows Phone powered smartphone was said to be on track for a summer 2013 release.
