Microsoft in talks with Nokia over Windows Mobile

Virtually all Nokia phones currently run the Symbian operating system and such a move would be a major change for the industry leader.

Microsoft’s mobile communications business international marketing director John Starkweather confirmed talks were taking place with Nokia but would not confirm when any announcement would be made.

“They obviously have significant investments in Symbian but there are a lot of places where we have significant synergies and we would love to see the day where those synergies would extend completely with Windows Mobile,” he told IT Wire.

While Nokia phones don’t yet have a Windows OS, they do use a range of other Microsoft software. This includes ActiveSynch for connecting to Exchange Servers and the PlayReady DRM technology used to protect purchased music and video content.