Nokia, Microsoft Join Forces in Smartphone War

Nokia NOK and Microsoft MSFT teamed up to build an iPhone killer on Friday in a desperate attempt to take on Google GOOG and Apple AAPL in the fast-growing smartphone market. In a strategic u-turn, Nokia said it would use Microsoft's Windows Phone as the software platform for its smartphones, the main plank of new chief executive Stephen Elop's overhaul of the world's biggest cellphone maker. "It's now a three-horse race," Elop said in a statement. Investors were not convinced by Elop's eagerly anticipated strategy announcement and shares in Nokia tumbled more than 11 percent as the market reacted to Nokia's saying that 2011 and 2012 would be "transition years" as it built up the partnership. Continue reading the article.