Microsoft looking at buying Nokia, RIM, or even Palm?

“The new Windows phone software is a big improvement on its predecessor but may not be enough to reverse market share losses, and Microsoft Corp may have to eventually buy a Nokia or BlackBerry maker RIM to get back into the game,” Bill Rigby reports for Reuters.

“Microsoft, used to a near monopoly in the PC market even though it doesn’t make any hardware, has found the same rules do not apply in phones. Its Windows software has not been able to deliver the same consistency of performance across a range of different phones,” Rigby reports. “‘It’s something I know they’ve talked about — buying Research in Motion or even Nokia,’ Toan Tran, an analyst at Morningstar, said of Microsoft. ‘To really compete in this business, Microsoft needs to get into the hardware business, where they are able to control the entire user experience. Apple has shown that’s the model that works. In a consumer device, people just want something that works, they don’t want something as complicated as a PC.’”

Rigby continues, “Wall Street has long speculated that Microsoft might make a play for RIM, Nokia or Palm Inc. But such talk is almost always accompanied by skepticism over whether Microsoft would want to get into the hardware business and compete with phones that already use its Windows software.”

“The company’s attempted $47.5 billion takeover of Yahoo in 2008 shows that it is not afraid of large deals, but Chief Executive Steve Ballmer this week poured cold water on the suggestion of a big acquisition in the mobile sector,” Rigby reports. “The word ‘ever’ is a big word, but I certainly don’t feel like that’s the right strategy for us today,’” Ballmer told Reuters at the launch of the new phone software in Barcelona.”

Rigby continues, “The latest smartphone market figures show Microsoft’s share fell to 8.8 percent last year from 13.9 percent the year before, according to tech research firm Canalys. In the same time, Apple’s share jumped to 15.1 percent from 9.6 percent.”

Full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews