Nokia, Microsoft announcing partnership next week, possibly involving Windows Phone 7?

If Nokia has come to Capital Markets Day this Friday - an event where the company traditionally has revealed interesting information and important initiatives - rumors are swirling again that they are announcing a major platform shift by a competitor. Both Android and Windows Mobile has in the past several times, including no small part to the fact that an appearance Nokia's rotating wheel platform is the backs of S60 and Maemo for far too long but so far is not true. This time around, it is said that Microsoft has announced a partner in the 11th - and although Nokia's inclusion of Windows 7 Phone is obvious strategic shift, it is important to note that companies are actually in front of a collaboration with relatively small effect on the market, it is quite possible to be ramping up to do that again, sharing applications and services between S60 and Windows 7 Phone / MeeGo. We doubt it, but it is within the realm of reason. 

But turning our attention back to the main platform shift, there are several factors that are a little more to add credibility to the rumor this time. First, the elephant in the room recently appointed CEO Stephen Elop is the Microsoft of good and it is clear that got marching orders from Nokia to include a new, more profitable direction of the Symbian Foundation has made to guard decorated Elop, for example, and He only hinted a few days ago that the joining of an existing ecosystem can help. More importantly, however, we have a reliable source of our own now saying that tide is back and it seems to happen in the Capital Markets Day - and that one of the existing platforms from Nokia has dropped as a direct result. It is difficult to choose which one is this: S60, but terribly outdated, still very popular in Europe and emerging markets, while MeeGo are technically promising, but yet to have any effect on the market whatsoever. On the other hand, noted Microsoft pundit Mary Jo Foley has not put much stock in this latest round of rumors. 

So, this is the question: Can Nokia is another Samsung, LG, and HTC, betting his hopes and dreams about his chops as a manufacturer of hardware only? Historically, the Nokia is defined as many (if not more) than its hardware platform, the Samsung's character for end-to-end in-house sourcing. Whatever happens next week Friday, it's all for a very interesting indeed MWC.