Microsoft Buys Nokia’s Phones & Patents

In the biggest post-Labor Day news yet, Microsoft purchased Nokia’s phones and patents today for $7.2 billion. The move brings the Windows Phone 8 together with its hardware support, giving the company totally integrated mobile solutions. Part of the appeal for Microsoft is the low-end Asha brand, which has been acquired outright. The acquisition means that the Windows Phone will be able to reach millions more customers, drastically increasing its market share, and getting customers on track to future purchases of more powerful phones. Ultimately, this means that Microsoft can finally compete with Apple and Blackberry, entirely end-to-end.  

Microsoft Windows Store Hits 100,000 Apps

In an important milestone marking its ascendancy into competition with iOS and Android, the Windows app store bassed 100,000 apps in the Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Windows RT store. For comparison, iOS and Android each have over 800,000 apps available in their respective stores, and Windows has been aggressively pursuing developers in an attempt to reach similar numbers – including paying up to $100,000 to developers to bring their apps over to Windows. So although it has some catching up to do numerically, this is still an important moment for the mobile competitor.