Microsoft to acquire Nokia

I'm not sure it does either company much good. If anything it looks to me like a panic move of two companies who while from te outside they seem huge and successful to many are actually seeing the writing on the wal and have no real plan for the future.

This won't make Microsoft competitive with Apple where it wants to be despite the hopes of Redmond.

This seems like a great move from MS, they have bought more runway.

But come on, the move was telegraphed a couple of years ago.

I'm unsure of what % of Samsung is mobile devices, but one would assume Google would have to throw a lot more money at Samsung to buy their devices division than MS is spending to buy Nokia (according to their press release: USD$7.17B)

Unless Google wants to leverage itself for the next 10 years to acquire a company that does engineering services, shipbuilding, heavy industrial manufacture, life insurance, theme parks, aerospace and oh I guess some mobile devices here and there, I don't see this happening.

Edit: for the interest of passers-by, the deleted comment proposed that Google might buy Samsung. It was possibly a light-hearted remark, but luckily nitpicking folk like yours truly were here to save the thread from inaccuracy. :D