On December 20th we reported in this space that there were rumblings and rumors circulating around about a possible partnership between Nokia and Microsoft resulting in Nokia manufacturing Windows Phone 7 devices. Today, that rumor has been refuted somewhat. A soon to be former Nokia employee (he got laid off and his last day is Dec 31) named Watts Martin, wrote on his Tumblr blog that although it was reported and opined upon, not only is there is no guarantee of Nokia going the route of Microsoft partnership but it won’t happen “at all, because it is stark raving loony. A lot of the reporting on Nokia I’ve seen seems to miss a fundamental fact: they are, in their fashion, just as insistent on control over their ecosystem as Apple is.”

Watts Martin goes on to explain why this is so and why Nokia is going to keep everything in-house and would never go the way of making devices for the Windows Phone 7 platform. Remember, ALL OF THIS is based on rumor and speculation. The original word of this potential partnership was based on rumors and unnamed sources and reports of meetings between the two companies. The man who is doing the refuting of these rumors is a Nokia employee who, while he wasn’t fired only laid off, is/was NOT a spokesperson for Nokia and did not even send this information out to the press. He posted it on his Tumblr, which he granted must have known would be picked up by the blogs and online media (and from there possibly the more traditional media outlets) but this is not a press release or anything official from either company. As far as we know, neither Nokia or Microsoft has OFFICIALLY commented on the original rumor. However, I am inclined to believe Watts Martin’s opinion on the matter. I also sort of wonder if this was his way of getting his name out there to potential future employers, he is out of a job after all and he certainly is getting a bunch of free publicity from this.

For More Info:

Watts Martin’s Tumblr post here