Microsoft considered buying Nokia's devices unit

A lot of companies seem to be keeping an eye on Finnish phone maker Nokia. According to The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft has talked to the company about buying out its devices unit. Talks about the deal have happened as recently as this month, states the WSJ report citing unnamed sources that are said to be familiar with the matter. Microsoft has apparently rejected a deal, however, because of price and Nokia’s poor performance when compared to competitors like Apple, HTC, Samsung and LG.

Microsoft explored buying out Nokia’s device unit

Huawei has also been keeping an eye on the Finnish company. Recently, the company talked about possibly acquiring Nokia in its entirety. Richard Yu, chairman of the Chinese company’s consumer business group, told the Financial Times that Huawei would consider buying Nokia in its bid to become the world’s leading smartphone maker. “We are considering these sorts of acquisitions; maybe the combination has some synergies but depends on the willingness of Nokia. We are open-minded,” Yu said.

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Yu believes that the smartphone market will eventually consolidate with three or four big players. Huawei’s plan is to be one of those companies. Ominously, if Huawei ever does acquire Nokia, it would be bad news for Microsoft and its Windows Phone platform. Yu called the platform “weak”, even though Huawei does have one Windows Phone smartphone, the Ascend W1. “Whether Windows Phone (will be) successful is difficult to say – it has a very small market share. That’s not good. Android is free,” Yu said, hinting that any WP8 devices that Nokia may have planned could be relegated to the sidelines if the acquisition does go through.