Following on from an OS that had a stable userbase, but struggled to win plaudits, it's somewhat ironic that Windows Phone 7 has proved popular with critics but is yet to increase Microsoft's share of the smartphone mix.

Bringing the world's largest mobile manufacturer on board, then, has the potential to be hugely significant in terms of the size of the platform's userbase.

Indeed, in Revo Solution's lead developer Andrei Hanganu's view, that's the most fundamental part of Microsoft's strategic alliance with Nokia.

Battle of the userbases

"Biggest problem for now for Microsoft is the number of devices sold, and we expect the deal with Nokia to raise the number of Windows Phone 7 users significantly," Hanganu states.

"We have a title in top 10 so that can only mean good news for us."

When questioned about the platform's fortunes back in October, Hanganu had urged caution, stating there were certain performance issues with the platform from a developer point of view.

Most notably, he vented his frustration regarding the lack of online multiplayer on the OS – despite the Xbox Live link up.

"Windows Phone 7 needs more in order to stand out from the competition," he concluded at the time.

Marvellous marketplace

Four months on, however, and Hanganu believes there are key things Microsoft has got right – namely its app store.

"In my opinion, Windows Marketplace might be a lot better than Apple's App Store and Android Market, simply because the review process doesn't allow it to be filled with bad quality apps," he says.

"Considering all markets are amassing huge numbers of apps, in the future, the quality control of the submissions might prove to be the most important difference.

"We have high hopes for WP7 and the Nokia deal should only make the platform more popular. The only question remaining is whether the hardware requirements will stay the same or lower-end devices will show up."

You can read more developer reactions to the deal here.