Telling a cautionary tale, asymco has taken time out to list previous mobile partnerships instigated by Microsoft following the announcement of its strategic alliance with Nokia.

Somewhat alarmingly, most – if not all – came to very little in the end.

 

However, given each one was pitched as a way of improving Microsoft's standing in the smartphone race - Windows Mobile its previous flagbearer - as a collective, they undoubtedly set a worrying precedent for the firm's latest deal.

Mobile missteps

Indeed, the first partnership cited by asymco harks back to 2003, when Microsoft and Motorola announced a deal that would see Windows Mobile adopted on Motorola devices to "create a virtual 'remote control' for the web-centric, work-centric, always-on-the-go mobile professional".

In short, it was an attempt by both parties to dethrone then king BlackBerry, and one that – years later – saw Motorola abandon Microsoft's OS in favour of Android.

Likewise, Palm and LG both independently signed deals with Microsoft in 2005 and 2009 respectively that positioned Windows Mobile as both firm's primary smartphone platform.

In what is a familiar tale, neither deal did those involved many favours, with LG switching to Android and Palm launching its own smartphone platform webOS in the years that followed.

A tale of two platforms

However, what differs the aforementioned announcements from Microsoft's latest venture with Nokia – aside from the sheer size of the current deal – is that they all focused on Windows Mobile.

 

Though the OS has a substantial userbase in its day - largely thanks to its base in enterprise - it was a platform that struggled to hold on to market share once iOS and Android appeared on the scene.

In comparison, Windows Phone 7 immediately offers Nokia far more scope for success, given it's already been hailed as a critical, if not yet commercial, success – something its predecessor never managed to achieve in its ten year history.

[source: asymco]