Nokia board chairman Risto Siilasmaa has admitted the Finnish firm has a "contingency plan" to fall back on should Windows Phone 8 fail.

In an admission likely to anger Microsoft, Siilasmaa told a Finnish television show that the company has complete faith in the forthcoming OS, but it isn't flying blind: Nokia has a plan B should its Windows Phone forage prove fruitless.

Anti-Android

Siilasmaa comments – which also included a public backing of Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, who came at a "tough time" but has adopted "good and transparent" management style – have led many commentators to speculate whether Nokia's secondary strategy is Android.

However, delivering his reaction in an interview with Wired, IDC senior research analyst Ramon Llamas dismissed such a notion, claiming Nokia would never consider working with Google's OS.

"Quickly shoot down [the Android option] as fast as you can," Llamas told the site.

"Android is open to so many other developers and applications. The Nokia name would become washed out behind Android."

Go go MeeGo

Though Siilasmaa's phrasing is naturally vague, it's Llamas' belief that Nokia's contingency plan may actually be a change in the way it promotes its Windows Phone handsets.

"With Windows Phone there’s going to be a lot of education involved," he added.

"They need to capture the hearts and minds of sales associates, and create an ad campaign where Nokia and Microsoft tell end users what Windows Phone is all about. They will do this before anything else."

Other strategies may include refocusing on what's still a lucrative feature phone business in developing markets or a return to MeeGo, which was previously equipped on Nokia's N9.

[source: Wired]