By Emeka Aginam, in Barcelona, Spain
While window phone platform continues to be the toast of many consumers around the world, Nokia has joined forces with the global software giant, Microsoft to form a broad strategic partnership to create a new global mobile ecosystem.

Speaking at the launch of the partnership arrangement yesterday ahead of the Mobile World Congress which kicked off this morining in Barcelona, Spain, Nokia’s chief executive Stephen Elop told newsmen in a press conference that the tie-up would see Nokia use Windows phone operating system for its smartphones.

Although keen observers have expressed fears over substantial job losses as a result of the tie-up, Elop said that the game has changed from a battle of devices to a war of ecosystems, adding that Nokia and Microsoft working together can drive innovation that is at the boundary of hardware, software and services.

It is a transition from Symbian to Windows phone as our primary smartphone platform, he said. even as he expressed optimism that the new deal is expected to create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity.

̈We took the decision to go into window based phones. It is a transition from Symbian to window phones. We are charting the future of window phone platform. We have the capacity to deliver window phone ecosystem. It is going to be a smooth trasition from Synbiam to window phones̈ he explained.

Meanwhile, under the new partnership :

– Nokia would adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.

– Nokia would help drive the future of Windows Phone.  Nokia would contribute its expertise on hardware design, language support, and help bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies.

– Nokia and Microsoft would closely collaborate on joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.

– Bing would power Nokia’s search services across Nokia devices and services, giving customers access to Bing’s next generation search capabilities.  Microsoft adCenter would provide search advertising services on Nokia’s line of devices and services.

– Nokia Maps would be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services.   For example, Maps would be integrated with Microsoft’s Bing search engine and adCenter advertising platform to form a unique local search and advertising experience

– Nokia’s extensive operator billing agreements would make it easier for consumers to purchase Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.

– Microsoft development tools would be used to create applications to run on Nokia Windows Phones, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem’s global reach.

Nokia’s content and application store would be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a more compelling consumer experience.