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Microsoft is not happy at all that Nokia just unveiled three Android phones

Published Feb 24th, 2014 11:54AM EST
Nokia X Android Microsoft
Image: Nokia

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If you have to go, you might as well go out with a bang. Nokia made waves and ruffles feathers on Monday morning when it unveiled not one but three new smartphones that are powered by Google’s Android operating system. The mobile software on the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL is barely recognizable as Android, with a heavily modified tile-based user interface that resembles Windows Phone. But if you ask executives at Microsoft, they’ll tell you… it’s Android.

Microsoft and Nokia are set to complete a deal next month that will see Nokia’s devices and services business transferred over to Microsoft for about $5 billion. Microsoft will also pay another $2.2 billion license Nokia’s many related patents for the next 10 years.

When Microsoft finally does take ownership of Nokia’s smartphone business, it will have three new Android phones on its hands in addition to the many Windows Phones and Asha phones Nokia sells. As noted in a post on Business Insider, Microsoft’s mobile boss Joe Belfiore wasn’t exactly shy in revealing that his company is not happy about Nokia’s move to launch Android phones.

“They’ll do some things we’re excited about, and some things we’re less excited about,” Belfiore told reporters after a press conference on Saturday when asked about Nokia’s Android phones, which hadn’t yet been unveiled at the time.

A comment like that might seem innocuous, but it speaks volumes when uttered by a top Microsoft executive in a room full of reporters.

For more on Nokia’s new Android phones, check out our earlier coverage.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.