PHOTO NEWS: Sure-P community youth empowerment project in Isoko South Local Government

The batch 001 project of Sure-p community youth empowerment project in isoko south local government of delta state, Nigeria. Participants  at the exhibition  are Arsrael, Solomon Akpofure (a.k.a Mr Geesolo) and Christy .

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Microsoft to Buy Nokia’s Devices Unit for $7.2 Billion

Microsoft agreed to buy Nokia Oyj (NOK1V)’s
handset business and license its patents for 5.44 billion euros ($7.2
billion), casting together the lot of two companies seeking to stay
relevant against more fleet-footed technology rivals.

The deal
changes the nature of both companies. Nokia is exiting from the
mobile-phone business it once dominated, leaving it mainly as a
wireless-network equipment maker. Microsoft, which became the world’s
largest software maker on the back of its Windows operating system, is moving aggressively into hardware. 

Microsoft is making its biggest foray yet into hardware as sliding
personal-computer sales threaten the demand for Windows, and Nokia’s
cash flow has been weakened as it loses market share to Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone and Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android platform. While Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer and Stephen Elop, his Nokia counterpart, called the deal a “moment of reinvention,” analysts aren’t so sure of its prospects.

“Both Nokia and Microsoft really missed the boat in terms of
smartphones, and it is extremely difficult to claw your way back from
that,” said Paul Budde, a Sydney-based telecommunications consultant.
“The question is whether combining two weak companies will get you a
strong new competitor. It’s doubtful.”

Microsoft will pay 3.79
billion euros for Nokia’s devices unit and 1.65 billion euros for
patents, according to a statement from the companies. 

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