Nokia: USD 1<em>bn</em> are heading from Redmond to Espoo

Speculations always suggested that a large sum was making its way from Redmond to Espoo. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft is apparently paying more than USD 1 billion 'to promote and develop Windows-based handsets as part of their smartphone software agreement'. (Bloomberg is citing 2 unspecified sources). Nokia meanwhile will pay Microsoft a fee for each copy of Windows used in its phones. Furthermore, the software giant will gain access to Nokia's treasure trove of patents. However, with all that said, the final contract – which is to run for 5 years – has not yet been signed.