Apparently Nokia and Microsoft are having a teleconference tomorrow to announce an "alliance" of some sort between the two tech giants. But what can this all mean? Update: Sorry, guys. This one's a snoozer—Office on Symbian.
The problem is, Nokia and Microsoft are actually competitors in Nokia's main game. Nokia's Symbian mobile OS competes directly with Microsoft's Windows Mobile, so it's highly unlikely that Nokia would be manufacturing, say, WinMo handsets. They've already shot down a similar move when they denied a rumor that they'd be creating an Android phone.
Our best (or at least most optimistic) guess? Nokia's already rumored to be partnering with Intel to create some sort of netbook or tablet. If the two companies could team up with Microsoft to make a badass Windows 7 tablet, it'd steal thunder from Apple's rumored tablet (if the damn thing ever surfaces) and be a pretty enviable product in itself. Of course, this could just be something boring as all hell, like Bing or Outlook on Symbian, but we can always hope for the best. We'll let you know what comes out of this alliance of giants tomorrow. [Engadget]
Update: Well, it's not a Nokia tablet, nor a Zunephone, nor is it the least bit exciting in any way. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft has reached a deal with Nokia to bring Office to the Symbian platform. You may commence holding down your "Z" key in the comments, to signify your snoozing. Also acceptable is a general mashing of the keys, to indicate that you have fallen asleep on your keyboard. [WSJ]