What Microsoft is buying with its $7.2 billion Nokia purchase

The software giant is putting down some serious cash to gobble up a shrinking cellphone giant. And it's not just about Windows Phone.

The Microsoft-Nokia marriage: Can two laggards make a leader?
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Late Monday, Microsoft announced that it will plunk down almost $7.2 billion in cash to buy the handset and services business of Finland's Nokia, the former longtime world leader in mobile phones. This marks the end of an era for 148-year-old Nokia, a pioneer in cellphones and smartphones that recently lost its dominance to Apple and Samsung. With its phone business gone, Nokia is left with its solutions and networks business.

Microsoft has had its own struggles making its mark in the smartphone business. So what does it get by buying Nokia's?

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.