In sum: if Nokia / Microsoft have any real chance of making an impact whereas this alliance is anything more than an ‘also-ran’ within the Smartphone space than adding NFC (as rumored / reported) to their handset(s) is a possible step in the right direction (for that matter: just getting a sense of what this partnership’s value-proposition actually is to begin with would go a long way towards differentiating them from their primary competition…) Granted, they’re not ‘open’ and ‘closed’ they’re Windows-based – which has been Microsoft’s (handset) Achilles’ since they were the early (by default) leader within what become known as the ‘Smartphone’ segment… Therefore, that’ll also be the bane of their alliance moving forward (which Nokia has now taken on since they decided to essentially scrap their OS)… not any easy legacy to get around / redefine that’s for certain…
(Source) The Guardian: http://goo.gl/TyEJf