Nokia and Microsoft have announced a strategic partnership that sees the Finnish device maker adopt the software giant’s Windows Phone operating system as its “principal” smartphone platform.

Announced in London this morning, the partnership will also involve joint marketing initiatives and the integration of each supplier’s search, advertising and mapping services.

Nokia also announced a new corporate structure, dividing its business into two segments: ‘smart devices’ and ‘mobile phones’.

The company that said that as a result of the partnership, it expects sales of its devices to grow “faster than the market”.

According to recent figures from market watcher IDC, Nokia holds the largest share of the smartphone market. However, while the total number of smartphone shipments grew by 87.2% during 2010, Nokia’s shipments grew by just 48.2%.

The partnership with Microsoft was widely predicted. Nokia’s present CEO, Stephen Elop, was formerly head of the software giant’s Office division.

Earlier this week, an internal memo from Elop was “leaked”, in which he described Nokia’s market position as “a burning platform”.
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