Motorola Inc. and Microsoft Corp. appear to have deepened their partnership to produce smartphones that run on a version of the software giant’s popular Windows platform. Schaumburg-based Motorola, the world’s second-largest cell phone producer, surprised many last year when it became the first top-tier manufacturer to launch a Windows-based smartphone, the MPx200. The move established Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft as a credible producer of wireless operating systems, a high-margin business, and a potential challenger to Finland’s Nokia Oyj. The world’s largest handset manufacturer also dominates software for smartphones—so-called because they perform basic computing functions like e-mail.
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