Tech Focus: Nokia Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:NOK), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

The news that Nokia Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:NOK) is looking for a Linux expert has set tongues wagging. Since Android is Linux-based, many believe that Nokia is working on an Android phone.

This is quite surprising considering that Nokia has committed to Microsoft's Windows Phone 8, and the Redmond based company has even paid the former 1 billion euros a year to do so.

While Nokia's latest smartphone, the Lumia 920, has received good reviews, it is unlikely to take the market by storm. And although Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says that Windows phone sales have picked up, he has made no specific mention of Nokia sales.

According to reports, Nokia phones have done well, but not anything spectacular. The Finnish company has globally sold 7 million of the older Lumia model in Q3; only 600,000 units were sold in the U.S. While these numbers are good when seen sequentially, they form a miniscule part of the total smartphone market.

On the other hand, there is all likelihood that Microsoft is getting its own phone ready. If that is indeed the case, Microsoft would then be Nokia’s competitor, and a huge one at that. Could this be the reason Nokia is considering the Android option? Time will tell.

Will Microsoft offer a music player on SkyDrive?

Speaking about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), there is another rumor. Apparently, the software giant will soon offer a cloud-based music player that uses SkyDrive and code found on the SkyDrive website that refers to a "MusicPlayer" seems to confirm this. If this is indeed the case, then users will be able to store music in a digital locker in order to stream them elsewhere, just like the service provided by Apple, Amazon, and Google.

Though such a service would be similar to that provided by Amazon Cloud Player, Apple's iCloud, and Google Play Music, chances are that it would in some way integrate with the Xbox Music service.