Week in review: Nokia-Microsoft alliance, HP TouchPad tablet, Facebook shares

In the run up to the annual Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona, smartphone and tablet companies are trying to outdo each other by announcing major news ever earlier. The proverbial stuffing really did hit the fan this week.

Nokia mortgages its smartphone future to Microsoft

The big news this week was the announcement that Nokia is forming a partnership with Microsoft the Finnish company is effectively abandoning its Symbian and MeeGo smartphone operating systems in favour of Windows Phone 7.

Although Nokia claims new MeeGo and Symbian phones will still be released, the future of Nokia's smartphone business now clearly rests on Windows Phone 7. The move isn't unexpected as rumours about the deal were rampant in the run up to the announcement. The reaction towards the alliance has been very mixed though, with many seeing the deal as benefiting Microsoft's struggling smartphone business more than Nokia's.

Here at IT PRO, we're not surprised Nokia opted for Windows Phone 7 instead of Android. When it comes to the fiercely competitive smartphone market, search and search-based advertising are just as important as apps and operating systems. If Nokia had partnered with the ascendant Google, it would probably have little control over Google's advertising efforts or software design decisions. By partnering with Microsoft, Nokia probably has more say when it comes to these critical areas, which is important if it's going to abandon its own home-grown efforts.

HP TouchPad tablet a rose by any other name?

Rather than half-heartedly messing about with a Windows 7 tablet, HP has finally released a tablet equipped with the webOS operating system it acquired from Palm, in the form of the TouchPad. Is it enough to face off against the iPad and the PlayBook? When will it be released in the UK? How much will it cost?

All important questions, but, more critically, what's with that name? The TouchPad? That's the best name they could think of? Least original name ever! Plus 'touchpad' already means something in compu-jargon!

Will HP's next smartphone be called The TalkingBox? Perhaps its next laptop will be called the Facebook LapWarmer. Who knows?

Everyone likes $1 billion worth of Facebook shares

Rumours are flying around that Facebook could attempt to raise $1 billion in extra funding by allowing employees to sell their shares to external investors.

Facebook is a private company, so its shares, mostly held by company executives, staff and venture capital investors, aren't traded on public stock markets like the NASDAQ or the FTSE. Instead, private exchanges linking those private share holders to wealthy investors have arisen in recent years. However, ethical concerns and the fact that private companies don't have to release financial guidance unlike public companies have prompted the US Securities and Exchange Commission to begin investigating these private exchanges.

Perhaps Mark Zuckerberg should just have a whip-round amongst all his online friends instead?