Nokia has announced plans to form a ‘broad strategic partnership’ with Microsoft. The deal would see Nokia use the Windows phone operating system for its smartphones and comes on the back of Nokia’s chief executive, Stephen Elop’s candid memo earlier this week warning that the company was in crisis.

The announcement is widely seen as a response to the growing pressure from other smartphone platforms, including Google's Android and Apple's iPhone; as the ‘smartphone wars’ heat up and the apparent failure of Nokia’s existing operating systems strategy.