Technology journalist Adrian Mars on the Nokia takeover by Microsoft

Microsoft is buying Nokia's devices and services business - and getting access to the company's patents - for a total of $7.2bn in an effort to expand its share of the smartphone market. The corporations announced the deal late on Monday, saying that Microsoft will pay $5bn for the Nokia unit that makes mobile phones, including its line of Lumia smartphones that run Windows Phone software. Microsoft is also paying $2.2bn for a 10-year licence to use Nokia's patents, with the option to extend it indefinitely.