Windows Phone Thoughts: Microsoft And Motorola -- An Uneasy Partnership?

Motorola has been making waves in the Windows Mobile community due to their new MPx phone releases. Is this because Motorola genuinely is investing in Microsoft platforms long-term, or are they using Windows Mobile as a stop-gap until their own infrastructure is complete?

"Motorola needed Microsoft because its own operating software wasn’t ready and it couldn't afford to miss the market shift to smart phones. Microsoft needed Motorola as a foothold in the wireless market, a key new growth front for the company. The partnership gives Microsoft a chance to dominate wireless software the way it does the personal computer industry. With cell phones morphing into little computers, profits will lie in their software brains, not their wireless guts. If Microsoft captures the market, Schaumburg-based Motorola could be relegated to the low-margin role of assembling smart phones powered by Windows-based operating systems. New Motorola CEO Edward Zander, a veteran of Microsoft archrival Sun Microsystems Inc., knows the risks. He’s betting that Motorola's software will be ready for the mass market before Windows attracts a wireless following, and that he can spin away from Microsoft intact. No other big cell phone maker was willing to take that bet before Motorola."

This article strikes me as very speculative. There are significant advantages of adopting a standardized platform, including (but not limited to) application availability. It remains to be seen how Motorola will be able to handle that and answer other concerns using their Linux-based platform.