One formality down: Nokia shareholders overwhelmingly approve Microsoft sale

Today Nokia shareholders approved the sale of the company's devices and services division to Microsoft, with the majority of them already giving the go-ahead before a formal and final vote.

Reuters reported Nokia shareholders holding more than 99% of Nokia voting rights voted in favor of the previously announced sale to Microsoft.

The Microsoft buyout, which also includes a €5.44 billion (about $7.37b, £4.57b, AU$7.82b) payment for licensing Nokia patents, is expected to infuse the onetime Finnish mobile giant with nearly €8 billion (about $10.84b, £6.72b, AU$11.5b) when it closes in early 2014.

Though it's jettisoning its loss-making mobile business, Nokia will still operate its telecom equipment business, Nokia Services and Networks, as well as its nat-sav software unit. It will still own a number of patents.

Nokia Music may go cross-platform

While many outsiders assume Microsoft is picking Nokia's cupboards clean of all the best stuff, a new report claims that may not be entirely true.

According to Unwired View, the previously Lumia exclusive Nokia Music may not be packing its bags for Redmond, instead staying behind with the company's map software for a multi-platform expansion.

Screenshots dug up by Chinese website CTech seem to indicate that Nokia Music could wind up on Windows, OS X, iOS and Android courtesy of an HTML5 app that will also work on all leading web browsers.

Nokia already attempted the same feat a year ago with its free Here Maps app for iOS, but there's no word on exactly when the HTML5-powered version of Music might actually make its debut.

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