Microsoft is betting the farm on Windows 8 and it makes sense to me that they can leave nothing to chance. They have to have a plan B if hardware partners fail

Microsoft is betting the farm on Windows 8 and it makes sense to me that they can leave nothing to chance. They have to have a plan B if hardware partners fail to come through. A company as big as Microsoft simply cannot pin their whole existence on a bunch of third party OEMs, especially when they are deeply in bed and arguably now far more invested with a bitter competitor. I would honestly expect there would be at least a skunk works project if nothing else. The news that the device is being tested, however, means it's come out of the skunk works - essentially, plan B has been "activated". What I read from this, combined with the recent close partnering with HTC, is that MS is now heavily hedging their bets against Nokia failing, which can only mean they, with all their internal knowledge of their partnership with Nokia, now have strong doubts about whether Nokia itself is viable, or at least, viable enough to carry their flagship forward. So I wouldn't necessary read too much into this about the wider Windows8 strategy, but I'd read a lot of bad things for Nokia from it.