Ballmer: Microsoft Is Up-Front About Its Money Motive

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) plans to continue charging licensing fees from handset makers for using its mobile operating system and not follow the free offerings of Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) , Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday.
The pressure on Microsoft's high licensing fees has increased over 2008 with Google rolling out free Android technology and Nokia offering to buy out others from Symbian and also make its software royalty-free.
"We do," Ballmer told Reuters, when asked whether his firm would stick with licensing fees. "We are doing well, we believe in the value of what we are doing."

Who Benefits?
"It's interesting to ask why would Google or Nokia, Google in particular, why would they invest a lot of money and try to do a really good job if they make no money. I think most operators and telecom companies are skeptical about Google," he said.
Google tries to promote Web surfing on phones and the use of their services such as e-mail and search so they make advertising revenue.
"In the case of Nokia -- are they really open sourcing, or are they really making Symbian their own operating system? We have to wait and see," Ballmer said in an interview.