<p>An example of what a Surface Phone might have looked like. Image credit: Jonas Daehnert (deviantART)</p><p>Microsoft and Nokia need each other more than you'd expect. While Nokia was testing Android in a variety of different ways, Microsoft was busy experimenting with a Surface Phone. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans have revealed to The Verge that the company built a number of prototype devices to test the viability of such a phone. We're told that Terry Myerson, who now heads the Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox operating systems, was in charge of the secret Surface phone project. We understand the company had originally considered the idea of its own phone devices as a "Plan B" if Nokia wasn't successful with Windows Phone.</p><p>Nokia's Windows Phone dominance worried Microsoft</p><p>Nokia now dominates Windows Phone. The Finnish company has secured over 80 percent of all Windows Phone marketshare, a statistic that concerned executives in Redmond. Instead of an ecosystem of partners using Windows Phone like they do Android, Nokia has been the sole dedicated handset maker. HTC tried its own unique partnership with Microsoft with limited success, and Samsung has not seriously committed to its own devices. Microsoft faced an uncertain Windows Phone future if Nokia pulled out of the deal.</p><p><a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/13/4728184/microsoft-surface-phone-testing-while-nokia-experimented-with-android">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/behind-microsoft-deal-the-specter-of-a-nokia-android-phone/">Behind Microsoft Deal, the Specter of a Nokia Android Phone</a> (New York Times (blog))</p><p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-microsoft-nokia-android-lumias-20130913,0,7359383.story">Did Microsoft buy Nokia because it was flirting with Android?</a> (Los Angeles Times)</p><p><a href="http://gizmodo.com/nokia-was-testing-android-lumia-phones-before-microsoft-1310162514">Nokia Was Testing Android Lumia Phones Before Microsoft Swallowed It</a> (Gizmodo)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dpOzkfSB0-5Ob9MFaiQZG6taQ6C7M&ned=us">422 additional articles.</a></p>