Technology research firm Gartner (IT -1.08%) released a report stating that by 2017, shipments of devices using Google's (GOOG +0.64%) Android operating system are expected to dwarf shipments of Windows-powered devices. In a last-ditch effort to get back in the race and stem the tide of Google's surging market share, Microsoft (MSFT -0.80%) purchased Nokia's (NOK +0.76%) handset business and related patents for approximately $7 billion.

In the following video, Motley Fool analysts Joe Tenebruso and Eric Bleeker discuss why it appears Microsoft may have already lost the race to Google and Apple (AAPL -0.26%), and that this latest acquisition may turn out to be another in a long line of mistakes for the fallen king of software.