There were mixed reactions from employees of Nokia when reports came out on Tuesday that the Finnish phone maker is selling the company to American firm Microsoft. However, in the case of the stock market, the reaction was negative, resulting to a 4.5 per cent decline in share prices of Microsoft.

While Microsoft shares were down to $31.68, Nokia shares increased to $5.63, up 44.36 per cent.

Pino tweeted that he has teary eyes upon hearing news of the sale of his company to Microsoft. John Kneeland added that regardless of the impact of the sell out on them, John Kneeland said it is an "extremely emotional time" for Nokia workers.

However, Phil Schwarzmann, sarcastically tweeted, "Well Microsoft, you just bought the coolest fu***ng brand to ever exist. I don't blame you."

Outside Nokia employees, other techies commented on the $7-billion sale.

Elana Zak said the sale marks the end of an era, while Social Reader found the price tag "peanuts" compared to Nokia's history.

One Twitter member recalled bugging his parents for a specific Nokia phone in this tweet.

Source: Twitter

Nic Fildes, who appears to be familiar with the details of the sale, tweeted that the Nokia board and committees met over 50 times in 2013 to discuss the sale to Microsoft. "This wasn't a decision taken lightly," he wrote.

In tweets posted two weeks earlier, four Twitter members tied the sale to the planned sale of another mobile phone company that once also was number one like Nokia.

Source: Twitter

Commenting on the sale, Business Insider said that the optimism created by the news last week that Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer was dashed with this development. Rather than create a simpler company, Microsoft "seems poised to become an even bigger, more complicated company with more money-losing consumer business."

It pointed out that Xbox is hardly making money, Windows Phone is losing money as does Bing and consumer PCs are losing to tablets.

While Business Insider acknowledges that the Nokia deal is not terrible, it nevertheless "is a reminder that just became Balmer is leaving, it doesn't mean anything is necessarily going to change at Microsoft."

Microsoft, in its conference call to investors on Tuesday morning, said success in phone is important to success in tablets and will help PCs as well, whose sales are plummeting.