Microsoft exec denies rumors of own Windows Phone 8 devices
updated 04:30 pm EDT, Mon June 25, 2012
Microsoft has no plans to build own-branded Windows 8 hardware
Microsoft senior marketing manager for Windows Phone, Greg Sullivan, has flatly stated during an interview that the company has no plans to release Microsoft-branded Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Recent rumors after Microsoft unveiled its own iPad competitor, the Surface tablet, last week, suggested that's the next step in the software giant's strategy. Sullivan also added that the company is satisfied with its current hardware partners for smartphones, who include HTC, Nokia, Samsung, and Huawei, Information Week revealed.
Of course, the denial doesn't mean Microsoft won't buy out a handset maker, with Nokia the most likely candidate, and effectively have its own hardware and software then.
The company isn't likely to revisit starting on its own hardware from scratch, as its Kin line-up was a sales and marketing failure.
The previous rumor reportedly came from an industry source and maintained that Microsoft is working with a contract manufacturer. What wasn't known was whether the device would be a reference platform or if it would turn out to be a ready-to-sell handset wearing the Microsoft brand.
