Microsoft may be planning to develop its own Windows Phone 8 Smartphone just as it has done with its Windows Slate tablet line of devices. A source close to the company tells the Wall Street Journal that the company is looking at “four and five inch” displays.
According to the report which was first rumored in The China Times, Microsoft has become frustrated by the lack of strong hardware and sleek designs being produced by its manufacturing partners.
The rumor also claims that Microsoft will roll over the Slate name into the smartphone line. Using a single naming convention would fall in-line with competitor Samsung, which uses the Galaxy name for its higher end smartphones and tablet devices.
Rolling out smartphones of its very own could be a move in the right direction for the company’s struggling smartphone business. Sales of the Microsoft Surface RT tablet have been brisk, selling out at many locations around the world.
Speaking to the WSJ, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer noted:
“We’re quite happy this holiday [season] going to market hard with Nokia, Samsung and HTC.”
The biggest complaint from many mobile OS users is that the quality of mobile OS are greatly affected by the hardware provided by each manufacturer.
Hopefully for Microsoft’s sake, this phone goes better than the company’s disastrous Kin Smartphone, a device that failed to reach mass appeal and ended up costing Microsoft an estimated $240 million.
Would you be willing to pick up a Microsoft Slate smartphone if it came to market?
