Windows 8. Windows Phone 8. Surface. Radical shifts in Windows and Office. Microsoft has been on a roll latley, and now rumors are surfacing, in the form of a Wall Street Journal article, that Microsoft is working on a new smartphone prototype.
“Officials at some of Microsoft’s parts suppliers, who declined to be named, said the Redmond, Wash.-based company is testing a smartphone design but isn’t sure if a product will go into mass production.
One person said that the screen of Microsoft’s smartphone currently being tested measures between four and five inches. Apple’s newest smartphone, the iPhone 5, has a four-inch screen, while Samsung’s Galaxy S III phone has a 4.8-inch screen. “
Microsoft is no stranger to how difficult launching a new, successful smartphone platform is. Windows CE and Windows Mobile have been around for years. Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 cut the ties with previous attempts at a new Microsoft mobile operating system. Windows Phone has been well regarded, but not well adopted by customers and developers. And the Microsoft Kin wasn’t exactly “successful.”
Only time will tell if Microsoft can rekindle the magic they had with customers back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
[Via Wall Street Journal.com…]