Microsoft testing own-brand smartphone

Since Ballmer hinted that Microsoft could make more hardware there has been speculation that the software giant may be planning to launch a Surface phone. Now Wall Street Journal claims such a device is already under development, and that Microsoft is testing its own smartphone with Asian component manufacturers. The Microsoft phone reportedly has a screen with a diameter between four and five inches.

It's claimed that Microsoft has been liaising with component manufacturers in Asia to test a new proprietary smartphone of its own design. The nameless sources at the parts supply companies claimed that Microsoft is putting the new device through its paces "but isn't sure if [the] product will go into mass production". One unnamed source - one of many "people familiar with the situation" - claimed that the device's display size was between four and five inches in diameter.

The most convincing end to speculation about a Microsoft-branded smartphone would be the news that Windows Phones from its OEM partners - including HTC, Samsung and, of course, Nokia - have sold in phenomenal numbers; such a scenario would leave Microsoft with little need to develop and sell its own phone hardware.

Source: WSJ