Nine manufacturers were added to the shortlist of smartphones with their Microsoft operating system.
Apart from (its own) Nokia, Samsung, HTC and Huawei, which have at least one smartphone offering with Windows, Microsoft will partner with more Asian manufacturers to expand into key markets.
Η λίστα περιλαμβάνει λιγότερο γνωστούς κατασκευαστές στις ΗΠΑ και την Ευρώπη, όπως οι Foxconn, Gionee, Lava (Xolo), Longcheer, JSR και Karbonn. Οι μόνοι γνωστοί στη Δύση είναι ο Lenovo, LG και ZTE, οι οποίοι επίσης θα προσθέσουν στην γκάμα τους except from Android and Windows Phone.
Also, Microsoft Corp. will expand the list of manufacturers of its phones and will work with Lenovo and the factories of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.
The result of these collaborations will be the creation of a wider range of Windows smartphones with suggestions in all price categories. The company, in its release, cited a study by IDC according to which its own operating system, although remaining a small player with a percentage measured on the fingers of one hand, had the highest growth rate of 2013 and recorded the largest increase in sales with competition - although of course, one should add to this picture the growth potential of Android and iOS that dominate the market.
Microsoft also announced that the new Windows Phone could be based on Qualcomm chips, Snapdragon 200 and Snapdragon 400, after adding them to the supported SoC. In fact, Microsoft's partnership with Qualcomm is clearly expanding, with the chip maker becoming a close intermediary providing reference plans to the aforementioned new Windows Phone makers.
Also, the operating system will support chips for mobile networks of different technologies. Finally, we expect to see a Windows Phone "phablet", that is, a smartphone with a much larger screen - something in between tablets and smartphones.
In.gr Technology (Photo: Reuters )
