Even though Nokia’s CEO has agreed a Microsoft partnership to use Windows Phone on handsets, that doesn’t actually mean we’ll be seeing a Nokia Windows Phone any time soon. In fact, it’s going to be several months before we get to use one.
As you may have noticed, Elop has always tried to refer to Windows Phone and not Windows Phone 7 when talking about the future of the company and the partnership with Microsoft. That’s because he has no intention of allowing Windows Phone 7 on to a Nokia device. Instead, the next big update to Windows Phone, currently referred to as Mango, is the version Elop wants and is willing to wait for it.
Mango isn’t expected to become available until October, so we may not see a Nokia Windows Phone until very late 2011 or even early 2012. On the other hand, it could be ready day and date that Mango goes live. The Mango version of Windows Phone is expected to be called Windows Phone 7.5 and will primarily introduce support for the Silverlight run-time, HTML 5, and far eastern languages.
Read more at guardian.co.uk
Matthew’s Opinion
By waiting for the next big Windows Phone update Nokia can at least say it is offering something brand new. New hardware coupled with an updated Windows Phone experience not seen before on a smartphone. Releasing sooner would require using Windows Phone 7 which is already well-known so the only new aspect would be the hardware.
Elop has probably also surmised that the next few weeks and months will be a rocky time with a lot of anger and upset as has already been demonstrated. Waiting several months before releasing a Microsoft phone will allow those feelings to subside and hopefully get any phones judges on their merits not on feelings.
Whatever your feelings on this deal, it is now set that a Nokia Windows Phone will appear as opposition, such as Nokia Plan B, has crumbled. Elop and Nokia’s focus now has to be on producing a smartphone that blows the competition away, otherwise the company really is dead in the water.
