In October last year, Microsoft announced its brand new Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system along with its Windows 8 OS. Just after the introduction of the mobile platform, many mobile manufacturers including Nokia, HTC and Huawei started offering their respective devices.
Microsoft is now reportedly planning to work together with chipset suppliers including Qualcomm for developing Windows Phone 8 reference design in order to catch the attention of several mobile manufacturers in China. It will be helpful in producing Windows Phone 8 smartphones for the entry-level and midrange smartphones especially in China and other regions also.
Microsoft is aiming to announce the Windows Phone 8 reference design in mid-2013 and smartphones built onthis upcoming reference design are expected to be hitting the market in the second half of this year.
You may have already known that Chinese mobile manufacturers, ZTE and Lenovo had already announced that they will introduce WP8 smartphones this year. You can note that if Microsoft introduces this reference design, it is sure that the new design will be helpful to build a bigger marketplace. Besides Qualcomm, Taiwan-based chipset vendor for Windows mobile based reference design, MediaTek may also tie up with Microsoft for developing this upcoming reference design.
Once Microsoft launches it, there’s no argument that several manufacturers will be offering their devices based on this design at the very soonest.
Source: DigiTimes