First Windows Phone 8 Devices to Come from Nokia

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia is eagerly waiting for the Windows Phone 8 platform to become generally available and, along with it, its new Lumia handsets to hit the shelves.

Apparently, due to its tight relationship with Microsoft, Nokia might be able to launch the first Windows Phone 8 devices before anyone else.

This means that we could wait for the company to put new handsets on shelves sometime in October, when the platform should be released as well.

No official confirmation on the GA of Windows Phone 8 has emerged for the time being, but Stephen Elop, Nokia CEO, told New York Times that the software would be released in October.

Windows 8, the desktop / tablet platform from Microsoft, will arrive on shelves on October 26th, and we could indeed expect Microsoft to plan launching both software in the same timeframe.

However, during the Q2 earnings call yesterday, when asked directly whether the first Windows Phone 8 devices would arrive from Nokia, Elop would not answer directly.

“One signal [of what is coming] is that on the number of occasions when Windows Phone 8 has been demonstrated it has been on a Nokia device. We have a close relationship that is unlike what anyone else has with Microsoft,” he said, TechCrunch reports.

Various supposed new Nokia Lumia handsets have already emerged online in leaked documents, suggesting that the company might have some Windows Phone 8 prototypes in the works.

Unlike current Windows Phone handsets, the next wave of Lumia phones should pack higher-end hardware inside, being capable of better competing with rivals running Android.

Microsoft’s next-gen mobile operating system is expected to hit the RTM status sometime in September, while devices powered by it were previously said to be en-route to shelves only in November.

Nokia’s relationship with the Redmond-based company is indeed tight, and that might allow the Finnish giant to launch new devices ahead of competitors, even by a few days or weeks. However, with no consistent details on the matter, we’ll have to wait for a formal announcement to learn more on this.