14 DAY TRIAL // Back in February, Microsoft and Nokia announced a deal set to change the smartphone market forever: the latter would load the Windows Phone operating system on its handsets, leaving the Symbian platform to die slowly.
The first such mobile phones from the company would arrive as soon as this year, Nokia confirmed a while ago, through its new CEO, Stephen Elop.
Moreover, the same was just confirmed by the company's head of Smart Devices, Jo Harlow, who said that Nokia is aiming at releasing hardware powered by Mango in 2011.
Apparently, there would be more than just one Nokia Windows Phone set to see the light before the end of the ongoing year.
In a recent interview with Forbes, Harlow confirmed that the company is well on track to launch smartphones with Microsoft’s mobile OS on them in 2011, and that there would be more than one such handset.
“I’m quite pleased with our progress,” Harlow reportedly stated. “Our target is absolutely still this year…and the target looks good.”
The first batch of Windows Phone devices from Nokia would include multiple devices. It would be a small portfolio.
One other thing that was unveiled was the fact that Nokia Windows Phones would not resemble those launched with the Symbian OS on board.
“One of the differentiations we intend to bring to the Windows Phone platform is hardware innovation,” said Harlow. “You will see that in our first devices and our future devices.”
What exactly that would involve, it remains to be seen. Some of the latest reports on the matter suggested that the company would adopt Qualcomm chipsets for its Windows Phones, and that it would also have in store products with dual-core ST-Ericsson processors.
At the same time, the company is expected to make its Windows Phones available in various markets, such as China, and through a wide range of carriers, including CDMA operators.