14 DAY TRIAL // Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has been long rumored to plan the release of handsets running under Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 8 operating system, but nothing has been officially confirmed on the matter for the time being.
However, it appears that the company’s distributors have been already informed on the availability of such devices, and that one of them let that slip.
A European distributor for Nokia told Israeli publication Techit.co.il that the handset vendor is indeed on its way to launch Windows Phone smartphones this year.
The company is in charge with the distribution of Nokia smartphones in Israel, and it reportedly stated that Eurocom Nokia would launch these mobile phones in the country as soon as they become available.
Apparently, Windows Phone 8 will arrive with support for Hebrew, which will make Nokia’s Lumia lineup more appealing in the country.
Here’s a rough translation of the message coming from Eurocom Nokia:
"Eurocom Nokia is expected to launch in the Lumia Nokia devices based on Windows Phone operating system, towards the end of the year, after the released version 8.0 of the operating system that includes full support for Hebrew."
This is not an official confirmation of the upcoming availability of Windows Phone 8 devices from Nokia, but it does back previous rumors on the matter.
Last month, Nokia Saudi Arabia mentioned in a tweet that Windows Phone 8 will be loaded on Nokia Lumia 900 when the device arrives in the Middle East.
Microsoft is expected to pack expanded functionality in its Windows Phone 8 operating system, along with support for better hardware than before.
Thus, the platform should arrive on shelves on devices packing multi-core processors and higher-resolution touchscreen displays, while also packing microSD memory card slots for expanding the available internal memory.
Microsoft is still mum on what the next version of its mobile OS will bring along, but details on manufacturers set to launch devices running under it have already started to emerge. Nokia and Samsung are almost sure to have such smartphones on shelves before the end of 2012.