14 DAY TRIAL // With Android moving fast upwards and the Apple iOS following the trend, it seemed rather unbelievable that Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system might actually become a competitor for the two.
However, with the release of the next flavor of the mobile operating system, called Mango, things might turn out to be this way.
Apparently, Microsoft is gearing up for the release of the first Windows Phone Mango devices as soon as September, so as to compete against the next version of the iPhone, also expected to hit the market at that time.
Google's Android platform already took the lead on the OS market, but it seems that Windows Phone might soon become the second runner, and that Microsoft is already preparing its strategy to compete with the Apple iPhone.
In September, leading mobile phone makers like HTC, Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics should bring to the market their first Mango smartphones, more powerful and better looking than those launched last year.
Moreover, it seems that companies like Acer and ZTE might also make the move, the same as Fujitsu-Toshiba did only a few days ago.
Their device, the IS12T, will arrive on the market later this year with a Qualcomm MSM 8655 processor inside, as well as with a 3.7-inch touchscreen display and with a 13.2-megapixel photo snapper.
Taiwan-based HTC Corporation might release its first high-end Windows Phone Mango devices in September, powered by a Qualcomm 1.5GHz single-core CPU, and featuring screen sizes ranging from 3.8 to 4.7-inch.
In addition to all these companies, Windows Phone will be loaded on Nokia smartphones as well, with the first of them expected to be unveiled only in October, during the Nokia World 2011 conference.
Previously, Nokia was rumored to plan the release of highly appealing devices powered by Windows Phone Mango, with impressive hardware specs, capable of better positioning the platform in its fight against the iOS.
This should help both the company, which was just pushed to the third place on the smartphone market, as well as the operating system, which is expected to become the second mobile OS in a matter of years.