14 DAY TRIAL // When the first devices running under Windows Phone Mango arrive on shelves later this year, they would be delivered from a wider range of manufacturers than before, as Microsoft expanded the list of OEM partners with four new additions, including Nokia, Acer, Fujitsu, and ZTE.
While the agreement with Nokia was announced just before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the teaming with Acer, Fujitsu, and ZTE was unveiled only yesterday.
The fact that Microsoft is working on making its Windows Phone platform available on handsets from more and more makers does not come as a surprise, that's for sure.
The new deals should bring the mobile OS on shelves at new price points, which would prove beneficial for its performance on the market. Nokia, for example, already committed to releasing cheaper Windows Phones on the market.
What's interesting to note here, however, is that Dell, a company which launched a Windows Phone device last year, was not present on the list of OEM partners for Mango.
We already heard rumors that Dell would have in store at least two new Windows Phone devices for its users, contradicted by what Microsoft showcased yesterday.
Apparently, Dell won't have a new device ready for the first wave of Mango mobile phones, but the company did not leave the team, and handsets from it should arrive at a later date.
One other thing that was confirmed yesterday, and which should make a series of users happy, was the fact that Windows Phone Mango devices would pack Snapdragon application processors from Qualcomm.
The chip maker already confirmed this, and there is nothing more to be added here, except maybe for the fact that we're looking forward to learning what other chip makers would jump into the Windows Phone boat (reportedly, Nokia would have ST-Ericsson silicon is next year's handsets).
“Qualcomm has a long history of working closely with Microsoft and we continue to support the launches of new Windows Phones based on our Snapdragon processors,” Steve Mollenkopf, executive vice president, Qualcomm, reportedly stated.
“We are excited about this next Windows Phone Mango release that will leverage the synergy of our highly integrated second generation Snapdragon solution and Microsoft’s Windows Phone software.”