No plans to enter the hardware market following Kin experience
Microsoft has told analysts that it has no plans to re-enter the mobile phone hardware arena following the failed Kin experiment.
There had been mounting speculation that the company would implement a reference design for Windows Phone 7 devices similar to Google's Nexus One for Android.
However, Microsoft mobile CFO Tivanka Ellawala responding to a direct question from analysts on Thursday scotched the rumours: "We are in the software business and that is where our business will be focused,” he said.
Ellawala underlined the company's Windows Phone 7 strategy of setting tight hardware specifications for handsets permitted to run the new operating system.
"So there is more predictability in what it takes to make the hardware work with the software,” Ellawala said.
The tight specifications have raised concerns that the platform is less attractive to handset manufacturers who will be much more constrained on unique features for their handsets, versus the Android eco system which allows heavy customisation.
This story originally appeared on PCR.
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