Following last week’s reveal that Microsoft would be getting into the Windows 8 hardware game with the release of its own Surface tablets, rumors started flying about that the company might approach a similar strategy for Windows Phone 8, and end up releasing a smartphone itself. We’ve heard from industry sources that indicated such a venture might be a possibility, and we’ve seen some concept art from fans depicting their ideas of how such hardware might look. According to Microsoft, though, all this talk is for naught, and the company has no plans to repeat its announcement of Surface with Windows Phone 8 hardware.

In a recent interview, Microsoft Senior Marketing Manager Greg Sullivan rejected the rumors, stating that the company has no plans to develop its own WP8 handset. This outright denial, rather than the company taking a softer stance that might leave the possibility for such hardware open, may be a move designed to show continued support for the company’s WP8 hardware partners.

This news is far from shocking, as while Surface at least made MS-branded WP8 hardware seem like a distant possibility, there still hadn’t been one iota of hard evidence suggesting the company was working on such a project. With a new lineup of manufacturers announced to provide WP8 launch devices, it’s clear that Microsoft has been keeping a watchful eye over the development of WP8 hardware, even if that doesn’t extend to releasing any itself. Maybe someday its priorities will shift and we’ll see a Microsoft Windows Phone model, but don’t look for it anytime soon.

Source: Information Week
Via: The Verge