Windows Phone 8 doesn’t appeal to all manufacturers

Following the Tango updates, Apollo should be made available to Windows Phone 8 users by the end of 2012. There is still some work to be done to convince manufacturers to take the OS on though.

After the Tango update which should be made available imminently, with Tango 2 to follow in the middle of the year, the Apollo update which is scheduled for the end of the year should bring with it major platform evolutions to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 system.

Details of the new features and the selected orientations are starting to filter out onto the Web, revealing that the technical characteristics are starting to more closely align with other mobile operating systems. According to the site Digitimes, manufacturers still have some doubts about the system though.

While Nokia has become Microsoft’s partner of reference, looking to exploit all of Windows Phone 8’s possibilities in terms of the integration of a dual core processor, NFC and SD card memory, other manufacturers appear to be only going half in at this time… or not even at all.


The (very) long road to Windows Phone
Taiwanese sources suggest that very few handset manufacturers have the intention of allocating resources to the development of Windows Phone 8 handsets, besides possibly PC manufacturers like Acer and HP, as this would provide them with a way of getting back (or remaining active) in the mobile market in the future.

The arrival of the Mango update for Windows Phone 7 and the release of a new range of smartphones at the end of 2011 haven’t really led to Microsoft’s mobile OS taking off, with the system still having trouble when competing with Android and iOS.

Even though Nokia has confirmed that they shipped more than a million Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone in less than two months, this is still not enough to impress analysts and market watchers. While Windows Phone 8 should be widely available from early 2013, Android and iOS will have also seen their technical capabilities and functions evolve, allowing them to maintain their lead.

Digitimes sources are even asking whether any of Microsoft’s partners other than Nokia, like HTC, Samsung and LG Electronics will even look at Windows Phone 8.