Samsung will offer two Windows Phone "Mango" devices this fall. At the same time, rumors abound that Samsung plans on ending support for Windows Phone.
Samsung is
planning to release a pair of Windows Phone "Mango" devices this fall, despite
rumors that it will end support for the Windows Phone platform by the end of
2012.
Those high-end
devices include the 4G-capable Samsung Focus S, which will feature a 4.3-inch Super
AMOLED (active-matrix organic LED) Plus display and 1.4GHz processor in
addition to an ultra-thin 8.55-millimeter body, and the Samsung Focus Flash,
with a slightly smaller 3.7-inch screen and 1.4GHz processor. Both the Focus S
and Focus Flash will offer front- and rear-facing cameras.
AT&T has announced it will carry both.
Microsoft
intends its upcoming Mango update, which offers more than 500 tweaks and
additions to the Windows Phone platform, to help counteract the company's
eroding market share in the mobile arena. As part of the Mango push, Microsoft
has enlisted a variety of manufacturers to build smartphones loaded with
Windows Phone Mango, including Acer, Fujitsu, ZTE and Nokia.
Yet according
to a Tweet from Samfirmware, which offers Samsung device reviews and ROM
software, Samsung will end support for Windows Phone by the end of 2012,
"Samsung will
support Windows phone til end 2012," read the Sept. 10
Tweet.
A day later, a follow-up message read: "It's true about Samsung and Windows
Phone. Windows Phone market is smaller than Samsung's own OS Bada."
That
information remains unconfirmed by Samsung, and Microsoft has a longstanding
corporate habit of not commenting on rumor or speculation. Nonetheless, if
proven true, it would represent a significant setback for Windows Phone, which
needs close manufacturing partner support to survive in the face of stiff
competition from the likes of Android and the iPhone.
Samsung is
busy developing its own mobile ecosystem based on Android. In addition to the
Samsung Galaxy Tab tablets, the manufacturer is pushing its new Samsung Galaxy
S II smartphones as a high-end iPhone killer. That could make the company less
inclined to support a platform like Windows Phone, despite the introduction of
these Mango devices, as it would compete directly against those other products.
There's one
additional curveball: Current rumors suggest Samsung is building a quad-core
tablet loaded with an early build of Windows 8, which will be given to
attendees of this week's BUILD conference in Anaheim, Calif. If that proves
true, it could indicate a collaborative effort between Microsoft and Samsung
over Windows 8, which will appear on tablets in addition to PCs. It seems
unlikely that such an effort would proceed without Microsoft at least trying to
squeeze some longer-term concessions from Samsung over the Windows Phone
platform, whose survival is integral to Redmond's smartphone strategy.
On one hand,
we have rumors of Samsung planning to terminate its Windows Phone franchise. On
the other, we have evidence that Samsung will offer two new high-end Windows
Phone devices-which makes those rumors of a preplanned demise seem a bit
rushed.
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