News · 18 Mar 2011 · MTW Editorial Team
Hoping and actually executing are two different things so when Nokia‘s CEO clear states that the company’s first Windows Phone 7 handset will be on sale in 2012 but that the aim is to get it produced by the end of the year one has to keep in mind that nothing is set in stone yet.
Nokia’s chairman has said Windows-based Nokia phones will be on sale from 2012, although Elop has said he aims to produce a Windows phone by the end of this year.
“We’re right now, today, having people work on the first Windows Phone devices from Nokia. That work is already under way. If this was an acquisition scenario, that wouldn’t be possible,” Elop said.
It remains to be seen if the retail availability of the handset will be at the very end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012. New Windows Phone 7 certified SoCs have yet to be officially announced and these are essential for Nokia (hopefully we will learn more about them next month during MIX11). Unless they plan on coming out with a vanilla QSD8250 (or MSM7230) based handset to get things out of the door as soon as possible.
As I reported earlier, Qualcomm and ST-Ericsson are apparently in full lobbying mode with MS and Nokia to have their chipsets certified. The Nokia specific software will also have to be ready (Ovi Maps integration etc) cause I personally don’t see how a current Symbian owner would switch to a WP7 powered Nokia handset if it lacks one of it’s biggest selling point.
source: reuters
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