Tutti fruity
Nokia is rumoured to be waiting for the Microsoft to update its Windows Phone 7 (WP7) platform, which means there is little chance of Nokia launching new WP7 handsets before the end of October at the earliest.
According to The Guardian, Nokia is holding out for a major release to the platform, codenamed Mango, which is set to launch in October.
Nokia has of course dramatically announced it is ditching its current OS, Symbian, for Microsoft's rival offering to a certain amount of criticism, but its CEO, Stephen Elop, has apparently been careful to refer to the adoption as Windows Phone- rather than WP7.
That observation as well as his refusal to outline any sort of timeline for the switchover has caused many commentators to speculate that the introduction of Windows Phone will not happen until the release of Mango...so Symbian will live on for a little while longer at least. Neither house has apparently commented on the rumours.
It has previously been reported that Mango that is tipped to include HTML5 support, might be renamed Windows Phone 7.5 with Windows Phone 8 planned for release in early 2012, but Elop might not have been allowed to be specific and give away Microsoft's future plans.
It seems obvious to many commentators watching the platform space carefully that Elop knows what's afoot at Microsoft, demonstrated by him not mentioning Microosft's Zune platform regarding the partnership.
Microsoft has reportedly not mentioned Zune either and it has not featured in press materials, adding to rumours that the service is to be rebranded.
A Microsoft spokesperson told ZDNet: "We're not 'killing' any of the Zune services/features in any way. Microsoft remains committed to providing a great music and video experience from Zune on platforms such as Xbox Live, Windows-based PCs, Zune devices and Windows Phone 7, as well as integration with Bing and MSN."
Analysts have reportedly marked down Nokia's stock due to foreseen re-structuring costs and that it will have difficultly shifting existing Symbian handsets.
