Microsoft prepares a Windows smartphone under its own brand. Designed for the premium segment, the prototype is already operational, currently being under testing, according to sources inside the company, quoted by wpcentral.com, which reinforce the rumors previously circulated in the Chinese media.

The Microsoft phone is different from other models that run the Windows operating system on the market, being a single product, said a source inside the company, who did not provide information on the smartphone’s features, prices or expected date of release.

The cited person added that the phone already exists as a prototype and is being tested.

China Times wrote on Monday, without sourcing the information, that Microsoft is working on a Windows phone.

Microsoft introduced this spring the Surface tablet, proving that it has the resources to create their own completely new hardware product. The company avoided leaking information to the press shortly before disclosing the tablet. Surface will be available after the release of Windows 8, scheduled for October 26.
Windows Phone 8 was adopted by Nokia, the main hardware partner of Microsoft, but also by Samsung and HTC, which presented their own competing models. Windows Phone 8 phones will be available somewhere in November, after the release of the operating system.

Redmond company may choose to sell their hardware products on Microsoft Store, in order to don’t bother hardware partners, which largely depend on the sales by telecom operators at subsidized prices with the signing of a subscription for a period of time, usually two years.

At the same time, preparing its own smartphone could represent a “plan B” for Microsoft to promote Windows Phone 8, if Nokia’s models will not be successful.

Another possibility circulated in specialized media would be an alleged state of discontent in Microsoft’s management board regarding Nokia’s marketing strategy, which would focus too much on Lumia brand and too little on Windows. This variant seems to be reinforced by Microsoft’s participation at the recent event held in New York and organized by HTC, which showed its Windows Phone 8 models, a competition for Nokia’s Lumia range.

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