"Samsung will support Windows phone til end 2012," read the Tweet in question. 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."
Whether or not it's true (it certainly had enough online buzz heading into Monday morning), that Tweet collided head-on with an announcement that Samsung will release a pair of Windows Phone "Mango" devices this fall.
Microsoft's Mango update is designed to add some 500 tweaks and features to the Windows Phone platform, in a bid to reestablish some competitive momentum against the likes of Android and Apple's iPhone.
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 will carry both.
Windows Phone isn't Samsung's only smartphone concern, of course. The company is busy developing a mobile ecosystem based on Android, including tablets (such as the Galaxy Tab 10.1) and smartphones (the Galaxy S II). That could make the company less inclined to support Windows Phone, despite these new Mango devices, as they would compete directly against that ecosystem.
Nonetheless, there are indications (besides these two new Mango devices) that the relationship between Microsoft and Samsung remains sanguine. Rumors circulating last week suggested that Samsung is building a set of quad-core tablets, loaded with an early build of Windows 8, for Microsoft to distribute at the upcoming BUILD conference in Anaheim, Calif. The manufacturer's laptops run Windows 7. And Samsung was a partner on the original Windows Phone run.
So for me, this rumor of Samsung planning to end Windows Phone support feels a bit premature, especially when you consider that would sour what seems to be a decent relationship with Redmond. At the same time, it'll also be interesting to see whether Samsung puts its own marketing muscle behind these Windows Phone Mango devices, since they compete directly with the Galaxy franchise.
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