Windows Phone 7 Appears In LG Phone, Maybe E-Reader

As Microsoft embarks on its last ditch attempt to have a meaningful position in mobile operating systems, LG will be it key handset partner, and it will also be looking to the emerging devices market, with plans for tablet and e-reader reference designs.

 

Focal Points:

 

• Microsoft is to unveil three standard chassis designs for device makers to use with the upcoming Windows Phone 7, and is expected to limit the number of OEMs with which it partners, to achieve consistency of experience and a 'quality not quantity' approach. LG, which has pledged about 50 mobile Windows products in the space of two years, has already shown off a prototype smartphone, even though the OS is unlikely to go commercial until late this year - and it will be a critical ally in pushing Windows Phone into higher end device segments.
• The Korean vendor has shown its first prototype to product blog Engadget, which reported a high end handset with slideout Qwerty keyboard, widescreen viewing and a slightly thicker shape than the Nexus One, made by HTC - the other primary Windows phonemaker. Photos look somewhat like LG's other trailblazing handset, the GW990, the first to run Intel's Atom chip and the new MeeGo operating system from Intel/Nokia.
• In its quest to have a greater share of the open OS smartphone market, LG is certainly keeping all its options open in platform terms, focusing on its strong credentials in multimedia, especially video, even if this means somewhat bulky form factors; and working closely with emerging options like Windows Phone 7 and MeeGo. The Windows device also features four buttons - for home, volume, power and camera - and a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash.
• Meanwhile, LG will help propel the new Microsoft OS into other device categories, such as e-readers. When Microsoft announced a preemptive patent licensing deal with Amazon recently - one that specifically referred to the latter's Kindle e-reader - it sparked a wave of speculation that the software giant would create reference designs in this sector soon, to expand the remit of Windows Phone 7 (and make its name even more outdated).
• LG could well be an early partner. It said last month that it was developing an e-reader, and eventually a tablet, to challenge the Kindle and Apple iPad, and insiders indicate there will be Windows and Android versions. The first product should ship in April. LG will exploit its leadership in displays, and has been conducting extensive R&D in electronic paper and other screen technologies. 

 

Microsoft itself has put extensive work into tablet and e-reader form factors in the past, though it has not launched a reader itself. While its patent deal with Amazon is likely to indicate a move by Amazon to extend the Kindle into the more general tablet market - more threatening to the Microsoft ecosystem, hence the need to protect itself against patent suits - it could also give the Redmond giant some IPR to help with its own e-reader development with a cartridge holding 100 classic public domain books. This is thought to point to the launch of a reading device, or at least a focus on marketing the upcoming dual-screen DSi XL, which will ship at the end of March for $190, as an e-reader as well as a portable games player. The DS is already used in sideways mode for certain games, and this would also support reading.