The first glimpses of the much-awaited mobile devices based on Windows 8 operating system have started doing the rounds on technology forums and blogs.
South Korean electronics giant Samsung last week previewed its first smartphone that is based on Windows 8, at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin.
Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia, which entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft last year, is expected to announce its line-up of Windows 8 mobile devices at an event in New York later this week.
The previews of the next generation Windows mobile phone bear significance not just ahead of the international launch of Windows 8 on October 26, but also against the backdrop of the high-profile patent wars being played out in international courts by key players in the mobile technology space — Apple, Samsung and other manufacturers using Google’s Android operating system.
U.S. jury verdict
Samsung had decried the U.S. jury verdict asking it to pay over $ 1 billion as fine to Apple for patent infringements. It said the verdict might lead to a loss of choices to the American consumer.
With Windows 8 devices, the list of smartphone options and enabling technologies is only bound to increase.
The next generation mobile phones will sport game-changing technologies such as near-field communications that will reinvent the way file-sharing and mobile money transactions are done.
Samsung’s new ATIV S phone, its first device to run Windows 8, sports a HD Super AMOLED screen, a dual-core 1.5 Ghz processor and has integrated NFC chip, among other.
Nokia’s launch
Nokia too will be counting heavily on Windows 8 to rescue it from its recent predicaments. There is a lot of hype surrounding the event slated for September 5 on what it could mean not just to Nokia but to the Microsoft Windows ecosystem in the mobile space that Apple has been dominating over the past three years with its iPad and iPhone.
Analysts feel that the recent reverses that Samsung faced in the U.S. courts might eventually lead to a scenario where more innovations would find its way into the smartphone industry.
It could also lead to a substantial increase in smartphone prices if the companies decide to coexist and pay each other royalties.
