Microsoft wants to make its own Windows Phones, analyst says

Windows Phone's new home screen, as demoed by the company this week.

(Credit: Josh Miller / CNET)

The Surface tablet may not be the only piece of hardware Microsoft is cooking up.

According to Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund, the company plans to follow through with the same strategy on its own mobile handsets.

"Our industry sources tell us that Microsoft may be working with a contract manufacturer to develop their own handset for Windows Phone 8," Sherlund wrote in a note to investors, which was relayed by Reuters this afternoon. "It is unclear to us whether this would be a reference platform or whether this may be a go-to market Microsoft-branded handset."

The move would be a departure for Microsoft, which so far has left up the design and creation of Windows Phone handsets to its hardware partners, who have worked off a reference design and a list of hardware requirements. By making its own hardware, Microsoft could upset that balance by working on software features for specific hardware elements only it would know about.

However, as Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer noted in a press conference earlier this week, there are benefits to be had when designing both the hardware and the software together.

"We believe that any intersection between human a... [Read more]