Smartphones

Sony Mobile said it has no plans to build smartphones running Microsoft’s Windows Phone Operating System (OS).

Unlike major rivals, the mobile phone manufacturer is sticking with an Android-only approach, reports German newspaper Die Welt.

Sony Mobile president and CEO Kunimasa Suzuki said in an interview that the company has “no current plans” to use Windows Phone in its devices.
Sony Mobile has previously committed to the Android platform as it moves to focus exclusively on smartphones, a strategy Suzuki reiterated when he was appointed in April this year. Suzuki also told Die Welt that Sony Mobile has no plans to develop its own OS.

This is despite Sony Corporation boss Hirai Kazuro saying recently that the software used by the PlayStation console could be developed into a mobile platform. Sony uses Microsoft software in its laptops and tablets.

According to Suzuki, Sony Mobile is also in a good position to counter patent lawsuits that many of its rival phone makers are facing, due to the large portfolio of intellectual property it holds.

The Sony division is currently undergoing a significant restructure after buying Ericsson out of the Sony Ericsson JV for $1.05 billion. The company plans to scrap around 1,000 jobs, which is15 per cent of the workforce by March 2014 and move its corporate headquarters from Sweden to Tokyo.