Going as far back as its days as Sony Ericsson, Sony Mobile has preferred to focus on Android for its smartphones. At the same time, it never completely closed the door on Microsoft’s operating system. Rumours that Sony Ericsson would launch Windows Phone devices (including a keyboard slider) surfaced regularly but never came to fruition. It appears that Sony Mobile’s position remains unchanged. Sony Mobile UK & Ireland Managing Director Pierre Perron recently told MobileMagazine:
Sony’s strategy is one of openness. Microsoft is a Sony partner with the likes of our VAIO laptops and it’s integrated onto our tablets. As far as Xperia smartphones go, Android remains the preferred partner, although Sony is not a single partner company. We are currently investigating with the likes of Microsoft the possibility of diversifying our product strategy.
It’s not clear just how open the door is to Windows Phone 8 though. Sony Mobile just refreshed its smartphone lineup with new Android-powered Xperia devices at IFA 2012 so a Windows Phone device probably would not appear before 2013 at the earliest.
Read more: Mobile Magazine (Source: Xperia Blog)