(Reuters) - Verizon Wireless plans to put its marketing weight behind Microsoft
Corp's next mobile phone software to help develop a strong competitor to Apple
Inc and Google Inc, according to the chief financial officer of Verizon
Communications.
Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon and Vodafone Group Plc, already sells
the Apple iPhone and many devices based on Google's Android software.But Verizon's CFO Fran Shammo said the company wants a third strong software
competitor in the mobile market where operators pay hefty subsidies for
smartphones like the iPhone."We're really looking at the Windows Phone 8.0 platform because that's a
differentiator. We're working with Microsoft on it," Shammo said in an interview
following Verizon's earnings conference
call.Microsoft has not said anything publicly about the next update of its mobile
software, but Windows Phone 8 -- codenamed 'Apollo' -- is expected on phones
this holiday season.The world's largest software maker has been working most heavily with carrier
AT&T Inc on its latest Windows phones, but still only has 2 percent of the
global smartphone market, according to research firm Gartner.Shammo said that Verizon Wireless expects to have phones based on the next
Microsoft software in time for the 2012 end of year holiday shopping
season.The executive suggested that Verizon could play a similar role with Microsoft
as it did with Google's Android.Verizon Wireless marketing played a big part in boosting the popularity of
Android phones from manufacturers including Motorola Mobility, Samsung
Electronics and HTC Corp. Verizon's Droid brand even managed to give a
struggling Motorola a new lease of life.Nokia is Microsoft's closest mobile partner as the Finnish company has bet
its smartphone business on the U.S. company's software. But Nokia's fortunes
have fallen sharply since it took up with Microsoft.While Samsung and HTC both already sell phones based on Microsoft software,
Motorola Mobility's future plans are uncertain as it is in the process of being
bought by Google.
Source: Reuters
So it looks like no new Windows Phones till the holidays 
