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Verizon Wireless is reportedly getting ready to give Microsoft another chance.
The carrier is plans to offer a new Windows Phone 8-powered Nokia smartphone this year, its first Windows device since May 2011, a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. Nokia and Microsoft have scheduled a press event for September 5 in New York, and although Verizon won’t be participating in the event, the top U.S. carrier intends to roll out a Nokia Windows 8 phone later this year, the source said.
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Nokia declined to comment on the report. CNET also contacted Verizon and Microsoft for comment and will update this report when we learn more.
Verizon has not had the best track record with Redmond. The carrier’s last Windows Phone device — the HTC Trophy — was released more than a year ago to disappointing sales. Similarly, Verizon’s 2010 launch of the pre-Windows Phone device, the Kin, was a flop, and the offering was soon canceled.
But the move could help reduce Verizon’s reliance on Apple’s iPhone and devices running Google’s Android operating system, which control the lion’s share of the smartphone market. The partnership would be a boon to Nokia, which has steadily lost market share since Apple’s iPhone was introduced in 2007. The Finnish handset maker’s share of the smartphone market has declined from 23.8 percent in the first quarter of 2011 to 8.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012, according to IDC research.
