As well as once again buddying up with Google to launch the Galaxy SIII with latest Android OS version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in just a few weeks time, Samsung has also today announced its next involvement with Microsoft’s Windows Phone evolution, in particular WP8 – otherwise known as Apollo.
Samsung partnered with Microsoft for one of the earliest Windows Phones to run version 7, the Omnia 7 – also known as Focus in the U.S – which launched in November 2011. The handset became updatable to WP7.5 (Mango) late last year and besides working on the upgrade there have been no further Windows Phone models to come from Samsung in the U.K (the Focus 2 became available Stateside-only in November 2011).
To be launched around October, Windows Phone Apollo will follow from last year’s operating system upgrade Mango and the upcoming smaller release Tango and will support many key features included in the desktop and tablet version of Window 8 including multimedia and networking. NFC payments and Xbox companion will be added to the key features as well as the continued integration of Microsoft’s Skype video and voice chat and SkyDrive data storage services.
Should Samsung seek to capitalize on the launch of version Windows Phone 8 Apollo, we’d imagine something is already in the works as we speak, so just as the Galaxy SIII rumours become silenced, speculation for the WP8 model should be firing up very soon!
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