Microsoft: No Windows Phone 7 for tablets on horizon

From InfoWorld: Microsoft does not have immediate plans to port the Windows Phone 7 mobile OS to tablets, a company official said on Monday.

Windows Phone 7 is designed for small-screen devices such as smartphones and is not designed to work with larger screen devices, said Greg Sullivan, senior product manager at Microsoft, at the Windows Phone 7 launch event in New York.

The company will instead continue to adapt its PC operating system, Windows 7, to tablets as it offers a rich application experience and touch-based capabilities, Sullivan said. Tablets require a more PC-like experience, and it makes sense to design a low-power version of Windows 7 to work on tablets, he said.

The strategy puts Microsoft at odds with some of its biggest competitors in the mobile phone market, which are already making inroads in the new tablet segment. Apple's iPad carries the same iOS architecture core that powers the iPhone. A number of device makers, including Samsung, have announced tablets based on Android, which was designed for mobile phones. Research In Motion recently said it plans to introduce a tablet built on a new operating system that is expected to run its BlackBerry phones in the future.

Tablets are designed to combine e-reading, gaming, Web surfing and video capabilities on a single handheld device. Users of tablets like the iPad say that the mobile operating systems offer advantages over traditional computer OSes, like instant on and access to an existing application store.

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