Will the next Sony Xperia run Windows Phone 7?

Is Sony "cheating" on Google by having some of its phones running Microsoft's Windows Phone 7?

 

Enthusiast site NokiaWP.net, which posted photos of the supposed Windows-powered phone, noted SonyEricsson had previously said it would not use Windows Phone but would instead stick with Google's Android platform.

 

"Earlier in 2011, SonyEricsson said that they will not use WP as a platform when they chose Android over WP as their only platform. But who knows things might have changed after Sony took over SonyEricsson?" it said.

 

A separate article on tech site CNET noted the phone in the photo still has the Sony Ericsson brand, indicating the prototype "started out as an old endeavor back before Sony bought out Ericsson's stake of the company in October 2011."

 

CNET cited a Wall Street Journal interview with Sony president Bert Nordberg, where he said he was "curious about Windows Phone," but added he wouldn't feel "comfortable investing in a platform" that wasn't what he believed to be as good as Android.

 

It also noted Sony's present lineup of Xperia phones runs on Google's Android.

 

CNET said the last time Sony touched an OS from Microsoft was with the Aspen, when Sony was called Sony Ericsson, and Windows Phone was called Windows Mobile.

 

"For now, we have yet to hear back from Sony to confirm these pictures, and it looks like we won't know more until next month, when Sony will reveal its new lineup at the Mobile World Congress," CNET said.

 

"Could such a model compete with Nokia's Lumia 900 or HTC's Titan II, or should Sony tread safely with Android?" it added. — TJD, GMA News