LG isn't looking to produce another Windows Phone in the near future, a spokesman said Monday. While there would still be development, the representative wanted to minimize expectations of anything imminent when asked by the Korea Herald. The Microsoft platform's low market share was put at fault as likely making it difficult to justify going beyond Android.
"The total unit [number] of Windows Phone sold in the global market is not a meaningful figure," the spokesman said.
Shedding plans in the near future would cast doubts on the LG Miracle. The entry phone had been seen in both GSM and CDMA versions and could have been coming to Sprint and Telus. With Windows Phone 8 unlikely to run on Windows Phone 7-level hardware like the Miracle, the device may end up being scrapped. LG's only Windows Phone device in 2011 was a Jil Sanders-branded, limited edition device that itself was a variant on LG's Optimus 7.
LG's attitude towards Windows Mobile and Windows Phone has in many ways represented Microsoft's difficulties holding on to meaningful market share. The company struck a Windows Mobile deal in November 2008 on the assumption that Microsoft would give it "critical momentum" in smartphones, translating Windows' dominance on desktops into mobile. The aging platform, and the lack of a modernized OS until Windows Phone two years later, ultimately held LG back and gave an advantage to Samsung, which was much quicker to embrace Android. Mobile sales became a drag on LG until it more fully shifted to high-end Android in fall 2011 and early 2012, returning to profit.
The Korean newspaper understood that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer might be meeting LG's chief Koo Bon-joon during a one-day trip to South Korea on May 22, although what a discussion would involve wasn't apparent. LG has already signed a patent deal to avoid a lawsuit over using Android and, based on comments, may be hesitant to expand its Windows Phone plans given poor customer turnout.
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