Yesterday we heard the news that Verizon would not be releasing any Windows Phone 7 handsets until some time next year and we assumed that the KIN or the carrier's tight relationship with Google was to blame. Now we know that that isn't (entirely) the case as Microsoft has said that Windows Phone 7 will be GSM-only until 2011. Microsoft's senior product manager, Greg Sullivan, offered up this explanation:
“For the worldwide market, the vast majority of phones are GSM phones, so we focused on GSM first and then plan to deliver an update that will have great CDMA support in the first half of 2011. That’s device availability in the first half and we’re very confident of that. That’s probably a conservative estimate.”
We already know that AT&T is planning to be the one-stop shop for all of your Windows Phone 7 needs, but a recently leaked T-Mobile document shows that they'll be getting in on the WP7 goodness, too, with HTC's HD7. I'm kind of surprised that there won't be any CDMA Windows Phone 7 handsets at launch considering that Verizon and Sprint are the No. 1 and No. 3 carriers, respectively. Still, the U.S. is not the whole world, and the fact is that outside of this country, GSM is overwhelmingly popular compared to CDMA. Are any of you CDMA users disappointed that you won't be able to get your Windows Phone 7 on until the first half of next year?
Via CNET
