Rumor: Sony to make Windows Phone 8 devices later this year

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

Take this with a heaping cup of salt, but Tweakers.net is reporting from multiple sources that Sony is planning on joining the Windows Phone camp late in 2012.

Of course there are hurdles in the way such as Sony and that whole Playstation thing, but Sony is like any other massive corporation and its departments operate independently of each other, so we wouldn't actually cite that as a reason not to. Heck, we know that back in 2010 Sony-Ericcson seemed just fine with the whole notion even going so far as to make a few prototypes for early development. Obviously if SE had no problem with the Xbox system we don't see why Sony (sans Ericsson) would either.

Still, there's no hard evidence here for this just past experience so we'll just have to keep an ear out. Should Sony though decide to make some Windows Phones, especially with waiting for WP8 that could be a very good thing for customers.

Source: Tweakers.net;Sony render by Brian (Follow Brian here on Twitter and see his work with the LG Fantasy and Nokia 900.) Thanks, Jentse H., for the heads up!

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

50 Comments
  • Still says Sony Ericsson on the phone. Won't be the case if Sony do actually make a Windows Phone (and with their new designs and screens I hope they do!)
  • When Sony see the success of Nokia, Sony sure will re-think their strategies and work with the emerging platform.
  • don't forget that Sony has its own SEN(formly known as PSN), I wonder what would they deal with Xbox LIVE if the rumor was true.
  • Yeah this is the big question mark for me too. I'd love to see a Sony windows phone as they are good quality devices hampered by over-customisation of Android (my opinion of course) yet I can't see them playing happy with Xbox Live...
  • One point is though if they had a problem with Xbox Live then they wouldn't be working on Windows 8 products then either, because of the Xbox Live services there too. Just my opinion.
  • Very good point sir
  • I wouldn't be surprised at all. Many OEMS are going to be selling bundles of PC/tablet/phone all running Win8 and with some sort of value-add. Please let one of them be a slider! Keep keyboards alive!!!
  • im lovingm y dellvenue pro.  i really dont feel like switching until i see a phone similar to it.  im hoping blackberry bows out and join in.  they seem to keep them alive.
  • I believe if the screen is not bigger than 4 inches it needs to have a physical keyboard. I have the Arrive and boy would it suck if it did not have a physical keyboard but if they had a tablet and windows phone bundle I would totes be down for it.
  • I can see PS/Sony fanboys head's exploding at the thought of this, lol
  • LOL, best photo moment ever when they read it, or better, see it IRL if its thru. Bam, one fan photo I love to see. ( There is no more fun then others humiliation) :-D
  • I just mean those fanboys who are tools for being fanboys and who truly care about this. I'm sure your average PS3/Vita/Sony fans will not care one lick. Just as its no shirt off my back that Live games have been or will be ported to other platforms
  • It's inevitable. Sony will no doubt release Windows 8 PC's and so they will almost have no choice to release a Windows Phone 8 handsets. Just as HTC and Samsung stated their next Windows phones won't come out until Apollo, it might seem that Windows Phone 8 might be to huge to pass up.
  • Ur right wer gonna see everyoun making windows 8 things and we will take over the market again
  • If chinese can change the Xbox hub for their own service, Sony should be allowed to get a custom PS hub.
  • Not the same at all, Sony is not a country Xbox live is not allowed in China at all so they have to include the native Chinese service.
  • That's in china homeboy.. And Nokia partially own windowspone is they can pretty much do what they want
  • Why? PS sucks!
  • Not going to happen. If SE were reluctant to go with WP because of the Xbox requirement, its doubtful Sony on their own would allow it, especially when they have psn on android.
  • Built in Xbox won't stop Sony from making Windows 8 PC's. I don't think Xbox has anything to do with it. Microsoft stated Xbox live games will be coming to iOS and Android as well. So is Sony going to bail out of Android when that happens?
  • I dont think Sony's PSN line of android devices are even selling that well.  Maybe I'm wrong but on Android, the market is being eaten up by the likes of Samsung and HTC with the rest fighting for scraps.   This is why the Sony and Ericsson partnership is going away, sales are tanking and putting PSN on the Xperia line isn't going to save the day.
  • IMO this will come to light, as I predict the PS4 will be the last Playstation we'll see.
  • This makes sense to me - Play Station not withstanding.  Sony are a tiny fish, lost in the Android pond. They have some interesting designs and, once upon a time, had awesome construction.  Dipping thier tow into the currnetly tiny Windows Phone pond would immediately grant bigger fish-dom.
  • We need Sony
  • Why do we "need" Sony?
  • well, obvisously the their design "was" the best.See if you can point out a phone today which has better design than Sony Ericsson K850I? Compared with sony, apple's design is a joke.
  • I hope that there will be playstation certified windows phone, especially that xbox live service is not yet available in my country.  They may release xbox live games as ps certified games and they may create an app that would work as a replacement for the games hub.  I think that would be awesome and would cement the PS3 in my living room.
    I personally believe that the new Xperia phones would look fantastic with WP7, may even be better than their skin on Android.
  • That thing is ugly
  • I guess Sony mobile customers are allowed 2 gaming app, Xbox and psn, remember a lot of people own bought consoles
  • So when are you guys going to report on the rumors of Microsoft working on an S4 Dual-core LTE phone for Sprint along with Nokia?
     
    I would think that would be pretty high up the list.
  • I'm a sprint customer for 9 yrs and I know SPRINT DOES NOT GIVE A F#&% about WP,I got the Arrive the week it came out and customer reps and tech still know nothing about the phone. Sprint paid apple so much just to sell their phone that Sprint is stuck pushing products on us consumers whether we want it or not. I'll never own another apple product so since sprint doesn't care im leaving soon. Sprint act's like their upcomming phones need to be top secret classified info??? What's the point when the competition,ATT, is announcing months ahead of time their future wp7 plans.
    FIRE DAN HESSE
  • Sprint has a $15.5B commitment to Apple to sell iPhones... They should only carry crappy phones, so they can sell more iPhones... I don't see they offer any high end phone. They should sell more iPhones.
  • Their 3G network is so terrible I doubt they'll be able to even launch LTE
  • That doesn't even fucking make sense what you just said. They already have at least half a dozen metropolitan areas waiting to have LTE turned on. The build out is already actively happening.
  • I don't think playstation on phones will hang around much longer with the Vita being as powerful as it is. To me games on the phone arena time killer, but the Vita is something I male time to play, and kill time as well. Maybe windows 8 can dual boot on the vita =D
  • We have this rumor, every month. is getting old.
  • I know right? I'm okay with it tho the more OEMS the better for WP
  • If they do make a windows phone I would hope that they would use one of their lcd's with the Bravia engine like they did in the Xperia Arc (I think).
  • If Sony really wanted they couldn't convince Microsoft to let them put psn in the OS maybe instead of removing Xbox live just add PSN hub
  • You know what, I think you've got good point.  I've always thought there was no way on earth Sony would ever produce a WP, I just couldn't see a Sony WP with Xbox Live on on it, but all WP OEMs have all got their own specific hubs in the Marketplace, like you've said, Sony can add their own PSN hub in the Marketplace.  There could be some legs to the story yet!
  • I love the rumers, but has any Sony/WP rumer come to fruition?
  • Yeah, some of y'all are going about this the wrong way. SONY is a business. SE is a part of the entire entity of Sony but they are a different piece of that entity (not the part that makes PS3). Being a part of Sony wouldn't stop them from making products that will get them paid. Heck, Sony is infamous for letting their separate parts do their own thing. Only recently are they starting to pull their parts back into itself (to get goal oriented I would assume). Anyhow, SE would still be able to make WPs just as the next Xbox has the option to use (Sony's) Blu-Ray technology (if the decided to). Same name, separate parts. This rumor has nothing to do with
    PlayStation and there will be nothing PS related on the device if there ever is a phone from them, that's from the PS part of Sony, especially not PlayStation's IPs (games). If anything, MS would need to appeal to the publishers of games (EA, THQ, Ubisoft) to get games on WP. Yeah. I hope I explained it well, have a good day ;)
  • I work for Sony. I would love to see this. I get so excited about Windows Phones. Not so much Android.
  • Perhaps Microsoft is preparing a licensing trade: Xbox bluray for SE Windows Phone?
  • I'll see it if it happens.... I'll call BS as of right now. Sony has the Playstation system and PS.net...No way will they accept Xbox live...
  • What about all the docks, speakers, etc. from Sony made for iPods, iPhones, etc?
  • That would be awesome.  I like the looks of their new Android phones, and I would LOVE a PSN hub similar to the Xbox hub.  For that matter, I wish there was a Steam hub.
  • Don't hold your breath - not gonna happen anytime soon. PSN might get cannibalized by XBOX so I'm sure Sony will avoid putting out a WP.
  • OMG! Why just now??? After I hated my Sony Xperia SOLA because of the fcuking Android in it, only NOW you decided to make WP8? Hardware wise, I think next to Nokia, Sony makes good device as well. But I hated it for being laggy and it hangs often and the battery dies fast because of its OS. I gave out that phone and got Nokia Lumia 920. I wonder how the Sony WP8 will look like.
  • OMG! Why just now??? After I hated my Sony Xperia SOLA because of the fcuking Android in it, only NOW you decided to make WP8? Hardware wise, I think next to Nokia, Sony makes good device as well. But I hated it for being laggy and it hangs often and the battery dies fast because of its OS. I gave out that phone and got Nokia Lumia 920. I wonder how the Sony WP8 will look like.