Redmond is working to expand its phone lineup

Feb 24, 2015 10:28 GMT  ·  By

The Mobile World Congress 2015 kicks off next week and Microsoft will obviously attend the show, as the Redmond-based tech company is working to become more relevant in the smartphone industry and boost the market share of its own Windows Phone.

As part of its efforts to conquer the smartphone market, the company is expected to introduce at least three new phone models, each of which will be specifically created to compete with affordable Android devices.

All of these new smartphones will run Windows Phone 8.1 but will be fully upgradeable to Windows 10 when it becomes available later this year.

Three new models prepared

Some details on three new devices that could be presented next month do exist, despite the company's efforts to keep everything secret. Basically, it all comes down to the following models:

RM-1062 (RM-1063 for AT&T, with RM-1064, RM-1065, RM-1066, RM-1067 variations) - 5.7-inch screen and a resolution of 720x1280 pixels RM-1072 (RM-1073 for AT&T, with RM-1074, RM-1075, RM-1076, RM-1077 variations) - 5-inch screen and a resolution of 720x1280 pixels RM-1099 - 4-inch screen and a resolution of 480x800 pixels

Judging by the screen sizes, Microsoft is working to add a new phone to the phablet lineup, as well as a new affordable 4-inch device that would take on Android devices in emerging markets.

But when looking at the resolution of each device, it's pretty clear that Microsoft continues to put more focus on its budget lineup, rather than on expensive phones that could compete against Samsung's Galaxy lineup or Apple's own iOS.

In fact, flagships are not on the table for an MWC 2015 unveiling, and according to information we received a few months ago, no high-end devices running Windows Phone would see daylight before the fall of 2015.

Basically, the new flagships would come with Windows 10 for phones, so Microsoft might have to wait until the new operating system reaches the final stages of development and only then roll out devices running it.