Verizon CEO: Microsoft Is Not A Major Player In Mobile

Verizon has already confirmed it won't be bothering with Windows Phone 7 until sometime in 2011; now the carrier's CEO has dismissed the new Microsoft smartphone platform from contention as a key player.  Asked by CNET whether Verizon saw Microsoft as a major player in mobile, Lowell McAdam said no, and admitted that "Microsoft is not at the forefront of our mind."

"I can't really say which phones we'll offer yet. We like our relationship with Microsoft. But clearly in the U.S. there are three major mobile operating systems: RIM, Google, and Apple." Lowell McAdam, CEO, Verizon Communications

CNET followed up by asking whether this apparent antipathy had something to do with the recent KIN debacle, a point which McAdam would not quite be drawn on.  Instead, he blamed the general pace of the mobile industry overall.

"Our device suppliers have to demonstrate to us that they will be developing leading edge products. And if they are not leading edge, then we can't afford to carry them in our stores. But if they are innovative, we'll offer them."

[via phoneSeven]