Windows Phone 7 Tablets Unlikely As Microsoft Maintain Screen Limits

Reasonably positive first impressions from the Windows Phone 7 launch earlier this week has left some asking why Microsoft doesn't focus on putting its new smartphone OS on tablet-scale touchscreen devices, rather than attempting to leverage Windows 7.  According to ZDNet, however, we shouldn't be holding our breath for it; despite the WP7 experience being far more finger-friendly than its desktop OS counterpart, Microsoft is apparently sticking firm to its roughly 4-inch limitation on screen sizes.

That's the official party line, anyway, and with Microsoft seemingly more interested in keeping its platforms tightly segmented – witness the screen size limitations on using Windows on smaller netbooks, for instance – it might be some time before that changes, if at all.  Instead, the company is pushing Windows 7 Embedded for larger slates.

Nonetheless, at least some of the elements are in place for a change of direction.  Microsoft has licensed ARM technology and says it plans to use the access "to enhance our research and development activities for ARM-based products," and there are ongoing rumors of Project Menlo.  Frankly, we don't care how Microsoft does it, we just want a Windows Phone 7 tablet.