MeeGo Hardware "Repurposed" For Windows Phone; No WP7 Update For N8 Or E7

Nokia will use hardware, industrial design work and chipsets intended for MeeGo devices for Windows Phone handsets instead, it has been confirmed, as the company "repurposes" its investment into bolstering what's expected to be a "large number of Windows Phone devices" by 2012. According to CEO Stephen Elop, the same is true for Symbian devices, suggesting that "you may see some similar devices that launch with Symbian and Windows Phone," though existing devices are unlikely to see an update to Windows Phone 7.

MeeGo was expected to be Nokia's next push into smartphones, and while the company will launch a single device in 2011, the rest of the projects the company's engineers have been working on will be shifted over to Windows Phone.

Asked whether recent Symbian devices, such as the E7 we reviewed yesterday, would see an update to Microsoft's platform, Elop said it was more complex that in might appear. "We have to make a series of decisions that relate to modems, chipsets, etc. as relates to Windows Phone" he suggested, "there are very specific aspects of devices, like the camera and keyboard slide of the E7, which you will see on future Windows Phones. However it won't be a case of plugging your phone into your PC and downloading Windows Phone."