Verizon Won't Be Windows Phone 7 Official Carrier This Year

Verizon has said it will not be Microsoft's Windows Phone 7's official carrier which is due to be launched this year.

In a statement issued to Bloomberg, Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney confirmed that Verizon Wireless will not offer a Windows 7 phone this year but will probably support the OS in 2011.

Verizon's attempt to distance itself from Microsoft could be a strategy to delay the launch of the new OS over its network in order to test the new OS. In June 2010, Microsoft plugged-off its social- network-based smartphone Kin with Verizon's pricing of the product being cited as one of the reasons that resulted in the phone's demise.

Another reason for Verizon's reluctance is that Microsoft has delayed its CDMA version of Windows phone 7 according to CNET.

It reported that Microsoft has decided to offer a GSM phone first, in order to cash in on the wider coverage that GSM network offers globally. Microsoft's attempt is to target the global market unlike Apple which is US focused.

The fallout of the decision is that Windows Phone 7 will not be available with T-Mobile as well. However, the decision adds weight to AT&T's claim that it will be the official carrier of Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft is slated to launch Windows Phone 7 on October 11 in New York.

The delay in launching a CDMA phone will leave a huge gap for Microsoft as it will be counting on taking advantage of the volumes it can generate through multiple carriers. Also, if WP7 fails to perform well in the market, Verizon and T-Mobile can further delay the launch of the phone.