LG has no plans for Windows Phone 8 handsets - CNET

LG's Quantum, one of the first Windows Phone 7 devices.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

BARCELONA, Spain--LG has no immediate plans to sell a Windows Phone 8 handset, CNET has learned.

The Korean consumer electronics manufacturer remains open to using Microsoft's mobile operating system, but doesn't see a huge demand for the product.

"We want to give customers what they ask for," an LG representative told CNET.

LG's reluctance to embrace Windows Phone 8 underscores the difficulties that the platform faces with both consumers and vendor partners. LG was one of the early partners that signed on with Microsoft, releasing the LG Quantum in the first wave of Windows Phone devices.

But Windows Phone has been slow to catch on with consumers, a majority of whom continue to snap up iPhones and Android devices. Furthermore, Microsoft's cozy relationship with Nokia, which is considered in the industry first among equals when it comes to Microsoft partners, has some vendors reassessing their own support for the operating system.

Over the past year or so, LG has been cool to Windows Phone, focusing instead on Android. Part of it is market demand and limited resources.

"When there's a significant market for it, we will be on board," the company representative said.

The comments contradict a story from the Korea Times, which reported last month that the company was planning to release a Windows Phone 8 handset this year.

LG, meanwhile, has shown a willingness to embrace other operating systems. LG is one of several companies building phones running on Mozilla's Firefox mobile OS.