On the back of news that he is calling it quits in the Windows Phone modding game, the ROM “cook” known as @Conflipper has just posted HTC’s upcoming Windows Phone 7 smartphone codename list on Twitter. The list of unconfirmed WP7 phones gives us a glimpse into what the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturing powerhouse has planned for the future of Microsoft’s mobile operating system. With names like Salsa, Tango and Swing, it seems HTC is sticking to the classical dance theme for Windows Phone 7 hardware codenames.
After years of modifying Windows Mobile ROMs and providing a web resource for like-minded HTC enthusiasts looking to customize their handsets, Conflipper has announced that his website Shipped-ROMS will cease all further activity. The site will remain operational in its current state, it will no longer be updated. This was at HTC’s request. So, as his final, parting act of goodwill to the mobile tech community, he’s posted a collection of HTC smartphone codenames – presumably discovered within unreleased ROM files – that could very well be the future of Windows Phone 7.
The list of HTC devices include the Salsa, Motion, Maestro, Swing, Blitz, Sage, Tango, and Vienna. Given that one of HTC’s confirmed WP7 handsets will be codenamed “Mozart,” it’s possible that the similarly dance-themed Salsa, Swing, and Tango will also turn out to be powered by the next-generation of Microsoft’s mobile OS. In fact, all the codenames seem to have a loose association with dancing.
The Maestro is apparently a globe-trotting handset with support for both CDMA and GSM networks. The Swing, Salsa and Vienna are GSM jobbies, while the Swing#C, Salsa#C, and Vienna#C will be strictly CDMA phones. We’re told that the codenames are current and that they represent phones that were at least planned for development at some point in time along HTC’s Windows Phone roadmap. The model names could change before hitting market, with some devices possibly never even making it to production.
The take away here is that HTC is planning a wide spectrum of WP7 smartphones for the near future. We’ll likely see the handset maker offering a WP7 phone in every possible form-factor in the near future – current rumors have the platform going live as soon as the end of Summer 2010.
So, fellow Windows Phone 7 fan, does HTC lineup of mobile phones destined for the “Metro UI” pique your interest? It sure got our attention!
[Via: Twitter]