It has been hinted that Vole might build its own phone to help kick-start sales of devices running its Windows Phone operating system. But Terry Myerson, a vice president at Microsoft working on the Windows Phone team, told All Things D that there was no point. Microsoft feels its device partners Nokia and HTC are doing a cracking job building Windows smartphones and it does not really have to get involved. Myerson said Microsoft's main hardware partner for smartphones is Nokia which remains a strong teammate. He said that Nokia was a great company and Microsoft was proud of the work it had done.

The former rubber boot maker had developed devices with more price points and high-quality, entry-level hardware. And they are a great partner for Microsoft. Vole would only step in and make phones if there was something that Nokia or HTC or any of our primary partners wasn't providing the consumer. At the moment there is nothing.

While Android and Apple iOS still dominate, Windows Phone sales are not as dismal as some people may think, Myerson added. It was doing particularly well in markets where carriers are not subsidising devices. Apple and Samsung focus on phones that cost $650 and that sell at volume for about $200. Microsoft sees the opportunity and momentum is to offer a phone for less than $600 and sell at higher volumes. This means that it is getting good traction in markets like Mexico and Italy, where operators aren't subsidising the devices, Myerson said.