PhoneLon

Windows Phone 7 was one of the big announcements at this years Mobile World Congress and ever since then we’ve been chomping at the bit to get hands on with Microsoft’s shiny new mobile operating system. Odd, considering we’ve yet to see any official devices that will actually run the operating system! Thankfully, the helpful bunch over at XDA-Developers have been digging through a leaked Windows Phone 7 ROM and unearthed a new device called the HTC Mondrian. Could this be HTC’s first Windows Phone 7 device?

Specs are obviously pretty thin on the ground at this stage but what we do know so far makes for some pretty exciting reading. First and foremost, the Mondrian is listed as having a QSD8650A CPU - a Snapdragon processor clocked at a quite staggering 1.3GHz. The previous benchmark for mobile phone processors is the 1GHz Snapdragon found in the likes of the HTC Desire, HD2 and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. The jump to 1.3GHz should ensure Windows Phone 7 zips along at an impressive speed.

Other leaked details suggest the Mondrian will feature a 4.3″ capacitive touchscreen with WVGA resolution, an FM Radio and HSDPA connectivity. The leaked ROM did also include an image of the Mondrian but this is most likely just a render so expect the phone to look somewhat unrecognisable from this early leak. Still, a 4.3″ touchscreen device powered by a 1.3GHz processor running Windows Phone 7? Sign me up. Keep an eye on the blog and we’ll keep you up to date on all the latest Windows Phone 7 news.

Remember a few weeks back when we reported on a possible partnership between former enemies Nokia and Qualcomm? The prospect of a Snapdragon powered Nokia smartphone had us chomping at the bit for more news but typically it all went quiet on the potential partnership.

Well, that is until now. Speaking to BusinessWeek, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo (OPK) declined to comment on whether a Snapdragon powered Nokia smartphone was in the works but did give us the following tidbit of information that alludes to such a device; “Qualcomm definitely is a potential partner going forward. The companies did fight a long time in court, and now we see them as a potential partner.”

So basically, Nokia and Qualcomm have kissed and made up and intend to pair up in the future. But what can we expect from the pair in the coming months? Well the smart money would be on a Symbian smartphone packing a snapdragon processor. MeeGo is a joint venture between Nokia and Intel so it would make sense for Intel to provide the processors for any upcoming MeeGo launches. Combine this with the fact that Symbian is long overdue an overhaul (with the eagerly anticipated Symbian 3 being touted as a genuine touchscreen OS) and it seems that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor would be the natural choice to power the new Symbian smartphones.

We’ll have to wait for either Nokia or Qualcomm to confirm what it is they’ve got cooking in their labs but it sure is exciting to speculate what they could have in store for us for later in the year. Keep an eye on the blog for more news and information as soon as we get it!