“Samsung makes release WP 8.1 device dependent on royalty conflict with Microsoft”

Samsung would have plans to come with a device on Windows Phone 8.1 this year, but before the release, the company would first like to resolve the conflict over the payment of royalties to Microsoft. The smartphone in question would be released in the third quarter at the earliest.

Sources within Samsung have told the usually reliable The Korea Times. The manufacturer is said to have plans to release a smartphone with Windows Phone 8.1, and is now also testing the mobile operating system. Further specifications of the smartphone have not yet come out, but it would be a relatively cheap model.

Remarkably, Samsung is making its release dependent on an ongoing conflict with Microsoft, according to the sources. Both companies are involved in a lawsuit regarding the payment of royalties: Samsung pays for the use of patents, but according to Microsoft, payment was late. The case is still pending, but if the conflict is resolved, Samsung’s Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone could be released in the third quarter at the earliest, according to The Korea Times.

There were previously rumors that Samsung would cancel the release of an ultrabook with both Windows 8 and Android due to the patent issue with Microsoft. In 2013, the Korean manufacturer paid about 800 million euros for the use of Microsoft’s patents. Samsung releases few smartphones with Windows Phone: last year the Ativ SE with Windows Phone 8 was the only device released.

For this year, Samsung would like to focus on promoting its own Tizen platform. That should be especially for televisions; less attention is paid to smartphones. Incidentally, it already turned out that Samsung is committed to Tizen, since it announced that it would use this operating system on all its smart televisions in 2015.