Nvidia’s Tegra chip will be used in an upcoming Microsoft smartphone, according Doug Freedman, chip analyst with research firm Broadpoint AmTech. He wrote a note to his clients:

we have been able to identify NVDA’s second handset design win for the Tegra Applications Processor (our Jan. 12th note identified HTC). We believe that Tegra is also designed into an upcoming Microsoft smartphone (with a Qualcomm baseband solution). We believe that MSFT may announce one of the new phones at 3GSM.

But Microsoft says absolutely not:  Andy Lees, the senior vice president of Microsoft’s mobile communications business,  denied the company is making a phone [WSJ] and Microsoft’s director of Windows Mobile, Scott Rockfeld also said: “Microsoft has no plans to make a phone.” [CNET]

The reason is the prospect of hardware-centric business. Mary-Jo Foley wrote: “…for the next couple of years, don’t expect Microsoft to try to get into yet another low-margin, hardware-centric business….”

I personally agree with her. Like what they are doing in PC market (just selling softwares, instead of hardwares), Microsoft will do similar way in mobile market: focusing on software, software and software.  So they can simply sell their softwares to any phone-makers.

Yeah, despite there will be Zune phones or other kinds of Zune-enabled mobile devices, but

they won’t be crafted — beyond the reference chassis — by Microsoft.

[Caption:  Shown above is an Nvidia Tegra APX-based prototype device. Image credit: CNET]