Smartphones running Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows Phone 8 are currently being tested in Australia by three device manufacturers, according to reports.
According to WPDownUnder, Nokia, HTC and Samsung are all testing smartphones running a preview version of Windows Phone 8 in Australia.
Australia is an interesting country to test devices for a number of reasons, including its high uptake of smartphones (57% of Australian consumers having made the upgrade), as well as the relatively widespread rollout of HSPA+ and 4G/LTE networks across a large and geographically diverse continent.
However, according to recent Australian smartphone marketshare figures, Windows Phone 8 will have an uphill battle in the Australian market, with Windows Phone 7 (1.6%) and Windows Mobile (1.7%) struggling to gain traction against Android (52%) or Apple ( 35.3%).
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
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