Microsoft says it won't make its own smart phone

Microsoft has shot down rumours that it's going to make its own mobile, saying it's perfectly happy with its current partners thank you very much.

When asked in an interview with Information Week whether the software giant had plans to create a Windows Phone device bearing its own logo, Greg Sullivan, the senior marketing manager for Windows Phone responded, "No, we do not.

"We have a strong ecosystem of partners that we are very satisfied with," he said.

Those partners include companies such as HTC, Samsung, Huawei and of course Nokia, which has invested heavily in Microsoft's tile-based operating system through its Lumia series of smart phones.

Last week Microsoft lifted the lid on Surface, an iPad-bothering tablet that bears the Microsoft brand name. Powered by Windows 8, Surface is the company's effort to take the fight directly to Apple, and prompted speculation that the Xbox-maker could try the same trick with smart phones.

Microsoft administered a shin-kick to its Windows Phone customers, by revealing that existing devices running the patchwork platform won't be updated to Windows Phone 8 when it launches later this year. Even recent phones such as the Nokia Lumia 900 will be left in the dust.

Following that revelation, Microsoft may be keen to dispel any rumours before they take hold. I suspect Microsoft is also keen to keep on side its Windows Phone partners, who may have been wondering whether the company was planning on ditching their smart phones in favour of an own-brand model.

Time to play CEO -- what would you do if you were in charge of Microsoft? Tell me in the comments.