The company could release it in the first half of next year

Nov 2, 2012 08:07 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has been long rumored to plan the release of a Windows Phone 8 device of its own, and new reports on the matter suggest that it is already testing the device.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is working with Asian suppliers for the testing of the handset, and might be getting ready to start mass-producing it.

No specific info on what the device might be all about has emerged for the time being, though the company has been said before to be hard at work with the development of its own-branded Windows Phone.

Initially expected to arrive on shelves when Windows Phone 8 launched, the phone has been rumored to be en-route to the market in 2013, most probably in the second quarter of the year. However, no official confirmation on the matter has been provided.