Bad news for Windows Phone fans who were looking forward to the model originally known as Goldfinger, and then as McLaren. This flagship handset was supposed to be available later this year on three carriers in the U.S., and employ a technology known as 3D Touch. But a published report on Monday indicates that Microsoft has pulled the plug on the phone.
While this news is leaking out just as Microsoft announced major layoffs, the decision to shelve McLaren was actually made weeks ago and apparently had nothing to do with the dropping of the project. Last week, we wondered out loud whether the job cuts would mean the end of the road for the device. There is also speculation that the cost of producing the phone had risen past the amount budgeted by the bean counters in Redmond. Another theory is that Microsoft had trouble getting the technology past the proposal stage.
Based on some of the tech used for Microsoft's Kinect video game system, the McLaren device was expected to use camera-less sensors for gesture control. The phone would have launched with no buttons, turning itself on when the handset determined that someone was holding it. It is unclear if any part of the project will survive. One part of Microsoft's 3D Touch was Mixview, which would allow a tile to "explode" into a number of mini-tiles after a long press.
This could be a big negative for Microsoft because with McLaren out of the way, the software giant has no other high-end models later this year, to compete against the Apple iPhone 6, and the BlackBerry Passport.
source: WPCentral
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While this news is leaking out just as Microsoft announced major layoffs, the decision to shelve McLaren was actually made weeks ago and apparently had nothing to do with the dropping of the project. Last week, we wondered out loud whether the job cuts would mean the end of the road for the device. There is also speculation that the cost of producing the phone had risen past the amount budgeted by the bean counters in Redmond. Another theory is that Microsoft had trouble getting the technology past the proposal stage.
Based on some of the tech used for Microsoft's Kinect video game system, the McLaren device was expected to use camera-less sensors for gesture control. The phone would have launched with no buttons, turning itself on when the handset determined that someone was holding it. It is unclear if any part of the project will survive. One part of Microsoft's 3D Touch was Mixview, which would allow a tile to "explode" into a number of mini-tiles after a long press.
This could be a big negative for Microsoft because with McLaren out of the way, the software giant has no other high-end models later this year, to compete against the Apple iPhone 6, and the BlackBerry Passport.
source: WPCentral
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