Polaroid is pointing its lens toward Windows Phone

News
By Michael Rougeau
published

But it's just a prototype?

Polaroid WinPro 5
The Polaroid WinPro 5 is Polaroid's first smartphone

Updated: Polaroid may have been showing off a Windows Phone handset during IFA 2014, but a spokesperson for the company told TechRadar that the Polaroid WinPro 5 is actually "only a concept prototype that was being tested."

That directly contradicts the information obtained at the trade show, but nevertheless the spokesperson said Polaroid "may or may not actually bring it to market, it is too early to tell."

However the spokesperson did alert us that Polaroid is apparently already selling Android smartphones in addition to Android tablets, and that they're "very popular" in Europe and Asia.

Original story below…

In case you're unaware, Polaroid has for some reason been slowly rolling out budget Android tablets over the past couple of years, and now the company is pointing its lens toward Windows Phone.

Polaroid's primary focus remains on photography, though granted it's not churning out instant cameras the way it used to.

But the photo company also rolled out a pair of Android tablets in 2013, and three more this year, and it's not stopping there.

The Polaroid Windows Phone handset is called the Polaroid WinPro 5, and although it hasn't been formally announced, it was on display at Polaroid's booth during IFA 2014, reports German site WinTouch.

Double standard

The phone, Polaroid's first smartphone ever, wasn't designed or built by Polaroid, according to the site, but by Japanese firm JSR Technology.

JSR apparently designs generic phones and then sells the designs to companies who brand them as their own, and the WinPro 5 is based on a template called "17B."

The Polaroid WinPro 5 reportedly comes with a 5-inch 1280x720 display, a quad-core processor believed to be a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200, 1GB of memory, 8GB of storage, 8- and 2-megapixel cameras, dual SIM support, and a 2400mAh battery.

As Neowin points out those specs are similar to other budget Windows Phone handsets', including the Yezz Billy 4.7 and the XOLO Win Q900s, indicating these phones may all be based on the same JSR design.

The Polaroid WinPro 5 will reportedly go on sale in Europe in October for less than €200 EUR (about $260, £160, AU$275), but just to be sure we've asked Polaroid to confirm these and other details, and we'll update this post with any further information.

Via Neowin

Michael Rougeau
Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.