Foxconn, Compal & others snub Windows Phone 7 over licensing fees

The spectre of Windows Mobile may haunt more than just consumers; Microsoft is apparently also facing apathy from handset manufacturers in Taiwan, reluctant to pay the company's licensing fees for Windows Phone 7.  According to DigiTimes, Foxconn, Compal Communications, Pegatron Technology, Qisda, Inventec, Inventec Appliances and Arima Communications have all shifted their R&D investment to Android and are reluctant to move it back.

In fact, the sources at manufacturers claim that only two or three of Taiwan's smartphone producers may actually decide to make Windows Phone 7 devices.  The decision could be seen as an attempt to pressure Microsoft into reducing their licensing fees, a move which is nonetheless seen as unlikely.