Windows Phone 8 is poised for release in the coming months across multiple platforms and there is a lot to be excited about. Microsoft has announced, according to The Verge, that the first hardware partners to have Windows Phone 8 available for use are Nokia, Huawei, Samsung and HTC. They will be running on “next generation silicon” from Qualcomm.

Nokia has slowly but surely been diminishing their Symbian OS footprint, only using it these days on their lower tier phones and feature phones. They have been using Windows exclusively on their smartphones since the previous iteration of Phone 7. With the (relative) success of the Lumia range, it is no surprise they are sticking with the winning formula.

However, as we know, these other three manufacturers are predominantly using Android and have done so for many years. It is interesting then, to see them adopting Windows 8 Phone as well. I believe that this is simply a case of diversification, though. There is no way that these companies would drop the operation system that has brought them so much success.

No doubt, there will be some consumers that prefer the experience on Windows Phone 8, and therefore producing a handset or two running that mobile environment does make complete sense. The type of devices that will be running Windows remains to be seen. It would be interesting if these companies produce, for example, two flagship models each running the different OS. I doubt whether this will happen though, because they would effectively be creating a competitor for their own devices. Evidence suggests that the likes of Samsung and HTC will probably run Windows Phone 8 on a couple of mid-level devices.

We are interested in seeing what the world of Windows Phone 8 holds in store, as the user interface is extremely clean and crisp. More importantly, it seems to rival Android in the customization ability department, which is what a lot of consumers are looking for these days. If you have not seen Windows Phone 8, watch the informative video below. It really looks great.

If you are an Android user, would you ever consider moving to Windows Phone? What are the opinions of the iOS users? Please let us know in the comments below.