Microsoft rules out entering mobile handset market

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has confirmed that his company has no intention of entering the mobile phone manufacturing market.

Ballmer said in an interview with Bloomberg at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that Microsoft will not buy a mobile device manufacturer.

The company also has no plans to sell a branded handset as Apple and Google have done, according to Microsoft mobile business senior vice president Andy Lees in another interview with analysts.

Microsoft unveiled its new Windows Phone 7 Series operating system at the event, revealing a radical redesign that has dropped the traditional Windows Mobile look in favour of a multi-touch interface similar to the iPhone.

Ballmer made a veiled reference to the Apple product at a press launch at Mobile World Congress when he said that the firm "had to step back a couple of years ago to think what we were doing".