If one is to believe "officials" from component suppliers in Asia, Microsoft is testing out a smartphone design-- even if said officials are not sure such designs will even head to mass production.
According to the Wall Street Journal one of the Microsoft smartphones being tested measures between 4- and 5-inches, making it similar in size to either the iPhone 5 (4-inch) or the Samsung Galaxy S III (4.8-inch).
Rumours of a Microsoft smartphone are not exactly new. Last month, the China Times, BGR and The Verge simultaneously reported on Microsoft plans to take on Apple and Samsung (and its own vendor partners!) with a Surface-branded smartphone.
In reaction to the rumours Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer tells the WSJ "we're quite happy this holiday [season] going to market hard with Nokia, Samsung and HTC... Whether we had a plan to do something different or we didn't have a plan I wouldn't comment in any dimension."
If one wants more fuel to throw into the speculation fire, the Steve Ballmer 2012 letter to shareholders does talk of building "specific devices for specific purposes" as Microsoft turns into a "devices and services company."
Microsoft already makes Surface tablets and Xbox 360 consoles, and puts stringent standards Windows Phone device makers. Is it planning own-brand phones as a backup should its partner fail to successful sell Windows Phone 8? Perhaps, but then again, Microsoft is known to test out interesting concepts-- one has to only recall the promising pre-Surface Microsoft tablet, the Courier, which the company killed back in 2010.
