Microsoft Japan announced today that its employees are to get Lumia 830 instead of their current Windows Phone IS12T, Windows Phone device which are not sold in Japan. The announcement also notes that the company got Lumia 830’s Giteki-certification only for this purpose, to legalize its employees’ usage of the phone.
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IS12T, made by Fujitsu and provided by KDDI au since 2011, is the only-ever sold Windows Phone in Japan. (There are a few SIM-free Windows Phone being planned for this summer by rather small vendors.)
IS12T is only upgradable from Windows Phone 7.5 to Windows Phone 7.8, not the latest version 8.0. Because of such situation, both user and application bases of Windows Phone are now pretty inactive in Japan. It seems that MS Japan staff have been forced to use the IS12T for 4 years.
Microsoft Japan tells that the Lumia 830 Giteki-certified does not directly mean that the handset would be available for regular Japanese consumers.
Some pointed out on Twitter that this move may be related with the Microsoft Japan’s developers event de:code held tomorrow. As the event attendees might be gifted Windows Phone, and as there are no other legal Windows Phone in Japan, that would be this same Giteki-certified Lumia 830.
via PC Watch
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