Microsoft may be working on its own branded smartphone in addition to the Windows Surface tablet recently announced, reports Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund.

Separately, our industry sources tell us that Microsoft may be working with a contract manufacturer to develop their own handset for Windows Phone 8. It is unclear to us whether this would be a reference platform or whether this may be a go-to market Microsoft branded handset. We would not be surprised if Microsoft were to decide to bring their own handset to market next year given that Microsoft has decided to bring to market their own Windows 8 ‘Surface’ tablet/PC products.

As with its new tablet Microsoft could be looking to draw attention to its recently unveiled Windows Phone 8 platform.