After launching its own Surface tablets, Microsoft might be gearing up to sell its own Windows Phone 8 smartphone suggests a report by Forbes. The report cites Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund, who has been quoted saying that Microsoft is working with contract manufacturer Pegatron for making its own smartphone. He, however, notes that this project may not see light of day till 2013 and it could perhaps be just a reference design device for the Windows Phone 8 OS. For the record, Microsoft had used a Nokia reference design device to unveil Windows Phone 8 at a developer summit earlier this week.

Coincidentally, Bloomberg has revealed that Pegatron is also behind the new Surface tablets, that Microsoft showed off earlier in the week. Another tidbit is that Microsoft is investing heavily in Pegatron for the manufacturing equipment for the Surface tablets. Previously, we have seen Apple invest in Foxconn for the manufacturing of its products.

Rick Sherlund notes that Microsoft could be shifting its core strategy to an integrated software and hardware model considering the vertical integration model for its Xbox 360 game console has worked really well. Furthermore, with its Windows Phone partner Nokia’s stocks tanking, Microsoft could even consider acquiring the struggling mobile giant for its own hardware, a much-repeated thought ever since the two companies announced a partnership last year.

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