It's not Samsung, nor HTC. It's not even LG or Sony Ericsson.

Nonetheless, the fact London based mobile manufacturer INQ is openly discussing the possibility of pulling away from Android post Google's buyout of Motorola is telling.

While the firm, which has released a number of Android based devices since 2009, isn't advocating a wholesale withdrawal from Google's OS, company CEO Frank Meehan said INQ is looking to reduce its reliance on the platform moving forward.

INQ and out

Meehan states INQ is weighing up the pros and cons of adopting Microsoft's Windows Phone, which he claims is gaining serious traction with mobile manufacturers across the industry.

"We see a number of major vendors very seriously considering Windows Mobile as a core platform and therefore we are following their lead and examining it as well to complement our work in Android to date," said Meehan.

"The advantages with Windows Mobile is that the legal issues and resulting costs seem to be much less."

Growing concerns

Microsoft was quick to tout Windows Phone as the only "equal opportunities" platform after Google's proposed $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility was made public.

"Investing in a broad and truly open mobile ecosystem is important for the industry and consumers alike, and Windows Phone is now the only platform that does so with equal opportunity for all partners," Windows Phone division president Andy Lees said in a statement.

Samsung and LG are also in discussions with the Korean government over the establishment of a new cloud-based, open source OS for PCs, smartphones and tablets.

"Because Google is an open-source system, it cannot just switch over to a closed-source system overnight," said Ministry of Knowledge Economy deputy minister Kim Jae-hong.

"Still, we cannot completely rule out the possibility of Google jumping into the smartphone business in the future."

[source: Mobiledia]