Microsoft is a laggard (or a nobody) in the smartphone market when compared to Apple, Samsung, and Google. This incontrovertible truth is a big blow to the tech giant which failed to get a foothold in the mobile phone revolution. The whole industry knows what happened to the ill-fated purchase of Nokia and the Lumia line of Windows Phone.

For Microsoft, the demise of Lumia is not a total defeat in the smartphone market. The growing hype surrounding the plan of the Redmond-company to build a Surface Phone refuses to slow down as of this writing. However, Microsoft is yet to release an official statement about the device.

Will Microsoft release a new handset this year? Speculations are circulating that the Windows-powered Surface Phone could be launching soon. Industry observers' hopes were fueled by a statement by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella that a Surface Phone could be the ultimate device ever.

An image of an unidentified Microsoft phone got leaked online with the caption - Surface Phone. This flagship phone is speculated to replace the Lumia line after its exit from the market. The tech giant's move to deactivate the Lumia Photography Instagram page is one sign that the Redmond firm is slowly killing the Lumia.

The Surface Phone has the potential to increase Microsoft's share in the global smartphone market. According to Nadella, the company wants to build a new device that will be the envy of what others have. His statement is a clear threat to Apple, Samsung, and Google's dominance of the mobile sector.

Microsoft should consider the interest of consumers to have something new and different. If it fails to deliver, the company will just fall into the trappings of 'expectation paralysis.' But if it answers the clamor of speculators, the industry will see an official Surface Phone turning into reality.

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