Microsoft said it will launch Mango-powered handsets from top makers including Nokia, Samsung and HTC Corp in coming weeks. "We've seen hardware manufacturers very nervous about what Google is doing. I think anyone who turns around and competes with you is a cause for concern," Andrew Lees, president of Microsoft's Windows phone division, told Reuters in an interview in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Microsoft plans to launch Samsung and HTC Mango smartphones in the United States and Europe over the next week, with Nokia following in various markets, Lees added.

Microsoft also plans to introduce its Mango handsets in China for the first time next year, Lees added.

Microsoft has has been trailing Apple Inc and Google in the smartphone market. However, it is not clear whether the company has time to catch up. IDC analysts expects Android's market share to grow to more than 40 percent this year from above 20 percent in 2010, while Apple's iOS is forecast to grow to about 20 percent from about 15 percent in 2010.

Currently, there are more than 30,000 applications for Windows smartphones, compared with about 500,000 applications in Apple's App Store.