Yet another quarterly loss for Microsoft was reported on Tuesday – which of course Microsoft blames on their acquisition of Nokia.
I’m not looking at this the wrong way, am I? Surely Microsoft knew that it was buying Nokia and had plans to use this asset in some way?
Microsoft, you bought what was the biggest handset manufacturer and undoubtedly the best loved mobile phone brand. You had ample opportunity to use the workforce and brand to further develop Windows Phone, so what was the point in losing this asset and stuffing your phone business into the ground?
If Nokia had been a direct competitor or held numerous, useful patents this type of move would be understandable.
Microsoft, you did have the foresight to prevent Nokia from manufacturing a handset themselves for until October 2016, but if in the unlikely event that they do decide to make another Nokia handset it still will not be a direct competitor to your business model.
I believe that Microsoft know this, hence the downgrading of Windows Phone to “small portable devices that run Windows 10”.
Windows 10 is going to be a big hit, mainly because for many people it will be a free upgrade. If it wasn’t free, I think that Microsoft might find consumer confidence slightly dented.
This isn’t a good enough reason for Microsoft to start turning off the lights on Windows Phone, though.
Windows 10 promises to deliver services that connect enterprise – and Windows Phone really does do this. However, after Windows 10 where does this leave the future of Microsoft’s portable devices? Will they have limited lifespans, or can they be upgraded (at a price) a year or two down the line?
I’m positive that Microsoft won’t retread the ground that they stepped on in the mid 1990s, where upgrades were required and expensive – But then again, who keeps a smartphone for longer than two years these days? We have Google and Apple to thank for that one.
Windows Phone isn’t doing very well, but this is more likely down to poor marketing. Microsoft have cut the cost of their recent handsets dramatically; you can pick up a Lumia phone for well under £50 (£14 on some occasions at Carphone Warehouse) which will be far, far more capable than any Android phone at this price – So what’s putting people off?
Image, as they say, is everything.
People will listen to their kids when it comes to technology. They also follow each other like sheep. The result is that everyone wants an iPhone, or they head down the path of Android because it’s a less-expensive (depending on what you want) alternative. Apps are a big selling point, but if you want a capable smartphone these shouldn’t be your reason for choosing an operating system.
I like Windows Phone. The cheapest handsets run perfectly well and if Nokia had produced them years ago, then many more people would have been tied into the ecosystem. Instead, Microsoft is not even bothering to fight a losing battle and it’s only a matter of time before Windows 10 devices (which happen to make calls) will be dull, boring enterprise systems which general consumers shy away from.
The BlackBerry Passport is a good device, if you like working on spreadsheets. Windows devices are slowly edging towards this territory.
