Nadella on Phones - "I'm sure we'll make more" - Why ?
On May 3rd during an interview with Marketplace.org - Satya Nadella in comments regarding Windows Phone made the statement "I'm sure we'll make more". I have to ask the question - why ?
Today - Worldwide - Windows Phone has less than a 1% market share and MS effectively relies on partners like HP, Alcatel, Acer and others to build and attempt to sell Windows Phone. Even MS's branded devices are difficult if not almost impossible to find. If you go to the Microsoft Store - Windows Phone is not even listed on the home page. You can find them under devices - and the list hasn't changed in months. MS's 5 series devices (i.e 950, 650, etc) will be two years old this fall and I don't think we'll see a new Windows phone to replace it.
And although MS is currently working on that they call "Windows on ARM" via a joint partnership with Qualcomm there may not even be a "phone" device - but rather a small tablet with LTE capabilities. And even if MS does announce a phone - It would be 2018 at the earliest before we might see one.
And while MS does have a broad selection of apps and services available for both iOS and Android devices, it's own store continues to flounder as more and more ISVs simply stop updating their apps or drop them from the store.
MS has had some success with the Surface line - but it will never be in the top 10 in terms of sales. Even the newly announced Surface Laptop is just that another laptop - and outside of a fabric covered keyboard provides no features that you can't find on a Dell, HP or Lenovo. And what would you rather buy - a known entity and brand or a me too product from MS.
I've been a user of the various Windows Phone renditions and names going all the way back to 2002 and just retired my Lumia 735 that I used to test Windows 10 Creators Update. I can't tell you in that time how many "reboots" of the MS Mobile strategy there has been - but there have been a bunch.
And while there have been some features of the latest incarnation of Windows Phones that in my opinion were brilliant like Live Tiles and SMS Voice Read / Reply, MS's poor execution on the platform as well as it's poor updating and support and lack of traction with developers was it's ultimate downfall.
And so that is why I ask the question - Why would MS even want to attempt another Phone ?
Does it really matter that with Windows on ARM you would be able to run "full Windows" on a phone ? The answer is no. I would even say who cares ?
What does matter is the ability to run the thousands of apps available in the market place. The problem is that MS has lost those developers - they don't care about Windows at all - in any form desktop, laptop, surface or phone.
So if Satya is telling the truth - we will at some point see a new "Surface Phone" - but honestly it will be a mute issue. MS has not proved to me that they can build a better device than Apple or Samsung nor a better Mobile OS than iOS or Android and even if they could, they don't have the app portfolio to support it.
Today - Worldwide - Windows Phone has less than a 1% market share and MS effectively relies on partners like HP, Alcatel, Acer and others to build and attempt to sell Windows Phone. Even MS's branded devices are difficult if not almost impossible to find. If you go to the Microsoft Store - Windows Phone is not even listed on the home page. You can find them under devices - and the list hasn't changed in months. MS's 5 series devices (i.e 950, 650, etc) will be two years old this fall and I don't think we'll see a new Windows phone to replace it.
And although MS is currently working on that they call "Windows on ARM" via a joint partnership with Qualcomm there may not even be a "phone" device - but rather a small tablet with LTE capabilities. And even if MS does announce a phone - It would be 2018 at the earliest before we might see one.
And while MS does have a broad selection of apps and services available for both iOS and Android devices, it's own store continues to flounder as more and more ISVs simply stop updating their apps or drop them from the store.
MS has had some success with the Surface line - but it will never be in the top 10 in terms of sales. Even the newly announced Surface Laptop is just that another laptop - and outside of a fabric covered keyboard provides no features that you can't find on a Dell, HP or Lenovo. And what would you rather buy - a known entity and brand or a me too product from MS.
I've been a user of the various Windows Phone renditions and names going all the way back to 2002 and just retired my Lumia 735 that I used to test Windows 10 Creators Update. I can't tell you in that time how many "reboots" of the MS Mobile strategy there has been - but there have been a bunch.
And while there have been some features of the latest incarnation of Windows Phones that in my opinion were brilliant like Live Tiles and SMS Voice Read / Reply, MS's poor execution on the platform as well as it's poor updating and support and lack of traction with developers was it's ultimate downfall.
And so that is why I ask the question - Why would MS even want to attempt another Phone ?
Does it really matter that with Windows on ARM you would be able to run "full Windows" on a phone ? The answer is no. I would even say who cares ?
What does matter is the ability to run the thousands of apps available in the market place. The problem is that MS has lost those developers - they don't care about Windows at all - in any form desktop, laptop, surface or phone.
So if Satya is telling the truth - we will at some point see a new "Surface Phone" - but honestly it will be a mute issue. MS has not proved to me that they can build a better device than Apple or Samsung nor a better Mobile OS than iOS or Android and even if they could, they don't have the app portfolio to support it.
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