Microsoft expects fewer Windows Mobile-powered handsets

By on Jan 9, 2009 at 5:28 PM
General January 9, 2009

What do you do when the honeymoon is over and interest in your mobile OS is fading fast? Spin city! In a recent discussion with the New York Times, Microsoft VP of Windows Mobile Todd Peters happily explained that Microsoft has intentions to cut down on the number of Windows Mobile devices that reach the market in the future. Peters’ reasoning for the move:

“I’d rather have fewer devices and be more focused,” he said. That way “we get better integration” between phone and operating system.

Well that’s one way to put it, though we’re not sure shareholders will mirror the sentiment. Another way to put it would be to simply state that the advent of open source mobile operating systems and the fading interest in Microsoft’s aging OS are creating a more competitive market place and Windows Mobile simply isn’t ready to compete at the level it did in years past. Today it’s Android, tomorrow it will be the fruit borne by the Symbian Foundation; handset manufacturers are now beginning to turn toward low-cost open solutions that provide more user-friendly interfaces and welcoming development environments. It remains to be seen whether Windows Mobile 7 will be able to compete as the industry evolves and its already low market share dwindles. We hope it can compete – variety being the spice of life – and rest assured, Microsoft would happily see the number of Windows Mobile-powered devices double despite this recent statement to the contrary. If manufacturers decrease the number of Windows Mobile handsets released in the future however, it won’t be because Microsoft asked them to stop making so many Windows-powered phones. It will be the allure of newer and more usable operating systems that pull handset manufacturers in other directions.

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  • Sevenmack

    Agreed neodorian. My old WinMo phone was really fun to play with and use. My Blackberry is nice, but it lacks the customizing I’d like to do for it. In fact, the most customizable phone I currently have doesn’t even have a high-end OS; it’s the Samsung Rant — a near-smartphone that uses Java — which with I can tether, get streaming and, thanks to Sprint’s OneClick, has an easy-to-use and customizable UI. But once my consulting gig is up — and thus, will need to buy my own smartphone — I may either go for the HTC Touch Pro or pick up Palm’s Pre, which will also likely be easy to customize.

    Honestly, the WinMo hate is a tad much. It definitely needs to be improved for the modern era; it’s UI needs improvement. But it works well. And one has to wonder, if WinMo’s UI is made more user-friendly, will one lose the customization ability that makes it so sweet.

  • backbeat

    ^ You just got a visual preview of WM7′s UI in the Palm Pre(o). Who knew Palm could no longer innovate on its own, even with bought talent? ;)

  • Paul

    @Ervel Flick:

    Well “tools” like yourself should stop imagining they know what other people have done or know. Fact is I own a Windows Mobile phone and have used several versions of it for years. I am quite aware of the apps that have been developed for the platform. Many ONLY run on some Windows Mobile phones, many are garbage. Sure there are some useful ones.

    AS there is for iPhone (I own one of these also as well as a Nokia and BB). If you want to discount all the very useful apps for iPhone, that shows your ignorance. If you want to ignore that fact that iPhone will certainly surpass all mobile platforms in development of apps in less than a year, you are a moron. Hey I used to be a Palm user too and thru that out when it became a dinosaur.

    If you think Steve Ballmer has any insight, I rest my case as he has been all wrong from day one. Maybe you might want to read his statements in 2006 when he claimed RIM would never beat WinMo or again in 2007 when he claimed Apple would not be successful with the iPhone OR in 2008 when he predicts Google would be unsuccessful with Android! Maybe you bought Vista and believed the “WOW” was starting and smartly moved to Linux!

    Ballmer is plainly stating the obvious as he is losing in market share. Sure the race is not over, but it was Microsoft’s race to lose as WinMo has been around for years and so far they have lost big time.

    MS has ben all wrong on the Zune also. After hosing down their partners, they STILL gained little in market share in media players. They seem ready to throw in the towel in Ballmer’s latest statements. MS would be way better off with Monkey Boy as CEO. Things could improve big time for MS when he is gone, which I expect sooner than you might think.

    Customization is great for techie types, but average users want reliable easy to use powerful devices and WinMo falls quite short here. The market place is showing what users want, not the people on here with their comments. The average smart phone buyer never read this blog!

  • Ervel Flick

    @ Paul: this is my last post in response to you, because you seem incapable of reading comprehension.

    I’m not SAYING WinMo doesn’t have some (glaring) flaws. I’m not SAYING there are no useful apps on iPhone. I’m not SAYING there aren’t any useless apps for WinMo. I’m not SAYING Steve Ballmer has a GD crystal ball in his office in Redmond.

    What I SAID was that the article’s a bit misleading as to what Ballmer & Co were getting at in their statements. What I SAID is that he demonstrated some SURPRISING (see that word there? It means I was SURPRISED) insight into that particular topic. What I SAID was that WinMo’s next version looks pretty good, if MS can get it out the door in a reasonable fashion. What I AM saying (this is new for this post) is that Palm’s new OS and SDK look fantastic, and Apple needs to be watching their back on this one. Palm has performed a miracle with the pre hardware and WebOS, and all signs point to an amazing SDK. Be scared, Apple.

    You seem to think I’m a fanboy of some particular hardware OEM or software vendor. I’m not. I use whatever gets me the most return on my investment. If it’s a BlackBerry, or a Nokia, or some WinMo phone, or and Android phone, or the GD iPhone, so be it. I’m cool with that. I’m just slightly tired of retards who constantly quote the app store’s number of apps. BIG FRICKING DEAL, nobody cares, I’m going to go copy and paste some text into an MMS message now thankyouverymuch.

    And you’ve quite obviously proved my point – you’re a tool. READ MY GD POSTS BEFORE BASHING ME.

    The rest of your post is just rambling, so that’s all I got. GTFO my back, n00b.

  • McHale

    “The amount of apps for WinMo is about 18,000 in 8 years, iPhone is now 15,048 in just 6 months! This is not relevant? HAHA OK how many apps on WinMo are useless? Probably most of them.”

    You’re either on crack or the iPhone is the first non-free cell phone you’ve owned. There’s more than that on XDA alone.

    The reason there will always be more WinMo apps than iPhone apps is the Apple’s lock down of the iOS where iEverything must come from the iStore. And 99% of those iApps are iUseless. How many iBeer pouring iApps do you need?

    There’s probably well over 100,000 apps for WinMo but I have no idea where to come up with supporting numbers. Care to share where you got the “18,000″ number you used? I’m guess your iFriend.

    -Mc

  • Ian

    “I upgraded to a Sprint Touch Pro and I agree with the comments about windows mobile lacking consistncy, stability, and easy of use.
    If I would have just waited another couple weeks, I would have still been in my 30 day return period and I would have waited for the new Palm phone.”

    That new Palm will be out in May or June. It isn’t even in production yet because the final ram specs haven’t been decided due to problems with programs using the original ram specs on the alphas. migrating programs that were workign fine on the emulator to current specs has been a problem. The packaging you see has no sprint logo on it and is taped. it is a mock up too.

    “The amount of apps for WinMo is about 18,000 in 8 years, iPhone is now 15,048 in just 6 months! This is not relevant? HAHA OK how many apps on WinMo are useless? Probably most of them.”

    Don’t know about that. In addition to using my phone as a modem for free, I have an app that allows me to turn my HTC Touch Pro into a WiFi hot spot. can you do that on a iPhone? I also have the full version of TomTom that works in Boise and Beijing. Has your iPhone got that?

    There are a dozen professional level required apps for my job that are only available on windows mobile.

    I’m with a 1000+ company. Our IT people will take care of everything for any windows mobile or Rim device. They will give you a handout if you have an iphone saying “sorry” you are on your own, and that is sure to be the case with the Palm OS for a very long time as well.

    Iphone and the Pre are for the fat middle, average joe moving to a smartphone (lack of memory card in both is a hint). Good for them. But neither are even marketed toward demanding professionals.

  • http://www.monsterandfriends.com drunknbass

    This is good news for developers, and consumers also.

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

  • Paul

    The iPhone will surpass WinMo in the number of available apps in the next 3 to 4 months easily. So believe whatever you like, soon you will be reading this on this and many other blogs! Call them useless if you like, but do so at the risk of deluding yourself.

    The Palm Pre looks great, but I seriously doubt it will save the company from death. The thing is 3 years too late.

  • GeeWiz

    @ McHale:

    The iPhone will easily beat WinMo in the amount of apps for several reasons. The SDK is robust and the iPhone is easy to develop for. Not having to develop in Java and for many different models with different hardware. The App Store provides an easy way for developers to sell their apps without having to market them, host them or take care of payments. Having ONE place to find app helps users find them.

    Developers are making money, probably more than other mobile platforms. The lock-in naysayers always point to is greatly exaggerated. As the next version of iPhone firmware comes out in the next few months even more opportunities will also arrive. Also the iPhone market share is zooming.

    The amount of apps and diversity has already passed RIM in the first month and will pass by WinMo soon. There are already many pro apps for iPhone with the biggest names and apps in development right now. Mostly all apps the are popular on BB and WinMo have and will be ported over to iPhone with improvements due to the iPhone UI. All this in ONLY six months where it took WinMo many years.

    Why do I know this? I am a developer! I have developed apps for most mobile platforms for several years. You probably use a few of the ones I have worked on.

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