Windows 10 Mobile — It's no secret, Microsoft's mobile strategy is in a dire condition. After years of trying and self-renovation, Windows Phone still has not become the major player that the Redmond giant has hoped for. According to recent reports, Windows Phone (or Windows Mobile as it now known) holds less than two percent of the market in the US. Some major publications have indeed declared the platform dead.
The Verge's Tom Warren says " With a lack of hardware, lack of sales, and less than 2 percent market share, it's time to call it: Windows Phone is dead. Real Windows on phones might become a thing with Continuum eventually, but Windows Phone as we know it is done. It won't stop Microsoft producing a few handsets every year as a vanity project, but for everyone else it's the end of the line. Farewell, Windows Phone."
Natasha Lomas for TechCrunch writes on the fate of the platform. "The question now is whether Microsoft will keep making sma rtphones as a showcase/vanity project. Or just kill off the division entirely," she says. "Either way, one thing is absolutely clear: consumers aren't going to be buying smartphones running Windows. Because people know a dead parrot when they see one," she adds.
These analyses came after the release by Microsoft of its financial report in January for the last quarter of 2015. According to the report, Microsoft only sold 4.5 million Windows Phone devices in the quarter compared to the 10.5 million sold during the same period the year before. Windows 10 Mobile and the release of two "flagship" devices — the Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950XL — did not attract the consumers. In contrast, Apple sold 75 million iPhones during the same quarter.
So does Microsoft have a future in the mobile Market? This is a very difficult question to answer. Sure that the platform has recently reinvented itself in the form of Windows 10 Mobile. It does indeed offer very compelli ng features such as Continuum and the universal apps. But, to be realistic, the future looks bleak for Microsoft. However, before casting a spell of doom on the platform, we must first understand the problems that are holding it hostage.
The biggest reason for Microsoft's terrible position in the market is that it came too late to the game. When the iPhone was released in 2007, followed by the arrival of Android a year later, Microsoft had no tangible answer. Indeed, then Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer dismissed the iPhone as a "$500 subsidized item" that stands "no chance" of succeeding. Of course, the market has proved Steve Ballmer wrong.
What followed was a series of mishaps from Microsoft. Ballmer is no longer the CEO, but his lack of vision has cost the company dearly. Satya Nadella has brought some new enthusiasm at Microsoft. But to become a major player in the mobile world, the company needs to do more than just changing its CEO. Below are a few thing s – among others – that we think Microsoft should do.
Microsoft needs to realize that the tile interface is not a very popular thing. It is indeed a very polarizing interface. Yes there are the fervent Windows Phone fans who will continue to stand by it. But, many people still relate these big multi-color squares to their experience with Windows 8. And that is not a good thing. Microsoft needs to swallow its pride and get rid of it.
Change is good. But consistency shows confidence. Over the last few years, Microsoft's mobile platforms has gone through a series of death and rebirth episodes. First, the platform was called Windows Mobile, then came Windows Phone 7 followed by Windows Phone 8, now it is known as Windows 10 Mobile. Though, these different platforms are not the same, the frequent change of name, however, inspires not the kind of confidence that Microsoft needs to project on its platform. With every change of name, there is also a sense of failure. Furthermore, it makes it difficult for the company to build a valuable brand name.
Since becoming the CEO of Microsoft in 2014, Satya Nadella has undergone a series of change to the company's way of doing business. Microsoft no longer is the close company that wants to control every aspects of its success. Under the leadership of Nadella, Microsoft has changed its tone on open source software, releasing several tools for Linux. Microsoft has also began to open to concurrent mobile platforms. Microsoft's Office Suite has been released for iOS and Android. However, while trying to attract users on other platforms to use it services, the software maker has sometimes neglected its own OS. Sometimes, some apps have been released on other platforms weeks before they become available on Windows Phone. Even worse, some of the apps work better and offer more features on the other platforms than Microsoft's own. This indeed does not inspire confidence and give potential buyers one more reason to skip Windows Phone.
Besides a few geeks and tech "initiés", most people buy their phone for the way it looks. The massive success of the iPhone is mainly due to its design starting to the very first model. The metal body, its slim profile, its sturdiness – and in fact some Android phones as well – project the idea of class and coolness, the impression of quality. However, since buying Nokia's mobile phone division, Microsoft has not released any flagship phone worthy of the name. The Lumia 950XL and the Lumia 950 are both very well-spec'd and well-featured devices, but they lack the wow appeal of the iPhone or any of Samsung's high end Galaxy phones. Their basic rectangular shape and their polycarbonate body do not scream high-end. If Microsoft wants to become a major player as a hardware maker, it nee ds to prove that it has the ability to design and build a phone that can rival the iPhone or the Galaxy S7. The build quality of the Surface tablets shows that Microsoft has the talent to make very beautiful devices. The company just needs some dedication. Perhaps a Surface Phone – as it is rumored – could be exactly the boost that Microsoft desperately needs.
Inheriting the culture of Nokia after the acquisition of the latter, Microsoft has continued to release a series of phones, which, to be honest lack personality. In its current position, Microsoft needs to opt for a smaller and leaner strategy. The company needs to focus its attention on a smaller number of devices, perhaps two or three in order to build its brand's name and offer customers higher quality of products.
These issues are not the only ones. Microsoft indeed has no shortage of problems when comes to mobile. The app gap, we know, is one of the persistent issues t hat the Redmond giant seems unable to overcome. But, most of these issues are rooted in the fact that the company has not been able to attract customers. Perhaps, starting by making the changes mentioned above could be the first step in a potential revival of a platform that many has already declared dead.
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Source: Windows Phone: What Could Save Microsoft's Dying Mobile Platform
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