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Microsoft Reportedly Launching Its Own Windows Phone Smartphone
zacharye writes "When Microsoft announced earlier this year that it will launch an own-brand tablet to compete directly with its various vendor partners working on Windows 8-based tablet PCs of their own, there was some backlash. Privately — and sometimes even publicly — long-time Microsoft partners took it as an attack on their businesses and questioned why Microsoft would be so brazen. But with nowhere else to turn thanks to Windows' overwhelming PC dominance, these vendors had no choice but to continue developing Windows 8 devices and compete directly with their software supplier. Though events may play out a bit differently in the smartphone market, where Microsoft has yet to stage the comeback it promised two years ago, BGR has learned that the Redmond, Washington-based company plans to release its own Windows Phone 8 smartphone in the coming months."
And Microsoft has always loved doing what works for Apple.
Film at 11...
Will it run Linux?
0 = 1 + e^(Alt something)
Get Skype on a Windows mobile and I will consider.....
With Microsoft building Surface, it was inevitable they would branch into building other hardware too.
Microsoft's mobile future is too important to Microsoft to leave it entirely to third parities.
It'll be interesting to see how Microsoft manages to make this balance work, although Google seems to be doing fine so far with Nexus devices vs. what everyone else sells. In that regards there's not much third parties can do, since both Google and Microsoft compete against them it's a wash.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
They buy Nokia, and now they think they're Google?!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Who is going to want a ZunePhone?
They might want to first get some penetration in the smartphone market before spending in even more money.
Oh well, this is the modern MS, spend desktop and office money on markets that someone else dominates and keep spending till you compete. Never mind the fact that even 360 has not paid the Xbox bills.
If I was an investor I would be pissed. If you are just going to waste the money pay it out as dividends.
Maybe they aren't evil, power hungry, or nakedly greedy. Perhaps they just have a really ambitious sense of humor (Microsoft Tweet), and competing with their customers is just how they do. Their next step will be announcing they are launching an own-brand laptop in a retail store made entirely of painted glass windows.
I never saw that coming...
That will never happen.
Microsoft has no interest in that market. They do not want sideloading, they want a locked down walled garden type environment.
Microsoft has had their share of unsuccessful hardware (Zune comes to mind) but they are capable of getting it right sometimes too. They make a really good mouse and keyboard for example. XBox is successful, albeit after years of losing money on it. I think they are able to build technically successful products but what kills them time and again is poor marketing and an inability to make anything perceived as "cool" by the hip generation.
The Zune was a really good MP3 player (better than the iPod in many ways) but it had that horrible brown color and MS put no marketing behind it. This is a lesson that gets lost on hard core techs sometimes - it doesn't matter that your product is technically superior if you can't sell it. This is what Apple excels at - superior marketing.
If MS hopes to be successful with their branded phone they are going to have to hire some people that know how to sell stuff. First thing I would do? I'd get rid of all of those idiots behind that series of ridiculous Seinfeld ads. Remember those? Yeah, nobody does and that's the point. Complete waste of time and money. Next thing they have to do is design something that looks cool and is easy to use and is well built. Number three - develop some features that set them apart from IOS and Android. Give people a reason to buy an MS phone instead of the default choice of Apple or Android. Otherwise why bother? Just get one of those two and call it a day.
This is Microsoft's last, best chance to get back in the mobile game. If they blow this one then they might as well throw in the towel and accept their fate as the leader in an increasing dying industry (desktop pc's).
if there's one thing I've learned, it's that BGR really can't be trusted for its exclusive leaks. SO many of them just don't pan out, it seems like like an accident one one of them actually does.
In this case, we have an unconfirmed source saying that MS is planning its own phone but it doesn't have a release timeline for them. Seems like an easy way to get page hits to me.
Pretty sure they can get that for free by reading Slashdot comments.
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
Not to Nokia. Wait...
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
1) ShitCan Elop
2) Allow the new CEO to work from anywhere (not only Helsinki) – which is why they didn’t get anyone better then Elop
3) ~try~ and rebuild a team of MeeGo developers
4) Ensure that the new CEO is a stickler for quality, and focus on developing one phone that rocks and does not have all the normal Nokia UX/UI abominations
5) Play whatever dance the US phone oligarchs demand so that you can get the handsets sold in the States (lock them down, whatever). Just supply the same phone unlocked overseas.
6) Don’t introduce another new phone until all the normal Nokia UX/UI abominations are again cleared out. (don’t be afraid to be a dick (like Jobs) to your people when demanding excellence.)
7) Slowly build the company back up.
Google did the Google Nexus 7 and it hasn't upset Android makers as far as I can tell. But it does upset carriers who capitalize on their ablity to have devices locked down so that they can take the most advantage of consumers possible.
I think what Microsoft is doing will give the new Windows Tablets/phones the best possible opportunity for success (or failure) by setting the bar at a particular level. OEMs are free to exceed the Microsoft model, but it would upset consumers to not at least meet the standards set out there by Mocrosoft's base model. And when software/firmware updates come out for the Microsoft device, they had damn well come out for the OEM phones and tablets too. In the end, it should upset carriers more than it should upset manufacturers.
Much like Zune, no one wants the crappy Windows 8 phone. Give it up. You failed, you are NOT apple.
Find your own niche, and enjoy it.
Your like the kid that is always a year or 2 behind the fashion of the other kids. You think you are cool, because you are wearing last years fashion, but the other peeps are laughing at you.
Be seeing you...
With Microsoft building Surface, it was inevitable they would branch into building other hardware too.
Microsoft's mobile future is too important to Microsoft to leave it entirely to third parities.
It'll be interesting to see how Microsoft manages to make this balance work, although Google seems to be doing fine so far with Nexus devices vs. what everyone else sells. In that regards there's not much third parties can do, since both Google and Microsoft compete against them it's a wash.
If I am a handset manufacturer, now the only game in town is Google's Android, since the Microsoft is considering moving into hardware on this front.
Has Microsoft realized that they just can't manage Phone manufacturers [1] ? Microsoft has repeatedly backstabbed it's "partners" to it's own detriment later on. Is there anyone laying down the law in Redmond? - seems like Lord of the Flies when it comes to internal discipline and ability to execute as a group.
[1] http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/01/06/microsofts_masterplan_to_screw_phone/
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
If I were Nokia, I would respond by switching to Android.
Microsoft has poured money quite a lot to Nokia and surely former is not that dumb that it would not mitigate risk being left out cold by its parter it's pouring money at. Read: Nokia would have to pay back all that and shelling out top of that breaking the contract.
Long story short. Nokia is and has been a goner since gave it's pinky to the devil. Anyone worth his salt knew this from day one we heard deal announced between them.
Nokia is finnish or Finnish ? Now can be both!
It will be different from the iPhone 5 because it will have a wonky camera and GPS navigation that doesn't work properly.
Wait a minute...
Halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a sharp sting in his back and, out of the corner of his eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the frog's back. A deadening numbness began to creep into his limbs.
"You fool!" croaked the frog, "Now we shall both die! Why on earth did you do that?"
The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the drowning frog's back.
"I could not help myself. It is my nature."
As quoted by Samuel Beckett Does it not seem odd that Microsoft is trying to create a smart phone? I think someone has already done that. Would it not make better sense for Microsoft to do A) broaden and increase the X-Box market where their money is or B) re-invent a cumbersome technology to capture the market share from those who do it badly?
Select from tblFriends where interesting >= 4;
Maybe they are buying up all of those phones from Android that Google won't let them sell and rebranding them?
because they didn't build a huge ecosystem around it the way Apple did with the iPod.
They tried - they had Zune Pass, and quite a bit of music accessible.
The real reason they failed is that instead of building the Zune they should have Zunified Windows Mobile phones with a music ecosystem and better playback/discovery experience, seeing ahead of Apple that standalone music players were a short-lived niche that smart phones would eventually overtake.
But Apple saw before Microsoft did that the standalone music player would be eclipsed by the personal phone, even though Microsoft was producing them long before Apple... very odd.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The key difference is Google gets its nexus devices from an android OEM it does not make them. HTC, Samsung have both made one and Moto made a google experience device.
Long term having more device supported by ASOP is good for google. So now even a sony device is supported.
MIcrosoft has no such ambitions nor intentions to have such an ecosystem.
yeah it's funny...
Andy Rubin starts two companies, Danger and Android.
Danger is acquired by Microsoft. Microsoft massively botches the release of Danger's product and it dies a quick, horrific death.
Android is acquired by Google. Google releases Android to massive acclaim and goes on to widely displace the then dominant leader, Apple's iPhone.
Interesting contrast isn't it?
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
+1 funny
same goes for (insert company here)
Saying that "microsoft" killed the phone is true in a sense, but you also have to understand the company culture at MS. It is built on a lot of teams. Not one single united company where everyone shares ideas and works together nicely. You should read the history of what happened to Danger and you will see a major factor to its demise was the infighting that took place, nothing technical really. Apple/Google I think have a lot less of this kind of stuff so it was easier to let it bloom.
If the device is a shaped like a rectangle with rounded corners, its a copy I guess.
Microsoft is reportedly launching it's own windows phone smartphone.. It's expected to land somewhere in the pacific..
> If I am a handset manufacturer, now the only game in town is Google's Android,
> since the Microsoft is considering moving into hardware on this front.
Did you miss that Google has already moved into the hardware with their purchase of Motorola Mobility?
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
"I can understand Microsoft may be frustrated with partners not following through on a long term strategy"
:)
Hee eee hey...
AccountKiller
Did you miss that Google has already moved into the hardware with their purchase of Motorola Mobility?
Apparently you missed that Android is open sourced. That means that there are at least three major competitive ecosystems (Amazon ; Barnes and Nobel and the major Chinese app market places) as well as innumerable minor ones (e.g. CyanogenMod and all the small independent market places). Any or all of those would welcome a major manufacturer as a partner.
Google has to compete for favour from Mobile manufacturers. Microsoft is setting its self up to completely mess them over. Probably, it will buy one of the more successful ones with a Windows phone (HTC? LG?) once it has driven Nokia and co bankrupt whilst stealing their ideas.
Remember the strategy; Embrace and cooperate (Burn the platforms memo) Extend (provide Windows 8 with Nokia and other people's functions and ideas) Exterminate (Windows 9 / 10 has special "Microsoft only" features; Windows 11 barely works on partners phones).
Even if Android from Google went closed source tomorrow, there is enough weight of developers outside Google to overtake it within two releases.
=~ s,(.*),<sarcasm>$1</sarcasm>,g if any_point_you_wish();
The droid line has nothing to do with Google directly.
Had to followup after I found this at the motorola link:
Motorola Droid.
GottaBeMobile's Best smartphone CES 2012.... Buy it link works.
So how again does it have "nothing to do with Google"?
Point stands, now unaltered.
That's the last time I doubt my understanding of the Smartphone market over a post from some random guy on Slashdot...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
You can do anything you like - as long as Google approves, or else you have to fork as Amazon has done.
What's your point? From the moment you start to do anything different you have effectively "forked". Having long running independent forks is a clear fear for Google. What this means is that any handset manufacturer can threaten a fork and that's all they need to ensure that Google stays onside.
Probably, it will buy one of the more successful ones with a Windows phone (HTC? LG?)
Why not Nokia itself? That has made the most sense all along.
Nokia no longer has the level of smartphone sales to be useful; they have destroyed most of their manufacturing base and closed their most important factories. They also seem to be in an agreement where they have to give their Windows Phone improvements back to Microsoft in any case. Microsoft has nothing to gain from bringing them on board. They have plenty to lose from the cultural clash it would cause. Even the stupidest of Nokia employees is realising that they have been totally taken to the cleaners by Microsoft.
=~ s,(.*),<sarcasm>$1</sarcasm>,g if any_point_you_wish();
so... you are saying Danger failed, not due to technical issues, but due to Microsoft being unable to release a working product? I think that is a fair paraphrase of gp's "Microsoft massively botches the release..."
The Shape of Things To Come, or What Will a Windows 8 Phone look like.
Probably a dododecahedron. Either that or Mobius Strip that hangs from your ear like jewelry.
Full of the Look and Feel of Microsoft B.O.B. it will be a bouncing baby boy that had an entire OS written for it, while gutting the desktop OS, instead of sensibly keeping them separate.
It will come in two colors: Rave Green and Puke Yellow. But if you pay $200 extra you can get one in light blue.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Faster, bigger, with more heat generated than a thousand suns, it's the iBOB.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
A Youtube clip that explains you corporate relationship with Microsoft:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT5WYSwET28
Have a nice day.
* Carthago Delenda Est *
Unless Microsoft is keen to take heed to the mistakes made by their Kin phones (HA!), this may well fail just as miserably. Kin phones didn't even make it two months before getting pulled off the shelves.
Fifty watts per channel, baby cakes.
The difference between MS and Apple these days?
- MS sells shit products for a low low price
- Apple sells shit products for a ridiculously marked up price.
Apple is now just like any other tech brand, farm components off to the lowest bidder and worry about the PR nightmare later. Thanks Tim Cook.
This is what happens when you entrust a multi-billion dollar company to a bean counter, not a visionary.
This is one thing I can't see MS copying properly from Apple. Apple based both OS-X and iOS on FBSD/XNU, and so portability is not much of an issue for them - something they've fine-tuned from the NEXTSTEP days and then had porting experiences first from Motorola 68k to PPC, then PPC to x86 and finally x86 to ARM. In fact, Apple could stage a coup by doing one more leap from x86 to ARM, using either a Radeon or an NVIDEA GPU for any compute heavy loads that they need. The fact that ARM is still 32-bit won't matter - they can make it a muticore w/ several localized memory attachments of 2MB each to build up whatever is needed by the system.
But w/ MS, since Android has the mainstream phone market and Apple the glamor phone market, MS's only hope is to leverage the Wintel advantage, and include some way of running PC apps on phones. So that people who want to install the software they bought & are using w/ PCs on their phones have at least that rationale for buying a Windows phone, be it from MS or from Nokia. As Google has shown, if they can sell a Razr and a Xoom and yet be fair to the likes of Samsung, HTC, Sony, et al, there is no reason that MS can't do the same w/ Nokia, Dell, HP and others. But they have to define that strategy right. If they just slap Windows RT on an ARM phone, it'll be simply another disaster waiting to happen.
If that's what it takes to jumpstart the OEMs into making great hardware with cutting edge technology then I'm all for it. The Surface has caused several manufacturers to rethink their existing designs. I really hope they do it.
Any links? It's far too stupidly generic a term for anything sensible to turn up with a search (see also dot fucking net).