Microsoft Reportedly Working On Its Own Smartphone

According to a (paywalled) report in the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is experimenting with its own smartphone design. "Officials at some of Microsoft's parts suppliers, who declined to be named, said the Redmond, Wash.-based company is testing a smartphone design but isn't sure if a product will go into mass production." The article continues: "If Microsoft pushes ahead with its mobile phone, it would underscore how far Microsoft has moved away from its long-standing practice of making software and leaving decisions about design, features and marketing of the computing hardware to partners such as Hewlett-Packard or Samsung Electronics. ... As it does so, Microsoft pulls from a modified playbook of Apple—whose hardware-plus-software approach Microsoft officials long have scorned. ... Smartphones running Microsoft's two-year-old Windows Phone operating software for cellphones haven't sold well, and Microsoft may want to leave itself an option to test whether its own phone would spur sales."

Comments

Re:Microsoft product design

[jbolden]

Apple has already stated in court that Win8's design does substantially differ from Apple's. Apple has a problem with Android. They've been unequivocal about MeeGo, Tizen, Win8, BBOS9, BB10... not being a violation of their patents.

Re:MS killed the Nokia star

[symbolset]

Nokia never did well in smartphones? Really? They sold half a billion Symbian smartphones - more than either Apple or Android has so far. They had 40 percent market share.

Re:MS killed the Nokia star

[rtfa-troll]

How did Nokia get screwed by Microsoft?

so so many ways.

• Microsoft is pushing Skype on all Windows platforms; this is specifically designed to take over AT&T and other operator's billing relationships. Means no sane mobile operator will go with WP8
• HTC is the main launch partner for Windows 8 - Nokia is going to be pushed down below even a Minor Chinese competitor, smaller than Sony or LG in smartphones.
• Windows Phone does not support pureview
• Windows phone 8 is deeply late for Christmas deliveries
• Microsoft has completely failed on app quality control - most apps are simply the cheapest thing to get a Microsoft bonus and inflate the app numbers
• Microsoft took the tablet space - Nokia had previously planned to do WP8 tablets themselves
• Microsoft promised Nokia sub $100 BOM on Windows phones - not, apparently, delivered yet.
• Windows phone 7 won't be upgraded (as you said - Nokia for a long time claimed to believe it would be)
• Microsoft is publicising their own phones just before Nokia's big launch

The camera one is really instructive. Nokia's big new feature as 40MP ultra-big, ultra-high resolution sensors with digital stabilisation. They create a special "pure-view" brand just for these. Instead they will be delivering 8MP sensors with standard optical stabilization and are desperate (this is the sensor where they cheated on the publicity video). Nokia has been forced to brand these "pure-view" also so they could get that feature check on their Windows phones.

Think about the loss that causes when imaging was the last feature Nokia stood out on:

• Pure View - originally associated with 40MP custom sensors is now associated with commodity 8MP sensors
• they have no single feature on their phones which is outstanding; almost everything is worse than an iPhone 5 and much worse than a new Samsung.