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Microsoft CMO Confirms Development of 'Spiritual Equivalent' of Surface Phone (hothardware.com)

Posted by timothy on from the open-wide-and-say-ohhhhm dept.

MojoKid writes: We all know what Microsoft wants to do with Windows 10. It's supposedly the last monolithic release of Windows and the ultimate plan is to unite hardware from different device categories under a single, universal ecosystem. That includes smartphones, which is an area where Microsoft has historically struggled hard to compete. The release of a premium "Surface Phone" of some sort, however, could prove to be a game changer. Microsoft is aggressively pushing Windows 10 upgrades, and makes no bones about it, all in an effort to get developers on board to build universal Windows 10 cross-platform apps and spur mobile development. In that respect, Microsoft needs to finally make an impact in the handset space and Windows 10 Mobile is the company's one shot to do just that. And it appears that Microsoft is working on what could be essentially a true Surface Phone, or at least something very similar. In a recent interview, Mary Jo Foley pushed Microsoft's Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela on the prospect of a Surface Phone and he confirmed the company is working on a "breakthrough" phone that is the "spiritual equivalent" of their very successful line of Surface branded products. Capossela has been with Microsoft for over two decades. He used to write speeches for Bill Gates and is intimately familiar with Microsoft's many products and strategies.

10 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. Oh noes by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And I'm sure it'll be another stunning success, just like the last 5 failed phones they tried to force into the market.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    1. Re:Oh noes by JustNiz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They don't. Their phone division has always been a massive financial liability. Its just that Microsoft is literally obsessed with the thought of getting into phones.
      Any other company acting like their phone division but without their massive safety net would have gone bust 5 times over by now.

    2. Re:Oh noes by rubycodez · · Score: 3, Insightful

      wouldn't a company that knew its ass from a hole in the wall have figured out mobile was important say 15 years ago? WTF?

    3. Re: Oh noes by Dracos · · Score: 3, Insightful

      MS will continue to fail at mobile, but not because of their strategy. They've been failing at mobile since before the iPhone.

      Their mobile failures are just examples of a broader cultural deficiency in Redmond: they don't know how to connect with consumers, and they're too stubborn and full of hubris to realize that. The XBox division succeeded mostly because it was left alone by the top brass (who likely didn't understand a damn thing about it). When MS learns to put aside their preconceptions about buying habits and that consumers don't shop the same way CTO's do, they might have a chance in any consumer market, including mobile.

  2. Microsoft need to just get it by JustNiz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    No one WANTS a Microsoft-branded anything.
    The only reason anyone still uses Microsoft products is because:
    1) it came preinstalled on your new computer.
    2) Most workplace IT managers only know Windows so automatically force it onto everyone's work computers.

    1. Re: Microsoft need to just get it by lucm · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Microsoft could barely be described as a bit player in hardware outside the Xbox division (which I suspect still hasn't paid back the vast investment Redmond has put into it).

      It's so easy to google you wrong, why do you not take a minute to check before making this kind of empty comment

      --
      lucm, indeed.
  3. Surface by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There seems to be this narrative that the Surface is successful in the market. It isn't. The only Surface I have seen in the wild is on the NFL sidelines, and Microsoft is paying the NFL for that. There is no way Surfaces are selling widely.

  4. Re:What's the difference from a Lumia? by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Lumia represents the last of the Nokia/Elop era, whereas a "Surface Phone" is done in-house?

    x86 compatibility, perhaps. If they cram an Atom into a phone then when docked you've got a desktop PC in your pocket, with the full win32 back catalogue.

  5. Re:Windows 7 is the end of my Microsoft road by hambone142 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I loaded Linux Mint and have found it quite usable.

    I agree that Win7 is my last version of a Microsoft OS unless they back off on their prying in to my personal computer. I doubt they will.

    People in the Yoo Ess are quite complacent regarding data privacy.

  6. Re:MS CEO said the same thing about Win10 in 2014 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Wait a minute...I heard Windows Phone 6 was going to be the game changer. Then WP7...now it's 10? Perhaps they will succeed with Windows Phone 11?

    But I get why they say it will be the spiritual equivalent of surface...the surface machines don't get the bad reviews that the Windows Phones do...so they are hoping the improved marketing speak will work this time.