Microsoft’s Ballmer Admits Misteps With Windows Mobile
Slow Windows Mobile development is causing all kinds of problems forMicrosoft (NSDQ:MSFT), but CEO Steve Ballmer says the company has learned from its mistakes and is poised to carry out its mobile strategy more effectively.
Microsoft Releases Office Mobile 2010 Beta for WinMo Phones
Alongside Microsoft's launch of the Office 2010 beta, Microsoft on Wednesday launched a public beta of Office Mobile 2010
Microsoft Launches Windows Mobile Marketplace
It may not be even close to the Apple App store, but Windows Mobile fanboys rejoice – our own marketplace is up and running and available on the web.
I visited it for the first time today from both my WinMo HTC Fuze and the web. Rather than go for volume (which makes me not like the Apple Store – too much control over too many apps), Microsoft played it safe and went for a smaller number of programs both paid and free.
Check it out at HERE
Smartphone Manufacturer HTC Dragged Down by Windows Mobile?
We here at Observer Publishing won’t hide the fact that we’re Windows Mobile fanboys. While the iPhone is a pretty little thing, we’d rather endure some of the clunkiness of Windows Mobile and get features such as multi-tasking, slide out keyboards and the ability to use our phones as computer models (tethering).
A couple weeks ago, Microsoft officially released its Windows Mobile 6.5 (now Windows Phone) with AT&T and other carriers featuring the HTC Touch Pro as their ‘hero’ device. For those unaware, Taiwan based HTC is the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world.
However, all does not seem to be happy in the HTC / Microsoft relationship. As mentioned in this Business Week article, HTC’s profits are slowing and the company, as with much of the industry sees the Google Android operating system for smartphones as a strong route to profitability. Press leaks suggest that a copy of Windows Mobile is between 15 and 25 of the cost of a smartphone. The elimination of those costs by switching to Android is a big incentive to either increase profits or fuel a pricewar among manufacturers. Add that the new Android 2.0 operating system has much of the glitz seen in the iPhone OS, and Microsoft has a big challenge on its hands to keep Windows Mobile relevant.
