“Ballmer Screws up WinMo”
Created by hasan.kamal under General Discussion
Executives of tech companies are not necessarily known for their verbal skills. “Unfortunately, in the case of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer has apparently stated that the development team for Windows Mobile may have “screwed up” Windows Mobile.” – Source. Although venture capitalists and journalists immediately Tweeted about the statement, Microsoft has refused to comment about the statement.
Placing all this in retrospect, it is never re-assuring to note that senior management actively criticizing their own technology in an active manner. However, Windows Mobile is currently undergoing a new version and release update. Placed in context of the recent release, the new version of the Windows Mobile 7 platform is designed to deal with the problems encapsulated in Windows Mobile 6. The new release of Windows Mobile 7 is an important boost for a platform that is currently lagging in market share. Coupled with the release of Restlet is the promotion of Windows Mobile 7’s growth is that Java and the .NET technology will help the growth applications for this platform.
The new release of Windows Mobile 7 was lead by a new team along with a restructuring of the structure of the team itself. Again, the fiasco of Vista along with the explosive growth of the iPhone and Android platform, Microsoft has realized that it needs to promote its products more actively. The Windows Mobile 7 platform is being pushed on developers in the hopes that the stronger revenue model will help spur growth and acceptance of this amongst developers.
In addition to this, Microsoft is pushing its platform on Nokia phones by providing platform specific applications on Nokia’s own OS, Symbian. The overall popularity and acceptance of Nokia phones worldwide will help Microsoft gain much needed market share. There is an inherent threat present that the competition factor will increase between Nokia and Microsoft considering both are attempting to port their applications on to their respective platforms. Regardless, the strategic benefits outweigh the competition factor considering the exponential growth in the iPhone and Android SDK. Microsoft is well aware of this market situation, however, the problem is that the release of Windows Mobile 7 comes at a point where other platforms have taken a first mover advantage.
In conclusion, Windows Mobile 7 seems to be released at a point where it could influence the development of SDKs and platform mobility. Is this a permanent change in Mircosoft’s strategy or a temporary response to the market? Leave your comments and thoughts below.