Microsoft culling the WinMo herd, fewer phones to be offered

Microsoft's veep of marketing for Windows Mobile (jeebus, that's got to be stressful job right about now) has gone on the record in saying that there'll be a "major announcement" out of his camp at Mobile World Congress next month, which makes sense -- it's the biggest mobile trade show of the year, after all, and we've been expecting WinMo 6.5 for a little while. What's particularly interesting, though, is that the dude says they're looking to cut down on the total number of phones offered by its licensees in an effort to "be more focused" and do a better job tailoring the platform to the devices in the market. Makes sense in a way, but on the flipside, one of Windows Mobile's solid advantages over the competition has always been its endless selection of styles and form factors. Taking that away means that WinMo's got to be better by leaps and bounds to keep going head-to-head with the Palms, Apples, RIMs, and Nokias of the world, so here's hoping MWC turns out to be a watershed event.

[Via Phone Scoop]

[Chris @ Jan 10th 2009 6:34PM]

"one of Windows Mobile's solid advantages over the competition has always been its endless selection of styles and form factors."

This was NOT an advantage, it made developing and deploying mobile applications as fun as driving nails through your hand.

Some sort of standardized form factor / feature set would do wonders for mobile development on Windows Mobile.

[Mobius_1 @ Jan 10th 2009 6:46PM]

Well, Windows, mobile or not, has always been the compatibility champion and variety (of hardware) champion. This means that with wider range of devices (again, mobile or not) they are able to capture more markets. However, I do agree they should probably attempt standardisation, like Linux with various flavours that each cater to somewhat different markets, like Ubuntu Desktop, Server and also the Netbook remixes of various other flavours of Linux.

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 10th 2009 7:08PM]

Setting some hardware standards for different form factors sounds like a really good idea for Microsoft right now. Their current lack of requirements makes them more appealing to low-end manufacturers, but at the end of the day that really just makes Microsoft look bad when their OS runs like garbage on it. They are about to lose that appeal, anyway, since Android is available to low-end phones now without any licensing cost.

[giuliop @ Jan 10th 2009 7:26PM]

Steve Ballmer on the iPhone: "But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I'd prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get."

Apparently having their software in that large percentage of phones is not relevant anymore. How odd.

P.S. For you living in a black-and-white world: No, I'm not an Apple fanboy, I don't own a Mac nor an iPhone and I'm not planning to buy any in the foreseeable future.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Jan 10th 2009 8:24PM]

Like it or not, there are undeniable advantages to a walled garden approach, just as there are advantages to opening platforms up.

Microsoft's probably hoping to strike the right balance between the two. Just because you can offer your OS on zillions of devices doesn't mean you should, and just because Microsoft is culling the herd doesn't mean that they're giving up their strategy.

I'm a huge proponent of free software and choice, yet for my consumer devices I often find that I like a locked down approach. The iPhone has it's disadvantages, but I like having a phone that works well that I don't need to mess around with to make work. Similarly, I like the challenges of working with free and open software at work, when I get paid to do so :)

[suicycle.com @ Jan 11th 2009 4:52AM]

I understand where you're coming from, but since Microsoft doesn't actually make their own phones I think it is important for their business to be as flexible as possible so the phone manufacturers can be innovate (e.g., HTC's TouchFlo3D, Samsung's TouchWiz, etc.). Microsoft's focus should be on integration of the mobile OS and applications with the desktop OS and applications. Their biggest problem right now is they paid too little attention to the condition of the mobile OS that the phone manufacturers had to get rid of the ugly. Too much of what we see now should be native to the OS in some way, shape, or form. Now that the phone manufacturer's are distinguishing their offerings by creating these unique interfaces, Microsoft is trying to figure out how to make sure people don't forget that it is actually their OS on the phone.

Saying they're going to restrict the number of phones that have licensed copies of the mobile OS is probably just a ploy to make it look like future versions of the OS are going to be somehow be really special -- trying to capture some of the buzz that has been Apple's, Google's, and not Palm's. What Microsoft is not going to do is cut off a profitable revenue stream.

[zephxiii @ Jan 10th 2009 6:35PM]

YAY!!!!!!.....I think?

[Mikeweezer @ Jan 11th 2009 1:48AM]

my thoughts exactly... why would you want to limit you influence on the market. Here's an idea - make a product that doesn't lock-up my touch pro every 30 minutes! whoo!!!!

[Saad Rabia @ Jan 10th 2009 6:35PM]

I hope this leads to one great phone from Microsoft; more competition isn't bad.

*Points at Zune*

[Paul Chapel @ Jan 10th 2009 6:58PM]

And I bet you're praying it doesn't have games. Who needs games? Not Saad.

[Saad Rabia @ Jan 10th 2009 7:01PM]

Paul the Troll.

[Mike10010100 @ Jan 10th 2009 7:06PM]

Guess what Paul. We already had this discussion. You took Saad's quote out of context. Beat it, kid.

[arash @ Jan 11th 2009 3:17AM]

saad can you tell me why you frequently get high rank and low rank? my quess is bipolar disorder

[Saad Rabia @ Jan 11th 2009 5:58AM]

It is really simple arash, sometimes people agree with me and sometimes they don't, and people shouldn't take this ranking system very personal. :)

[Neha @ Jan 10th 2009 6:39PM]

Not even a hint of snark.

Nice Engadget.

[Phoenix @ Jan 10th 2009 6:40PM]

It kinda makes sense to my on a couple of levels... MS could never have pulled off something like this, for several reasons.

WinMo has never had control over the hardware. Some devices have a bunch of buttons, but you could run perfectly with none. But MS couldn't have enforced a gesture area or similar. or enforced the processing requirements of WebOS, or the constant on data requirements.

A manufacturer like HTC could do this, but not MS. So it makes sense to slim down the devices they licence it on in anticipation of a major revamp, enforcing minimum specifications and control abilities.

[KarlW @ Jan 10th 2009 6:42PM]

I've been saying they need to do this for ages, so I'm glad they agree.

It's very hard to build a good platform when the hardware possibilities are so wide open. One thing that really needs standardisation is input method and screen ratio. I suspect WinMo 6.5 will be available for phones in production now and WinMo 7 will be touchscreen-only, so developers can focus their apps on working with that input method.

That's one of Apple's biggest advantages - apps that use the touchscreen actually work. With WinMo, if the app wasn't designed for touch, you're going to have a hard time using it. Microsoft need to fix it.

[Giroro @ Jan 10th 2009 6:48PM]

Touchscreen only has it's disadvantages, but as log the the means of input is continuous, the applications will work equally well with multiple devices.

[jakjak9210 @ Jan 10th 2009 6:45PM]

yay! fewer winmo phones.

[Giroro @ Jan 10th 2009 6:46PM]

Hopefully MS will now be able to make WinMo more better.

[snapdarty @ Jan 10th 2009 7:14PM]

Plus, there will be fewer phones. So it will be easier to choose one, making you better feeling.

[DT @ Jan 10th 2009 7:00PM]

Wait, I'm sorry, did MS just say that it's better to not have to support endless hardware combinations? Sounds like a similar Apple argument that's been derided for years...

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 10th 2009 7:04PM]

I'm assuming this means that they're setting standard minimum hardware and performance requirements for each different form factor to get rid of the underperforming low-end phones.

[Quikboy @ Jan 10th 2009 8:28PM]

A good thing they're doing that. They should really standardize WinMo phones to have more optimal parts, to ensure a more quality experience. Some handset makers just have enough parts to squeak by. It would also make a developers life a lot easier, if all phones with WinMo had more similar hardware, so that if all touchscreen phones had accelerators, I wouldn't have to worry about creating an awesome game for just one or a few individual touchscreen WinMo phones.

[Matt @ Jan 10th 2009 7:04PM]

Windows Mobile is worthless - they should junk it entirely and start over with something that works.

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 10th 2009 7:22PM]

That's basically what they are doing with Windows Mobile 7, the interface is going to be all new. It's likely still built on the same WinCE kernal, but there isn't really anything fundamentally wrong with that. As long as they take the time to clean up the code base and make sure it's stable and snappy, and don't cut new features in the name of backwards compatibility, then they should be in a good spot.

[telepheedian @ Jan 10th 2009 11:18PM]

Exactly. Zune is based on WinCE as well, but is worlds better in execution.

[Smileypanda @ Jan 10th 2009 7:05PM]

I hate having all those different phones to choose from.
I'd rather MS took all the hard work out of it.

[Virtuous @ Jan 10th 2009 7:18PM]

Microsoft definitely needs to do something. Apple, RIM and Google are eating their lunch.

[Shugg @ Jan 10th 2009 7:23PM]

all ms has to do is copy iPhone os,.n slap ms on it. People will be awed that's what palm did,.

[Sporkinum @ Jan 10th 2009 7:24PM]

I was issued a Samsung Saga Winmo 6.1 phone at work. I think I had it 2 weeks. It had a few nice features, like Opera web browser and Wifi, but failed in it's primary use as a phone. You actually had to go through menus to make a phone call. Battery life was terrible, with only a day's battery life with the extended use battery. To top it all off, It was Verizon, which meant crappy coverage. I couldn't get calls at home. I called Verizon, and they offered to exchange it for another smart phone of same value or less. I ended up just going back to my IT department and the got me back on a US Cellular Motorola W385 flip phone.

[archgen @ Jan 10th 2009 8:02PM]

All you had to do was push the call button on the left side and it would've takin you to the phone app.

[a12ctic @ Jan 11th 2009 1:48AM]

Its a requirement for andriod apps to scale with the screen, it looks so silly on the netbook port, but it makes perfect sense.

[ananimus3 @ Jan 11th 2009 1:56AM]

Like Aaron said. And once in the phone app the smart dialer is darn good at pulling in matches from your contacts as you "dial the name." I never even look at my contacts menus unless I need to edit someone.

IMHO, the dialer and phone access on WinMo are excellent. But this (no offense meant to Sprokinum) failure to explore the seemingly hidden, easy features built into smartphones does underline a concern I've long had for the market. After years of getting used to dumbphones, are we really to expect that everyone out there will take the time to RTFM or just play around a bit? It seems a lot of phones returned are people saying "no, this is just too complicated."

For some, that's true. But it drives me nuts when folks assume everything is the same if they pick up a Java phone, WinMo, BlackBerry, iPhone or G1 then immediately throw it back in the lake.

[Sporkinum @ Jan 11th 2009 5:07PM]

The point is that first and foremost, the device is a phone. It didn't do that very well. The whole point of me having that device is so I can support problems at work when I am not there. I can't do a very good job of that if I can't answer the phone because I accidently hit the wrong thing, or the batteries have died. For what I use this for, the flip phone is much better, and I am glad to have it back. I would guess that for some people, smart phones make sense. But for me, smaller, more durable, and simpler is better.

But really, my opinion doesn't matter as I am not a consumer of cell phones and service. My work is.

[pheer6224 @ Jan 10th 2009 8:13PM]

Good luck to them with beating android now.

[Aaron @ Jan 10th 2009 9:01PM]

I'm really interested to see how Android handles application compatibility once there's twenty Android phones on the market. Different features, different screen resolutions... it could get messy.

[mike @ Jan 10th 2009 8:31PM]

Haha, right, so now Win7 is going to be more like OS X's dock/Expose
Zune feebly attempts to be an iPod Classic
Xbox wants to be a Nintendo Wii, but never will reach those sales
Now this, apparently Apple, the relative 'newbie' had the right strategy all along.

No, that's not fair. If I was MS and more and more OEMs were ditching ME for the Android (FREE AND BETTER) platform, I'd put the word out that I was cutting the fat.

Think about that hard, kids. Before you swallow the MS line.

[superhobo @ Jan 10th 2009 11:59PM]

OSX copied the Windows 1.1 taskbar.

Zune > iPod.

360 does not compete with the Wii for gamers. Any serious gamer would not buy just the Wii for gaming.

Also, you're a troll.

[homerjunior=hoju @ Jan 12th 2009 10:00AM]

@mike,

please shut up.

sincerely,
anyone with a brain

[Ian @ Jan 10th 2009 9:01PM]

The real problem is this: the good/cool/sexy winmo phones are only avaiable in bumfuckistan.

[Uncontrol @ Jan 10th 2009 9:02PM]

Who would've thought we'd see Palm namedropped with Nokia, RIM and and Apple a few months ago?

As a sidenote, it'd be sick if they launched Windows Mobile 7 and Windows 7 at the same time.

[DavidB @ Jan 10th 2009 9:42PM]

I'm guessing this has more to do with HW companies abandoning WinMo for some other OS rather then MS "deciding" to cut back on HW platforms running WinMo.

[Jughead @ Jan 10th 2009 9:52PM]

There are only a few manufactures that actually put out WinMo phones. You have HTC, Samsung, Motorola, Palm and now LG put one out. 90% of phones that use WinMo are going to be made by HTC.

[Sevenmack @ Jan 10th 2009 10:14PM]

Chances are there will be an alignment between MS and a couple of the handset-makers, most-notably Samsung and LG, which are two of the largest in the market, but lack OS's of their own. Which makes sense, especially with Samsung: It is pushing hard to expand its smartphone and near-smartphone offerings.

Chances are that HTC will keep making WinMo handsets, but slowly move to Android if things work out. The latter likely depends on whether Android can gain wide consumer and corporate acceptance.

[superhobo @ Jan 10th 2009 11:56PM]

I'm a PP.






(PP = Personal Phone, what were you thinking?)

[dt3k @ Jan 11th 2009 10:18AM]

does anyone know what samsung that is in the top right corner? def. not a blackjack/epix/saga etc.

[Bob @ Jan 11th 2009 3:28PM]

May I ask as to what samsung blackjackish phone that is at the top-right corner?

[Garst @ Jan 11th 2009 9:18PM]

Here's hoping for WinMo 7 with integrated Zune software!

[Frikman @ Jan 12th 2009 5:02AM]

MS: "You can't drop our mobile OS, we're culling you."

The new "you can't fire me I quit"