[Ben]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/10/microsoft_on_nexus_one/


“Google’s announcement sends a signal where they’re going to place their commitment. That will create some opportunities for us and we’ll pursue them."
I love it. After being in the mobile space for eons, Microsoft is relying on Google to leave it a little bit of the market.

[The Mullet of G]

I must have missed the memo where Androids market share became relevant, or indeed even managed to crawl out of the "others" category. Also for what its worth the Nexus One is pretty pants. :)

[miffed]

Well Robbie Bach obviously DID get the memo and saw it as relevant , hence his comments !

....Or did you mean "maemo" ? (on the subject of pants ?)

[Ben]

I must have missed the memo where Androids market share became relevant
Professionally I agree with the sentiment; I have no intention of recommending that my business start developing for Android any time soon. However, I do believe Android will be a major mobile OS (manufacturers are falling over themselves to develop Android handsets). Android is certainly relevant, even if its current market share is not.

[The Mullet of G]

Professionally I agree with the sentiment; I have no intention of recommending that my business start developing for Android any time soon. However, I do believe Android will be a major mobile OS (manufacturers are falling over themselves to develop Android handsets). Android is certainly relevant, even if its current market share is not.


I guess what I was getting at is why are Microsoft talking up Android now before its market share is even relevant? It seems kinda silly to go resigning yourself to picking up the scraps from a platform that currently has less market share than WinMo's already poor share. Likewise I agree Android will eventually become relevant, but it seems silly for Robbie Bach to be saying stuff like that so early in the game, maybe someone should shut him up before he really embarrasses himself. :)

[3GScottishUser]

Settle down everyone....

Look to history.

Microsoft are doing what they have always done and are letting others create and develop the market before they fully commit to it.

They know that the future means a bigger relevance for mobile Internet but they have a huge presence with Windows, Office and other products and are carving out alliances to capture share of the on-line search business.

Mobile Internet is still small fry compared with Microsoft's cash generation stalwarts. They will let Apple do the spadework like they did with the original Mac I am sure and then offer hardware makers a product to compete with. One look at what happened in the netbook market should be an eye-opener. At the outset Linux was the OS of choice then a year later MS XP was the just about the only show in town because PC makers could install it for just $8 a netbook!

Never write off the significance of Microsoft who will divert resources and buy expertise to conquer a market when the potential to make sigificant returns exist.

A couple of years on things could look very different!

[Hands0n]

I suspect that Microsoft see the writing on the wall for Windows Mobile. No doubt they already have a stack of iPhone and Android handsets and SDK that they've ripped apart to see what all the fuss is about.

Microsoft really need to do for Windows Mobile what they have done for Windows Vista, and that is to give it the Windows 7 treatment. Modernise that old tired OS, tart it up, and slim it down.

It does not matter that Android is a bit player right now. It is only in 2010 that Android handsets are available a'plenty. The Google Nexus One is as good a piece of advertising as it is an Android handset. No one can say that they have not heard of Google's announcement.

I think it may be a bit previous to write off Microsoft. They are going to be around for an awfully long time yet. They also have the muscle to respond, but right now they are a bit behind the game - not that it will bother enterprise customers who rely upon Microsoft product. For enterprise does not, yet, trust Android (lack of hardware encryption) and has only just begun to take a more serious look at the iPhone.

[Ben]

It's a solid strategy, 3GScottishUser, but does anyone at Microsoft have the panache to pull it off? Steve Ballmer certainly doesn't.