Mobility Digest » Microsoft

Skype for Windows Phone launch at MWC?

Doug Smith — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:24:46 +0000

One of the must have apps for Microsoft to get for Windows Phone must be Skype. Heck, it only makes sense since you own them to go ahead and slap it on your own mobile platform right? Well, to date as you all know we haven’t seen it yet, either integrated into the OS as hoped, or as stand alone app. Even though Joe Belfiore has stated that we would see Skype in late 2011, it still has gone missing. According to The Verge, it looks like they have sources that have indicated that Microsoft is in final testing and have even been downloading a test version from Marketplace. Meaning a stand alone version will come first. Sources also indicate that we will see the app version of Skype launch at the Mobile World Congress. The new Skype app will have the Metro UI format and have a two column grid to display contacts. Even though I have gotten quite fond of Metro, some apps I would better prefer left alone like Slacker. I really like the iPhone UI better than the Metro layout on the Titan. We will have to wait and see how the UI works using Metro for the new Skype app. Stay tuned for more on Skype’s eminent release for Windows Phone at MWC.

Follow the Money: Microsoft vs Apple vs Google

David K — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:13:08 +0000

Ed Bott from ZDNet put together pie charts that show where each Microsoft, Apple and Google make their money based on their latest filings. This is amazing stuff:

Microsoft:

Apple:

Google:

So Microsoft actually has a somewhat balance offering with business, server, Windows and Entertainment each taking large chunks of the company. Apple is iPhone and iPad at their heart – not bad considering how crazy their sales have been. And then there’s Google – 96% of their revenue comes from ads.

Cue the Gmail Man:

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But really this does go to the heart of how these companies operate. Microsoft tries to be everywhere at once and may finally in 2012 have a core experience across them all (to be seen). Apple has had a ton of success selling two products but they sell the crap out of them and that’s now allowing them to get into more and more markets. And then there’s Google who wants your info and is giving away all of their services to get to your valuable data. Buyer beware…especially when the sales price is $0.

ITC Determines That MS is Not Acting Anti-competitively in B&N/Android Patent Licensing Case

David K — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:39:45 +0000

This is only a big deal because had MS lost it would have been a massive loss. That and it means that the fees that MS is charging and their methodology for seeking royalties from manufacturers of Android devices is permissible. Foss Patents notes (in part but read it in full for a lot more details):

Barnes & Noble bet heavily on its patent misuse defense. It stressed this one by making it its First Affirmative Defense, and it invested heavily. It even brought former Microsoft antitrust foe David Boies on board. Based on today’s order, Mr. Boies is very unlikely to get to complete any unfinished business he may have with Microsoft. More importantly, it’s hard to see how Barnes & Noble can gain serious leverage against Microsoft. It doesn’t have any such thing as a significant patent portfolio that it could use. Playing the "antitrust" card was its only chance to bring any counterclaims at all.
Barnes & Noble also complained to the United States Department of Justice, an antitrust regulator, about Microsoft’s patent assertions against Android. Like the DoJ, the ITC is a U.S. government agency. If Barnes & Noble failed to meet the ITC’s requirements for a valid legal theory and for evidentiary support, it’s also unlikely to impress competition enforcers. At this stage, Barnes & Noble was allowed to conduct wide-ranging discovery of Microsoft. Even Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had to testify at some point (though he wouldn’t have had to appear personally at next week’s trial anyway). If Barnes & Noble can’t state a claim that the ITC considers credible after a large-scale fishing expedition, it just doesn’t seem to have a case at all.
As a result, Microsoft’s intellectual strategy has, essentially, received a stamp of approval by a government agency. While Barnes & Noble claimed that Microsoft was seeking to eliminate Android as a competitive threat and brought all sorts of conspiracy theories, it’s a fact that Microsoft has successfully concluded patent license agreements covering more than 70% of all Android devices sold in the U.S. market, a level of acceptance that wouldn’t be possible if Microsoft’s terms were as unreasonable as Barnes & Noble alleged. The commercial success of Microsoft’s Android patent licensing program and the wholesale dismissal of Barnes & Noble’s accusations are a meaningful combination. By contrast, Barnes & Noble’s claims now look like bogus borne out of desperation and possibly other emotions.

End result? Expect Microsoft’s march to get all Android partners in line to continue unaffected, if not stronger.

via Seattle Times

Ballmer is dishing out 230$ to get people to make some Windows Phones. Also, he should smile more.

Matt Anderson — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:59:06 +0000

Forbes put out this article yesterday, shedding some light on the subsidized cost of software licensing a Windows Phone. Keep in mind, Microsoft is charging about 20-30$ per phone so this comes in at a whopping 200$. Now this isn’t an exact science because this obviously can’t include support, marketing, or manufacturing costs of these devices but that means you’re looking at making about 200$ per handset to get into making a Windows Phone. You still have actual device cost but most manufacturers are getting that down to around 2-300$ in pure hardware. This means you’re breaking even or seeing very good profits for what phones are sold (regardless of how few), due to this cash out. Is there any way that this is a smart business model?

Microsoft has a great product. They just need to get mind and marketshare. Even our resident kool-aid drinker came away with a review that sounded like he was thinking of cheating on his second love. But a great product is never enough to make total success. Especially when your consumer image is about as clean as the stage at a Vegas strip club. So in order to overcome this Microsoft is dipping into that 50 billion dollar cash reserve fund to get this stuff to market. This will probably look like an investment blood bath, but Microsoft is facing a really different challenge than what Android had to overcome.

When Android was releasing it was the second modern smartphone (as I define them based on capacitive touch, and not a blackberry storm for obvious reasons,) operating system out there. They were in a field with themselves and Apple. Every handset maker, to compete with the new mobile world wonder that was the iPhone, only had the option to grab onto Android. Even in those days there was not much hope for Windows Mobile, regardless of its vastly superior functionality when compared to iPhones and Android handsets. This new generation proved form over function (a lesson that many current Android manufacturer’s have forgotten but that’s another article.) These handset makers poured all their own resources into this manufacturing and marketing because they had no other streams of revenue. Microsoft is not blessed with this conundrum, coming into the market after Android had already been a boon for most of their hardware partners. HTC was dropping phones on the market just as bad as Microsoft had been dropping the ball. So now, with a third way for these handset partners that Microsoft had taken for granted, they have to spend a little cash to get it out there, and that’s exactly the task for this fiscal year at Microsoft and its primary handset partner, Nokia.

Will this be enough to get Microsoft out of the hole, and back into the minds of consumers? Will it at least start to merge the successes of Windows 7/8, Xbox, and Windows Phone to change consumer’s perceptions of Microsoft as bland and boring? And does anyone else think that Ballmer should smile more, because he just looks creepy as shit when he doesn’t?

Eldar Murtazin Has The Credibility of The National Inquirer: Why Is This news?

David K — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:08:37 +0000

How many times will blogs post on Eldar Murtazin’s lies and give him a platform from which to spread his crap? There’s a few things we know. Eldar has not only been wrong on his latest ‘leaks’ about Windows Phones and Nokia, but he’s been so staggeringly wrong as to lose any credibility he may have had (like when he said that Andy Lees would be in a Nokia-MSFT merger meeting after Andy Lees had left Microsoft). He used to be a credible source of information but that’s long past and now he’s used his past record as a method to just make things up and spread whatever misinformation he feels like spreading. Probably just a way to make himself feel lie he’s still relevant. His tweets are thoughts – not fact and not leaks. He’s like the National Enquirer that may get something right once in a while but shouldn’t be considered a news source.

If you want to know about Windows Phone 8, we know very little about it. We don’t even know if it’s core will be a Windows (NT) or CE core. And even if we did know that, it wouldn’t necessarily tell us whether it would run Silverlight and XNA. At this point though, Microsoft is clear that apps will be backwards compatible. Everything else is rumor and if it’s from Eldar, it may be worse than that…

Why did Tim Cook mention Windows Phone?

Doug Smith — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:49:22 +0000

So I’m finishing up writing rumors and speculation on Apple putting a 4 inch screen in the next iPhone which may or may not be called the iPhone 5, but who really cares right? The fact of the matter is that Apple devices are highly regarded by the public and they sell a massive amount of them. Fresh out of thinking about Apple and I check out Paul Thurrott’ s site, which is totally geared towards the Microsoft experience, PC, Phone, and Web.

Paul says that during the Apple quarterly earnings conference call yesterday, the one where Apple sold more devices than anyone else and made more profit than anyone else in history except Exxon in 2008. Wow. But during the question and answer session Tim Cook, Apple CEO, was “asked about Android and whether the smartphone market was a “two-horse race””. This all happening at “the 57:18 mark of the conference call that you can listen over at the Apple Investor Relations page. Here is what Tim has to say:

“I wouldn’t say it’s a two-horse race. There’s a horse in Redmond that always suits up and always runs, and will keep running. And there’s other players that we can never count out. And so what we focus on is innovating and making the world’s best products. And we’ll just keep on doing that and in some part just ignore how many horses there are. And we just want stay ahead and be the lead one.”

Paul goes on to explain the Windows Phone market share currently at 1.5% and that mentioning Windows Phone when your company just sold 37 million devices is either Respect or Subterfuge. Paul actually titles his post “Tim Cook’s Windows Phone Mention: Respect Or Subterfuge?” Paul ends his article with a question: “So. why did Tim Cook even mention that Microsoft was a competitor in this market?”

Well, maybe I can shed some light on it from a current iPhone daily driver’s point of view who just starting off using a Windows Phone. I really like my iPhone 4S. It never bogs down, it never fails, I don’t have the dropped calls issue, and the apps. The iPhone has tons of them. But when I first got the Titan, the speed was actually faster than the iPhone. It is amazingly fast and smooth. Opening and closing apps, making calls, it just works. Reading email on a Windows Phone is so much better than the iPhone and Android. Windows Phone keeps you connected with a people hub that is just fantastic. I get a complete story on the person I want to follow which includes phone calls, texts, Facebook, and Twitter entries from them all listed in order. No more app jumping. Live tiles is so refreshing as well. I really like weather, news, people, and email updates on the today screen. You can pin most anything there. At first, I was not a fan of Metro, Microsoft’s now universal approach to viewing your PC, XBOX, and Phone. (PC is coming in Win 8). Metro is clean, almost surgical precision and not just a cluttered up mess that is hard to read.

Windows Phone can also bet on quality device manufacturer support from the likes of red hot Samsung, HTC, and now Nokia. You get a solid hardware experience. No, it is not a dual core processor. It’s a single core 1.5GHz that powers my Titan and if never told me it was a Single core and that it was a Dual Core, the same as in every Android device, I would believe you. The Camera on the Titan is excellent. I would say almost as good as the iPhone 4S, but better than anything I have used on an Android device. It is not just with these high end devices that Microsoft hopes to cash in. With the release of Tango, the next Windows Phone operating system after Mango (I didn’t make that up, that’s what they called them!), Windows Phone will be able to perform on lower end hardware specs, something Android could never hope to do. What this will do is give Microsoft a product they can put a 1GHz processor in and market off contract for $200.00. You can’t touch a decent smartphone these days off contract for less than $500.00. We have already seen Apple offer different price points for their phones, like the 3GS for free with 2 year contract and the iPhone 4 for $99. Can you imagine a $200.00 off contract smartphone that actually will perform well?

So why did Tim say that you can’t count out Windows Phone and Microsoft? I think it is because that he has most likely picked up a Windows Phone and thought the same thing as I did. This thing is for real. But is a solid device, with a fresh new operating system enough? Microsoft knew better. They started out with a full on assault to get developers excited and developing for Windows Phone. And it appears that Microsoft is also going to be willing to put it’s money where it’s apps are. Specifically, they will be investing 10′s of millions of dollars over the next three years. Microsoft has also said it will release the top 25 apps from both iPhone and Android by the end of the first half of 2012. Could this finally mean Zynga games? Then, there is the XBOX integration into Windows Phone. XBOX, who as everyone knows, enjoys tremendous success, has also adopted the Metro UI similar to that of the Windows Phone. So what’s left? How about Windows 8? Microsoft, after a very successful Windows 7 release, is set to follow up with Windows 8 which will be yet another Metro inspired experience that will take PC users in a whole new direction and user experience. So what we have is three stars converging to a single point all integrating a single user experience. Sounds impressive right? Yeah, I thought so too. More so, I think Tim Cook thinks so.

1.5% market share is not a lot to get up and sing about. However, analysts are saying that by the end of 2012 Microsoft potentially could exit with a 10% market share. But then Microsoft has the time, money, and experience to know this is not an over night race. My guess is that Microsoft knew that the three stars I mentioned above would converge to a single point and that’s when they will really start caring and marketing their product. I think that’s why Tim Cook said “that Horse always suits up and always runs”. Tim has certainly got his hands full trying to fill the shoes of his predecessor Steve Jobs, but making comments like that makes me think he’s got a lot on the ball, and knows that he has to stay vigilant against Titans that many think are only resting.

I Wanted Microsoft To Kill Off Microsoft Points and Now I’m Sad To Hear It’s Going

David K — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:04:12 +0000

It’s sort of like buyer’s remorse but here it goes. About 4 months ago I wrote “Microsoft Points Should Be Brought Out Back And Shot” . Why?

There are two big problems here. One is that it’s not a 1:1 conversion and any barrier at all is bad. You may not think it’s a big deal to do simple math in your head but it’s really a silly ratio and there’s no justifiable reason for this. The second is the massive inconsistency in use. Truthfully, I could live with MS Points. I get it. People don’t all have credit cards. Been there. But let the user choose on ALL Microsoft products how they want to purchase content and ALWAYS give both options. There’s no excuse for making people live in both worlds against their will.

So what’s the new news? Well apparently Microsoft is killing off Microsoft Points entirely.

By the end of 2012, all transactions will be based on the region set on the purchasing account and real money will be used to purchase all Windows Phone content. The move puts the Windows Phone Marketplace in line with the purchasing practices used in the App Store and the Android Market.

The problem with the current system is that some things use cash and some use points and it’s a mess. Buy an app and it’s based on cash then downloadable content is in points. It makes no sense. So Microsoft is rumored to be going to cash only. And yeah, that’s not a good move. I haven’t actually change my thoughts here “let the user choose on ALL Microsoft products how they want to purchase content and ALWAYS give both options.” See Points still do make sense. What doesn’t make sense is forcing people into one or the other system or mixing them. But making it so you can buy in points or in cash is ideal. And if you take it one step further and make it so it’s a 1:1 ratio (so 1 MS Point = $1) then we’d really be on to something sustainable.

Microsoft, if you are listening, think about what you’re doing here. Lot of people don’t have credit cards for various reasons. I remember not having a credit card until I was 21. That’s just how things happened and I know there are plenty of people that live in a cash based (not plastic based) world and Microsoft has to realize that. MS Points and cash transactions can live side by side and this should happen across all MS assets from Zune to Phone to Win8. Now make it happen and don’t go on a crazy Point killing rampage uhm k?

#smokedbyWindowsPhone Results: 30 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw

Doug Smith — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:10:34 +0000

If you were at the CES (Consumer Electronic Show, c’mon people) Show in LAs Vegas this year, chances are you ran into the Windows Phone guy Ben Rudolph who was betting that your phone, iPhone 4S, Android Flagship Galaxy Nexus, BlackBerry (pause for serious laughter) couldn’t smoke his Windows Phone. Actually, you could use any smartphone and give it shot. If you won you got $100.00. Read more about it here and here by David K.

And as you can see below, they released a best of video, well done of course, of what they saw was an azz whoppin’ they put on. Well, we got the results, as it turns out, it was a pretty good contest for Microsoft as their hot rod took on all comers and had a 30 win, 3 loss, and 1 draw record to show for their challenge. Pretty good stuff!

So what do you think? Would you put your device up against a Windows Phone?

[via Facebook]

Microsoft Surface Meets Windows Phone–Awesomeness Ensues [Video]

David K — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:13:19 +0000

Just watch this (the Windows Phone comes in at 1:07):

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Awesome, right?

Windows 8 Tablets: Bootloader Locked

Anthony Rock — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:41:53 +0000

Unlike the up-and-coming Windows 8 PC’s and laptops, it appears the Windows 8 tablet bootloaders will be locked down, iPad style. According to the Software Freedom Law Center, you won’t be able to root, replace, or change the OS in any way. The UEFI secure bootloader system that will come standard on Microsoft tablets has, in the words of the above website, been used “anticompetitively, by colluding with hardware partners to exclude alternative operating systems.”

They also fear that with the lack of legacy software support for x86 apps that MS has jumped on the opportunity to create an exclusive, locked-down system.

In my opinion, this is sort of overblown. Upon researching the site, I have seen nothing about them jumping on Apple for the iPad, iPod, or iPhone, all of which are locked systems (and market leaders). I don’t see anything about them talking about Android manufacturers who attempt to lock down their systems (Galaxy Tab 10.1), and to put it simply MS isn’t in a position in the tablet market to dictate anything, especially with an OS that hasn’t been released on a set of devices that won’t even see the light of day until Q3/Q4 2012.

So, this is just silly.