Microsoft hopes to spend its way into your heart
|According to Techcrunch via Gizmodo, Microsoft is planning to drop some serious cash on its Windows Phone 7 venture- to the tune of half a billion. The cynical response to that is, well, of course, that’s how Microsoft tries to solve all of its problems…by just throwing money at them. But it’s hard to ignore that much scratch when you consider that Verizon, Motorola, and Google – combined – spent merely $100 million (for those of you terrible at math that’s 1/5 as much) on its Droid crusade to secure some market share away from iPhone. With Microsoft lagging far behind everyone in the mobile market right now, a little extra cash wouldn’t hurt, especially with the good buzz surrounding Windows Phone 7. As a former WinMo slave/addict, I’m at least curious to see one of these new devices in action, although I can’t imagine abandoning my new home at Google (especially when my Nexus One is capable of being this sophisticated and powerful). Windows Phone 7 is make or break for Microsoft’s dwindling mobile market share, and I think the loose wallet is indicative of just how important this is for morale.
that’s some serious dough…I like it. It may be a bit late to the show though. Not by year, bt no one knows WP7 at this point and they’re 2 months from releasing the thing
They should spam commercials and pay celebs to use the phones. Heck give me one and i’ll get a couple hundred people buying the phone.
Can’t remember that far back, but how much was leaked and how much hype was there two months before the first iPhone hit the streets. I think Microsoft is playing it just right. I have worked on plenty of consumer product launches and this is how it works. The blitz should start shortly. Fasten you seat belts.
So five times as much money as the companies who actually pulled it off and a year later from this article, nothing but fail and head scratching. Hmm.
I don’t know exactly what they threw the money at, don’t have the expense report in front of me itemizing everything, but if you ask me (or just hang around while I’m talking), they should have just given these phones out along with unlimited year-long phone service contracts for as many phones and contracts as they wanted to throw money at.
That would either work or that would indicate loud and clear that the world does not need or even tepidly want another phone platform.