Why MS Is Giving Windows Away on Small Devices

[Turk.]

By Ina Fried April 2, 2014, 3:47 PM PDT

For all its talk of being a devices and services company, Microsoft still gets a large chunk of sales and the bulk of its profits from Windows and Office. So why on earth would it give away the crown jewels?

It can?t afford not to in the mobile arena. By limiting the giveaway to phones and small-screen tablets, Microsoft hopes it can finally gain share in those fast-growing areas while protecting its lucrative franchise in Windows for full-scale PCs.

On the phone side, Microsoft has very little to lose. The company has been getting some revenue from Windows Phone, but Nokia makes up the lion?s share of the current Windows Phone market ? and it will soon be a part of Microsoft. HTC and Samsung make some Windows Phones, but aren?t paying Microsoft enough to really amount to serious money.

Microsoft?s real opportunity is if it can establish itself as more than a distant third in what has become a two-horse race between Apple?s iOS and Google?s Android.
Source

[HawkMan]

By Ina Fried April 2, 2014, 3:47 PM PDT

Microsoft?s real opportunity is if it can establish itself as more than a distant third in what has become a two-horse race between Apple?s iOS and Google?s Android.

Source

 

obviously recode.net has no clue what they're talking about and shouldn't be taken seriously as an IT news source at the very least. 

[FloatingFatMan]

obviously recode.net has no clue what they're talking about and shouldn't be taken seriously as an IT news source at the very least. 

 

Agreed.  I have multiple Android tablets in my house, and 2 Windows tablets.  Since getting the Windows ones, I don't think the Android ones have even been recharged...

 

They're OK for a bit of light gaming or surfing (as long as the sites you visit don't use flash), but if you want to get anything actually productive done, go Windows. :p