February 12, 2009 by Jay Smith
I seem to write every day about how competitive the SmartPhone market is, and every time I type it, it gets no less true. Microsoft’s attempt to not only break into the market but to become a major player is audacious in the extreme. However, if any company is positioned to make it work it’s them.
The major factor in their favour is the ubiquity of Windows. The OS runs on around 1.1 billion PCs and their reach extends even beyond that – around 500 million people use their email or IM services. Also, whilst their share of the mobile market is crumbling, it’s far from insignificant. Their piece of the SmartPhone market stands at around 36%, an unstable but large figure that has seen 20 million+ Windows mobile based phones sold in the past year.
The key factor in whether or not this is going to be a successful venture for Microsoft is whether or not they can convince the average user that sticking with Windows is the smart move. They will have to promote the idea that it’s stupid learning another system when you already know Windows. Essentially they will have to leverage the undoubted loyalty their brand enjoys into actual concrete sales.
They must also do it quickly because, as Senior Vice-President, Andy Lees correctly observes, “What happens in the next three to four years will determine what happens for the next decade or more.”
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