Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft's Failure in Mobile Technology Shows That Microsoft Has No Promising Future

Stöwer - Titanic



Summary: Microsoft stumbles in mobile phones/devices and its share price too tumbles significantly as its future is questioned by pundits

Vista [sic] Phone 7 is not even out yet and it has almost no applications at all (big mistake for Microsoft to abandon third-party applications compatibility). So why does it receive so much press coverage? It's not as though Windows Mobile even matters much in the phones space. It seems possible that Microsoft used the leak trick to get some coverage which supposedly resulted from an "accident" (Microsoft does this with Vista 8 at the moment because to put out there Vista 8 screenshots without a supposed 'leaker' can send the message that Microsoft to has given up on Vista 7). It's hard to tell for sure, but Microsoft does use many fake 'leaks'; it possibly learned this from Apple and we gave many examples before.



There are missing features (even copy and paste) and obstacles, such as the fact that Microsoft is alienating developers. Many large ones have dumped Windows Mobile, at least for now (examples include Mozilla, Skype, and Adobe). Tony Bradley from IDG argues that "Microsoft might be late to the party and have trouble reversing the tide."

Eric Knorr from IDG publishes his thoughts under two separate headlines (maybe changed by an editor), one being "Microsoft's embarrassing problem with the future" and the other being "Why Microsoft Can't Figure Out What's Next". From the summary [1, 2]:

When it comes to mobile computing, the cloud, and desktop virtualization, Microsoft can't seem to shoot straight


We have already covered the fact that Microsoft is sort of bribing mobile developers so that they target Vista Phone 7. The pro-Apple sites call this bribery [1, 2] ("Microsoft Bribing iPhone Developers to Build Windows 7 Games") and it's reportedly not working out for Microsoft. The fragmentation [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] sure is not helping and the problem is recognised by more and more sites [1, 2]. Apparently pushing ads is Microsoft's idea of a 'killer feature' [1, 2]:

Microsoft is positioning its upcoming Windows Phone 7 smartphone OS, planned for release this October, as an "ad-serving machine."


Who would want something like that? Surely not users.

This whole thing is starting to look like another Zune in the making. Our reader Ryan, who used to work at Walmart as an assistant manager, still visits the store and he says that "Walmart has a 16 GB Zune HD. They haven't sold any in the last 4 months at least. I can tell because they haven't moved"

Zune is likely to be doomed, but Microsoft depends on its operating system because of the disaster called "KIN" (more on that in a moment). "Bing-Zune integration still not working," says CNET's headline and yet again downtime hits the Zune. It suffered a downtime last week and it has become an embarrassment to Microsoft, whose CEO tried to distance himself from the product's failure. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft's CEO is not paid so well compared to peers [1, 2, 3] and according to Cory Doctorow:

Aaron Swartz has the news of how the White House is trying to gut a piece of legislation (passed by the House and the Senate) that would be key to reining in CEO compensation in large corporations


The WSJ links to itself (a subsite of sorts, where Kara defends Microsoft) in an article titled "Could a New CEO Fix Microsoft?"

A pro-Microsoft publication goes with the headline "How Vulnerable Is Microsoft?"

Joe Wilcox gives "Five reasons why Microsoft can't compete (and Steve Ballmer isn't one of them)" while Matt Asay (Canonical) claims that "Microsoft disqualifies itself from smartphone race"

In the hugely competitive smartphone arms race, there’s only one real certainty:

Microsoft is out. Disqualified. Not competitive.

Why? Because Microsoft failed to tune into its own theme song: “Developers. Developers. Developers.” For a variety of reasons, the company fetished Windows desktop developers to the exclusion of mobile developers and now it’s paying the price.


Just how "not competitive" is Microsoft? Well, last week we aired the rumours that Microsoft had sold just 500 units of "KIN". Microsoft is not denying it yet:

But when taking a closer look at the information that's available -- since Microsoft is unlikely to offer sales numbers that could dispute or confirm the rumor -- its easy to see why this tall-tale has legs.


TechFlash's Microsoft booster Todd Bishop took it upon himself to get some answers and he investigated in a local shop. He wrote:

For starters, if I hadn't been looking for the Kin, I might not have known it was there. At each of the Verizon Wireless stores I visited, the Kin did have a dedicated area, measuring a few feet across against the wall. But the area was generally overshadowed by promotional areas for Android devices and other high-end phones sold by the carrier.


For those who do not know, TechFlash is still receiving Microsoft sponsorship, but this time around it's a lot more diluted:

A big thanks to our sponsors for their support: Barokas PR, BDO, Bing, KeyBank, and R2integrated. For additional sponsorship opportunities, please contact Joe Heslet at jheslet@bizjournals.com.


In order to float "KIN" Microsoft has come up with a new and pathetic press release, appealing to children. Microsoft pretends that it's a niche product for young people, not for stupid buyers.

The price of "KIN" was cut by about 50% (depending on the store) due to abysmal demand and it continues to receive terrible reviews, the latest example being this detailed review from Brighthand:

The bottom line:

Microsoft stated that, with the Kin, they were developing a phone that sits somewhere between so-called "feature phones" that offer the basics and a full-featured, pricier smartphone, but with the Kin Two, they've managed to capture the worst of both worlds, often underperforming low-end phones when it comes to capability while charging more than a typical smartphone if you opt for the Zune Pass subscription.


No wonder the management left the project and the company. It's just a total embarrassment. Open for Business has another new review of "KIN" and it was disappointed, just like everyone else (misguided buyers, not just reviewers whom Microsoft sent a phone).

Sadly, for now this means we would point those in the market for a new Verizon phone to one of the company’s collection of Android devices instead. We wanted to like the KIN, and like the concept car analogy mentioned earlier, many of its ideas are good in theory – they just come up short in practice.


At the expense of Microsoft and other brands, Linux/Android and Apple continue to grow (the Linux-based Android and Apple grow at the fastest pace). Forbes has published "Could Apple Collapse? Not Likely"

This is a response to Henry Blodget's contention (also published in Forbes) that "odds are increasing that Microsoft's business will just completely collapse."

“It's funny that a Microsoft booster/watcher becomes a Microsoft basher within just a couple of years. Maybe he just cannot ignore the facts anymore.”These articles have some factual basis. Another new one from Henry Blodget is titled "Reason No. 19 Why Microsoft's Business Is Massively Threatened: Corporate Users Now Want What They Have At Home"

Bloomberg is responding to Blodget and it's part of the big PR campaign that tries to show Microsoft as professional and invincible. Joe Wilcox, a former editor of the "Microsoft Watch" Web site which has been almost dead for months right after he left it, argues that "Apple revenue will likely top Microsoft during Q2"

It's funny that a Microsoft booster/watcher becomes a Microsoft basher within just a couple of years. Maybe he just cannot ignore the facts anymore. "Microsoft Volatility Elevated; Shares Near 10-Month Low," said this financial site last week. Another financial news site says that "Microsoft Is Down 15.77% Since Reporting Quarterly Results 57 Days Ago" and "Microsoft 9.20% Below its May 6th Flash Crash Low of $27.91" (those are just the headlines).

Unless Microsoft can find a way to evolve for the Web and adapt to mobile technology, its days (or years) may be numbered. It already has an increasing debt.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Blasted for Adding Insult to Injury: Workers Laid Off Without Prior Notice, Without Severance Payment and Basic Coverage (Like Health), Then Stigmatised as Bad Performers So They Cannot Find a Job Elsewhere
Such stereotypes end entire careers
BetaNews is Still Publishing LLM Slop/SPAM About "Linux"
Assuming it is indeed LLM slop, it seems clear BetaNews has no intention of improving or is simply unable/unwilling to improve
If Matthias Kirschner Loves Free Software, He'll Change the Name of the Microsoft-Sponsored Organisation He Governs (in Order to Avoid Confusion)
The FSF-EEE does not really like Software Freedom, it just loves money (including Microsoft's)
EPO's Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) in The Hague: Workers Are Getting Sicker, Conditions in Which to Assess Patent Applications Deteriorate
"According to the Office statistics the total number of days of absence has gone up from 12.4 to 13.1 total number of sick days per Full Time Equivalent (FTE) from 2023 to 2024."
The Standard Needs to Improve Its Standards for Fact-Checking, Aaron Swartz Had Nothing to Do With Reddit and He Detested the Company That Created It
The Web is already bad enough as it is
New Paper From the EPO Highlights Large-Scale Discrimination at the Office, Where People Are Rewarded for Granting More and More Illegal Patents
Even the Kremlin is probably more competent than this
 
IBM Layoff Rumours, Large-Scale Implementations Weeks Ahead (in March 2025)
There are some people corroborating
Links 11/02/2025: Nutritional Poverty, Closure of USAID, More Fictional 'Valuations' Around Buzzwords
Links for the day
Perl Programming Leftovers
recently in perl.org
Microsoft in Africa: From 98% to Less Than 10% in Just 16 Years
Microsoft being on less than 1 in 10 Web-connected devices in Africa is a very big deal
Almost as If MElon Reads Techrights
The joke we started appears to be spreading
Gemini Links 11/02/2025: NeoVim and Deploying Other People's Code
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, February 10, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, February 10, 2025
Scheduled Maintenance Tomorrow and on Valentines
If the site (or Gemini capsule) is offline for a bit, the maintenance windows are likely the root cause
Soylent News Lessens the Scope of Discussion Due to Persistent Trolling and Online Abuse
if they make it a lot harder for new people to participate, then they limit the "general appeal" and reach
When the Livestream of Richard Stallman is Apparently Bury-Brigaded Offline You Finally Learn to Avoid Google/YouTube for Streaming
Please, people, stop uploading to Google/YouTube
Links 10/02/2025: Ban on D.E.I. Language, Listeria Risk/Outbreak
Links for the day
Links 10/02/2025: Announcing "Stringless" and Mental Health Improvement
Links for the day
Links 10/02/2025: Facebook Mass Layoffs, "Meta" Did What Aaron Swartz Had Done But to the Tune of 81.7 Terabytes
Links for the day
Microsoft Tarnishing the Brand of Arch
Of course Arch can do whatever it wants, but being associated with Microsoft is a badge of shame
The Ultimate and Inevitable Fall of OpenAI (Even Brave is 'Bigger' Now)
"When you advertise at the Super Bowl, you’ve reached just about every consumer in America. It’s the last stop. If you’re not profitable yet, you never will be."
Adding Slop to Your Blog Only Makes One Assume All the Text is LLM Slop
Simon Coter from Oracle has turned to slop
Macao is Leaving Microsoft Behind
Windows is falling to new all-time lows
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 09, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, February 09, 2025
Microsoft's WSL (LSW) Shows That It Can Never Love Linux, Only Windows
that's just how Microsoft rolls
Activism in Times of War and a Coup
'Linux' Foundation works for fascism
What the Silencing of Neatnik Tells Us About Linus Torvalds Inside a Microsoft-Dominated 'Linux' Foundation
Is Linus Torvalds free to express his mind as he wishes about every topic, even just any technical topic?
Windows Down to 11.35% in Senegal, as Measured by statCounter
Another all-time low (Windows was at 99% in 2009)
"Latest Technology News" in BetaNews is LLM Slop Promoting OOXML and Proprietary Software at the Expense of LibreOffice and OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Remember that "open-source" and Open Source aren't the same; the former is fake
Links 09/02/2025: Coffee, Toxic Productivity, and Programming
Links for the day
Debian's Human Rights violations & Swiss women Nazi symbolism
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 09/02/2025: Software Patents on MP3 and Another Scam Dressed Up as "Crypto"
Links for the day
Links 09/02/2025: Russian Energy Cut Off, LLM Pushers Show Signs of Desperation
Links for the day
Richard Stallman (RMS) Does Not Have Media Companies and Lobbyists on His Side, But His Message Spreads Regardless
The message of RMS is spreading in spite of all the smears
GNU/Linux Rises to All-Time High in Chile
sharp rise for GNU/Linux in Chile
Links 09/02/2025: Hottest January on Record, Panama Blackmailed
Links for the day
Why We Still Love Gemini Protocol
Gemini Protocol may seem like something "old" (it's actually very new) and something "nobody would use", but many people use it
Gemini Links 09/02/2025: "Died as a Mineral" and Game Interface for a Non-Game
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 08, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, February 08, 2025