The New York Times believes the big cell phone manufacturers are moving away from Windows Mobile, and moving toward Android devices. (Based on the recent onslaught of Android news, that’s not hard to imagine.)
The article, written by Saul Hansell and titled “Big Cellphone Makers Shifting to Android System,” notes a few facts to make its case:
- Phone manufacturers that used to favor WinMo for their top-tier smartphones have recently been flocking to Android — including Samsung, LG, Kyocera, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola (who has dumped WinMo completely).
- 12 Android handsets have already announced this year, with dozens more expected in 2010.
- Dell (a stalwart PC maker, but newbie phone maker) has decided to ship with Android onboard.
- HTC, a huge brand in the world of cell phones, expects half its phones sold this year to run Google’s OS.
- With the addition of AT&T, all four of the big U.S. mobile operators are now promising (or currently carry) Android phones. (When the G1, launched last fall, Tmo was the only go-to source for Android. Now Verizon, the nation’s largest carrier, is going full thrusters to push the Moto Droid, which is set to launch this week.)
- WinMo may still be predominant — with Android only accounting for 1.8 percent of smartphones globally — but the percentage of smartphones using WinMo has plummeted. It only makes up 9.3 percent (down from 12 percent in the Q2 2008).
Why the shift? A lot of it goes back to the open-source nature of Google’s mobile platform. Execs from both Motorola and HTC have both waxed poetic about the easy, unfettered accessibility of Android. (“We have access to the source code,” said Sanjay Jha, the co-chief executive of Motorola. “To do that on any other platform would be very difficult.” HTC loves that Android handsets allow users to add apps. “Customers are really embracing personalization, and Android brings that to the forefront,” said Jason Mackenzie, HTC’s Veep for North America.)
Other factors that make the platform so appealing, include:
- Android, as an open-source platform, is free. (WinMo costs phone makers $15 to $25 per device)
- Android is intended for modern touch-sensitive displays (i.e., capacitive), while WinMo was designed for stylus input.
- Android has more consumer-oriented apps in its first year than WinMo has afforded in a decade.
- Google is good (and clever) with the updates: The bakery treat–dubbed updates have been regular and forthcoming, including Version 1.5 (cupcake) in April, version 1.6 (donut) in September and the soon-to-be-debuted Version 2.0 (éclair), which is expected on the Moto Droid.
- In contrast, Microsoft’s updates take a while. (For example, there’s been plenty of buzz, but still no word on WinMo 7.)
Even Microsoft seems to acknowledge that last point: “You will see a speedy set of innovation for us in the next 6, 12, 24 months,” says Robert J. Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, at the media event in New York introducing Windows Mobile 6.5. “Should we have picked up on the trends a little sooner? It’s hard not to say we should have,” he added.
So if this argument resonates with you, you might be wondering why or how this OS is still kicking. You can thank Corporate America’s tech managers, who favor the platform’s built-in connection to Microsoft’s e-mail and office programs. But the company’s had a tough time responding to critics who call the OS old, slow and difficult to use.
According to a J. D. Power & Associates survey, WinMo had the lowest satisfaction rating among customers of any smartphone OS. It scored below average on every factor, especially when it came to ease of operation, speed and stability. (In that report, iPhone came in number one by far. Android was number two, just ahead of BlackBerry.)
And remember that Android is still developing. Google’s software and the devices that support it are evolving, and quickly: “They started with the base layer of capabilities,” Kevin Packingham, Sprint’s senior VP for product and technology development. “What was missing from the first generation was the user interface that really gets to consumers.”
What we’re seeing now, he says, is just the beginnings of an Android explosion: “In the next year, there is the potential for Android to have huge growth and market share.”
Truth is, I’ve had my own issues with WinMo for awhile. I can’t say that my own experiences differ from those in this article. And my fav device aside (which is the iPhone, obviously), I have great admiration for Android. But I’m also a sucker for an underdog story. And so I ask you:
Is there hope for WinMo? Or do you think we’re starting to see its slow demise?
[via NYT]
Comments on this Post
1. Offer more apps.
2. Offer lots of free apps.
3. Charge more reasonable prices
for their non-free apps.
This is why Android has been able to make such big gains in manufacturer partnerships so quickly. The interface is more usable to more people. Arguments about 'knowing how to modify the registry' resonates with about 1% of mobile buyers. The general population is FAR too non tech savvy to understand these things or see the need to do so.
Here's a great quote from market research that i was once told when addressing the 'average person' - 'Think about the average person, then realize that half of all people are stupider than that.' - George Carlin. That's not to say they're bad people, only that you cannot expect them to adopt nuances and readily jump on devices that don't 'make sense' very quickly.
Touch makes sense. Visual menus make sense. WinMo borrowing from a PC OS is not a good thing for a strong mobile experience. A 15" monitor doesn't scale well down onto a 3" screen, this is why HTC and others have been writing Sense UIs and other overlays on top of the WinMo OS - to try and make it more accessible. But WinMo still doesn't have multitouch and the other navigation or multimedia niceties that the new OSs have been built around, which ultimate are what appeals to consumer users.
So yes, WinMo enjoyed it's brief moment at around 20% smartphone OS market share, but they won't see any return to that. It will continue to be supported for legacy enterprise systems that are tied to it, but for consumers they're not in the race.
I'll concede though, you get out of a device what you put into it. People are always amazed at what I'm able to do with my Omnia. I'm skeptical at this point, I'm impressed with all thats being said about the Droid phone for Verizon but I'll wait for now, as I said before, all the manufacturer's have made their claims about the latest "iPhone killer". Most notably Blackberry with the first storm, which was a joke. They were claiming my phone the Omnia was the next iPhone killer, never happened. It does not really matter to me, its all speculation at this point. I chose Omnia and WinMo because I can do more with it.
Give me WinMo with a slide out keyboard, the Omnia II HD screen, and the Droid's 6.5 hour battery life and it would be Xmas early. I'm not sold on Android yet, if its thriving and still around next year, takes off like the pontificator's say then I might switch. Maybe Android 2.0 will be different but the Android phone I used you couldint do much of anything with. I dont have any loyalty to any specific device, if I pick up the Droid at Verizon and it's actually a better OS and phone I'll buy it and drop WinMo like a bad habit, I guess we'll soon see.
{-points to WM7 release-)
Now WM 6.5 could've been better by years. They need to focus on beautifying the UI and THEN! once they have a sexy UI that everyone will enjoy using and looking at they should start to optimize the shxt out of the OS.
They should practice minimalism. Sad to say that no one has realized that the iPhone is so speedy because of its minimalism.
There is no screensaver, no background on the iPhone OS. WebOS has a background and a lot of UI tweaks and add-ins that when i was using it made me think is totally unnecessary. Its sad that WebOS isn't even a competitor considering that was the most buzzed about phone of last year.
WinMo isn't out as long as they have people developing for them. Look at the HTC HD2. If that phone is mainstreamed in the US people will most likely think twice about WinMo.
What Microsoft has to do is offer incentives to its manufacturers to keep pushing their phones.
But Microsoft didn't have to loose big pieces of market with linux on netbooks?
Heres the main difference, with Android and iPhone I still had to constantly go to my laptop. With WinMo and my Omnia I rarely have to power on my laptop. Enough said. To bring this to a close, even though WinMo is way behind the eightball I still see this whole market as theirs to lose. Name recognition is HUGE in a fight like this and NO ONE has more recognition around the world then Microsoft, hate em or love em thats a fact. So I sit here with my contract soon up for renewal, my moneys going to the Samsung Omnia II
On your second point of not talking about Microsoft as a whole but just WinMo. Their is a direct correlation because its MICROSOFT that drives WinMo. Case and point, when the XBox 360 came out many people said Sony would crush them. This didint happen for a couple reasons but mainly because of name recognition and the fact that Gate's pockets are so deep, Microsoft could afford the losses for the first few years. Most other companys would have had to throw in the towel and shut down with those kinds of losses. But its relevant because were talking about Microsoft here. I for one see a day in the very near future where people do most of their business on smartphones, its already happening. I can log onto my computer at the office via my Omnia and work just as if I was at my desk, thats HUGE. The iPhone is more of a toy to me, but in Apple's favor Steve Job's is a very shrewd innovator, he knows they cant rest on their laurels for long if all they have is a multi media platform and a app store full of useless crap like a tip calculator. Thats already changing now. I take whats going on with smart phones seriously because I can sit anywhere and log onto my office PC and bill clients hourly without having to drive an hour to my office. The benefits just dont stop there' thats one example' there are many others, so this is business for me. When you bill clients at the hourly rate that I do, I take it very serious, as I said its a business.
"For those that understand no explaination is needed, for those that dont, none will suffice."
If microsoft does an OUTSTANDING job with winmo 7 t may be able to keep affloat but not #1.
I'm extremely happy with my winmo Touch Diamond 2 (Going on 6months now). I love the phone to death but if I knew about the HTC Hero I woulda waited the 2-3 months and got that instead. But now that just means I have a chance to buy an Android device with a 1ghz processor and mebe a screen the same size as the TD2 or slighly bigger. I wouldn't mind one the size of the HD. HD2 is a little too big.
Sure you love your Touch Diamond 2, but that isn't solely winmo. HTC used their touchflo interface specifically to make navigation easier because winmo sucks at making phones easy to use. That's why the iPhone and android are popular: anyone could pick one up and use it without a manual or instructions. I agree with mpegeas01, yes the touchflo makes winmo easier to use, but iPhone is the King. Long live the King!