Asia Drives Windows Mobile

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2007/gb20071129_757938.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily">http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2007/gb20071129_757938.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily</a><br /><br /><i>"Microsoft notes almost half the global smartphone market is in China, Japan, and the rest of the region, and plans to promote its mobile operating system in China."</i><br /><br />I knew Asia was big, but didn't realize it was nearly half of the Windows Mobile business. The breakdown is as follows:<br /><br />• Asia - 46%<br />• Europe, the Middle East and Africa - 37%<br />• Americas - 17%

[fresh-popcorn]

With 73% of all WM users in Asia and Europe no wonder why the US gets shafted when it comes to PPC devices.

The majority of the US users want cheap or free phones and complain about the phones they have to boot.

[JesterMania]

With 73% of all WM users in Asia and Europe no wonder why the US gets shafted when it comes to PPC devices.

The majority of the US users want cheap or free phones and complain about the phones they have to boot.

What I would like to see is HTC stepping up operations in North America by officially selling unlocked units and having a few more service centers in Canada/U.S. to service warranty/repairs. Asia has HTC's Dopod arm and other service centers are situated in Europe. The only center I know of in NA is situated in Texas and I have heard they repair only a select few HTC devices (others are sent to Germany, etc.). I read on the net that HTC has opened an official HTC Store in Taiwan (looks like a green version of the Apple Store from the pictures I've seen). Now if only they can start this trend in other countries as well.

[surur]

I believe this was later clarified to be distribution of smartphones in the world, not WM smartphones.

Surur

[Yata]

I believe this was later clarified to be distribution of smartphones in the world, not WM smartphones.

Yes, I'd think that Windows Mobile is more skewed towards the North American market. Symbian is weak in the US but very strong in Europe and Asia. Linux has a strong presence in Asia too.

[yslee]

From where I am, I generally see 1 out of 20 people with a WM phone of some kind.

I really dislike people referring to "Asia" as a single region for marketing or analysis; the diversity of the cultures means tagging it as such gives a very poor view to do analysis with.

[Sven Johannsen]

You gotta read these things carefully. Maybe the change was made before I saw it. but it says nothing about where WM phones are. It talks about market potential. Looking at it a different way, darn near everyone in America has a cellphone, and a pretty smart one at that, even if it is not a WM one. Those figures could purely represent the relative volume of folks in those areas that don't already have a cell phone. Are they candidates to buy WM? Could be. Maybe not. MS focus is clearly the enterprise in their WM philosophy. Do those areas rely heavily on MS enterprise products, Exchange Server, etc? Do the companies there provide phones to their employees? Or do those folks buy their own phones? If the latter, do they care about Exchange Sync, or do they care about media, music, video, games, etc.. Do they focus on productivity or entertainment on their devices?

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Those figures could purely represent the relative volume of folks in those areas that don't already have a cell phone.

I don't agree - cellphones here are as ubiquitous as they are in NA or Europe, with the possible exception of China and India (and most of the Central Asian region; and Bangladesh; and Afghanistan; and...oh you get what I mean). Case in point: my Indonesian maid carries a US$300 Sony-Ericsson Walkman phone - and she earns a salary of US$125 a month. My 9-year old niece uses a $600 SE smartphone, and her classmates use similar devices. On a recent trip to Singapore, I spotted a 7-Eleven selling Nokia N-series phones - you don't even have to go to a phone/consumer electronics store.

yslee's numbers are pretty close to my own observations - about 5% are using smartphones of some kind (though not necessarily WM phones), and this growth has largely occurred over the past 2-3 years. Among the executive set, the proportion is even higher.

Do those areas rely heavily on MS enterprise products, Exchange Server, etc? Do the companies there provide phones to their employees?

In my experience, no and no - my company for instance provides a phone budget for upper management staff (they choose their own), but there isn't any tie-in with our enterprise systems (including e-mail).

Or do those folks buy their own phones?

Given that phones sell at full retail around here (IIANM only carriers in Japan follow a locked-phone-subsidy model), surprisingly yes.

If the latter, do they care about Exchange Sync, or do they care about media, music, video, games, etc.. Do they focus on productivity or entertainment on their devices?

They focus on bling-bling :lol: Much as in Europe, cellphones in Asia are as much about lifestyle choice and status symbols, as they are about practical functionality. I think the iPhone's going to be a massive hit once it gets here officially - I already see an awful lot of 'unofficial' units already on sale in retail stores.