Windows Mobile Market Share Shrinking Fast

[Adan Galvan]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/08/windows_mobile_now_in_single_digits_in_us_smartphone_market_share.html' target='_blank'>http://www.techflash.com/seattle/20...rket_share.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/wpt/auto/1281066192.usr681.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>It's a tough time out there for Windows Mobile fans. Google has been releasing updates for Android seemingly every couple of months, and Apple has just released their latest OS and has sold well in spite of some hardware issues. Although there have been some great phones such as the LG Expo and the HTC HD2, hardware sales have considerably declined. The latest NPD Group numbers show that Windows Mobile market share has dipped below 10% in the second quarter of 2010. Although the NPD numbers do not include business purchases, it's hard to believe that it the outcome would be much different had they been included. Even more distressing is the fact that other <a href="http://www.unwiredview.com/2010/08/03/is-android-unstoppable/" target="_blank" title="Tech Flash">sources</a> show that worldwide share has dropped to as low as 5%. Regardless, Windows Phone 7 will have a tough road ahead of it when it launches this fall. Can Microsoft change the landscape of the mobile market, or will Windows Phone 7 end up another footnote in mobile history just like the Kin?</p>

[Bikegeek]

I have a drawer full of Palm devices, I got tired of waiting for the next Palm OS and went to WM. I got tired of waiting for the next WM OS and went to Android. I've had 2 minor updates and just updated to Froyo - no muss, no fuss, no charge - 2 months time.

Adios MS OS.

[Craig Horlacher]

I vote that it will be another Kin.

I hope people post their vote because I'm interested to see how many people think Windows Phone 7 has a good chance of being any kind of success.

At least RIMs new device/OS won't do much to hurt Windows Phone. Man, I thought they were actually going to announce something interesting. It does have copy & paste and real multitasking but man, people are already saying it's slow and who wants a device with 360x480 screen resolution?!?!??!

[efjay]

No chance WP7 will end up like the Kin. For one ALL or most of Microsoft services will tie into WP7 and tie in in a meaningful way, unlike with WM and this makes for a very good experience if you use MS services. And no matter how you cut it so far the OS has been received very well overall in the reviews we've seen of the unfinished product, and it will only get better and yes, missing features like copy and paste WILL be added so no need to go all nuclear on that yet again. And also this is effectively it for MS in the mobile space, they have no where else to go so whatever happens they will stick with it.

When you consider all it does have to offer at launch it may start slowly but in 1 year it will be surprising for the naysayers to see how much marketshare they have picked up. I'm in, launch day my HD2 will be getting a new sibling in our Windows Phone family!

[srmz]

My only worry is that you can only buy software through the windows marketplace and this in turn is limited to only a few countries.

Many people like myself living in countries like Pakistan may quite be loving windows mobile but if we have no access to software it is quite we may not go for windows phone 7

Regards

[kerrins]

I just can't see WP7 being successful. Too many issues with how I can download SW or not. How I can cut and paste, etc. When my contract is expired I'll have to convert to either iPhone or Android. I've been coming to this website for years (PocketPCThoughts) and like the way it is set up, I like the editors. I'm going to miss it when I have to convert.

[alese]

I don't think WP7 is going to be another Kin. But I don't think it's going to be a raging success also. My guess would be that at the end WP7 is going to be rather small no 3 player (compared to Android and iOS that are going to be 1 and 2), the rest (Blackberry, MeeGo, WebOS, Symbian, Linux...) will be in the Others category.

I think this time Microsoft is just too late to have a shot at beeing market leader - WP7 is just too little, too narrow focused (no tablets, MIDs and appliances) and too late.

[Fritzly]

No chance WP7 will end up like the Kin.
When you consider all it does have to offer at launch it may start slowly but in 1 year it will be surprising for the naysayers to see how much marketshare they have picked up. I'm in, launch day my HD2 will be getting a new sibling in our Windows Phone family!

A phone I cannot sync with my desktop? No thanks!
Oops yes you can sync with the desktop....... using Zune software but it does not sync Tasks and OneNote can only be synced in the cloud. I am sure businesses will be more than happy to install Zune on desktops....

As for the argument that it will get updates I remember MS saying since WM5 that they were going to allow OS updates "indipendently".

At this point first show me the features, after that I will open the wallet......

Finally one year from now is a long time and Android and even Apple will not make the mistake MS made and sit waiting and doing nothing.

It's a long way to Tipperary..............

[Stinger]

Windows Phone 7's main opponent will be Android. Apple will continue using iOS, RIM will continue using BB OS, Nokia will continue using Symbian/MeeGo. What's left is a group of manufacturers without a strong smartphone strategy and will have to choose between Android and WP7. They may choose to go with both but it's unlikely that the marketing dollars will be split anywhere near evenly.

The problem is that it's not a level playing field. Android is free (Google even gives away support to tier 1 manufacturers) but Windows Phone 7 will have a license fee attached to it.

Windows Phone 7 doesn't only have to be good. It needs to be $10-15 per unit better than Android. Will Motorola, Samsung et al really push Windows Phone 7 when Android potentially nets them more money?

[efjay]

A phone I cannot sync with my desktop? No thanks!
Oops yes you can sync with the desktop....... using Zune software but it does not sync Tasks and OneNote can only be synced in the cloud. I am sure businesses will be more than happy to install Zune on desktops....

As for the argument that it will get updates I remember MS saying since WM5 that they were going to allow OS updates "indipendently".

At this point first show me the features, after that I will open the wallet......

Finally one year from now is a long time and Android and even Apple will not make the mistake MS made and sit waiting and doing nothing.

It's a long way to Tipperary..............

The typical Outlook user who syncs to the desktop is not the target, android does not sync to outlook either without 3rd party solutions. And there is no concrete information on how Microsoft will deal with syncing in the enterprise, I would not imagine they are expecting corporations to install Zune software on their workstations.

We both know MS has sacrificed the traditional WM power user for the average consumer with WP7, having all the power features has not stopped these WM users moving to other platforms so there really isnt any incentive to placate old WM users since they are a shrinking minority. With consumer oriented handsets moving into the enterprise space MS has no choice but to make WP7 consumer friendly as well and hopefully work to add more enterprise features quickly.