Through Nokia Microsoft Should Go Down The Food Chain

Image via CrunchBase

With Google Loon attempting free internet access in the remotest corners, the other piece of the puzzle is the smartphone. How cheap can you make it? There Nokia has an edge.

There is argument that the Windows mobile platform does not have a million apps like the iOS and Android do. Most people I know use less than 10 apps, and all the hit apps do exist on Windows Mobile. Windows is decent in mobile. It is workable.

The only way it could become a contender is if it were to go down the food chain with ridiculously cheap smartphones in the emerging markets. That might be the top benefit Microsoft could hope for from the Nokia acquisition, I think.

How cheap is cheap? Under 50 dollars. So, a super cheap smartphone that most people can save up and buy, free internet access from the skies, a Skype phone number that works just fine over the internet, and you get 80% of the world connected. I can't imagine a better boon for democracy, gender justice, and microfinance.

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Microsoft Finally Cracked The Phone

Image via WikipediaIt is like Google finally cracked social with Google Plus. Microsoft, long ridiculed, might finally have something to offer in the phone space. And because of its alliance with Nokia, that has global implications. As in, they could scale fast. Watch out. There is a third player in the game now.

The New York Times: The Critics Rave ... for Microsoft?

While the likes of Apple have captured our imaginations with nifty products like the iPhone, Microsoft has produced a long list of flops, from smart wristwatches to the Zune music player to the Kin phones....... Unlike other handset makers creating devices with Microsoft’s software, Nokia is not also developing Android phones. ..... The next major version of software for PC’s, Windows 8, will look a lot like Windows Phone, which Microsoft hopes will help it work better on tablet devices. A Windows Phone-like makeover was also part of the new software update for Xbox, which along with Kinect is one of Microsoft’s few consumer hits. ....... The tale of how Microsoft created Windows Phone starts with the introduction of the iPhone, in 2007...... Windows Mobile had a complex array of on-screen menus, including a start button for applications that was borrowed from Windows PCs. The software ran on sluggish devices that had physical keyboards and, in some cases, styluses. ....... Once the iPhone exploded into the marketplace, Microsoft executives knew that their software, as designed, could never compete. ....... The decision was to start from scratch, a move that had serious consequences. Not only did it delay a Windows phone, it gave Google an opening to woo Microsoft handset partners to Android. ......... the Zune HD came out years too late, well after the iPod had cemented its lead. ...... Microsoft gave its handset partners detailed specifications of the types of technical innards required, including processors with certain amounts of power and screen technologies. Handset makers grumbled about the rules, but the result was phones that ran better. ........ “The company is being somewhat bold and saying what worked for them in 1992 won’t work now.” ....... this year is crucial; it will show whether a respected product is enough to help Microsoft make up for lost time. Even if it feels good to be a favorite of tech critics for a change, Microsoft needs a blockbuster in the mobile business, not a cult hit.

I think Microsoft finally has a mainstream product in the space. That would be a first.

Engadget: Nokia Lumia 900 coming to AT&T, further details expected on Monday
The Nokia Blog: NYT: Nokia Lumia 900 Going Official January 9th, Sleek & Metallic

BusinessWeek: Nokia Said to Announce Plans for First Microsoft Phone for AT&T

..... the device may sell for $249 with a two-year contract ....

The Verge: NYT confirms Nokia Lumia 900, headed to AT&T

..... if the rumors hold, we're looking at a 4.3-inch WVGA display, 512MB of RAM, and 8-megapixel camera, all running Windows Phone 7.5 Mango.

World War III Time: Let's Go To War

Image via CrunchBaseTechRadar: Google declares war on Microsoft and Apple over Android

Google has openly declared war on Microsoft and Apple, with the internet giant claiming that a "hostile, organized campaign against Android" is being waged through "bogus patents"....... the first shots of a war between the highest profile technology companies on the globe. ...... Whether that's with the purchase of patents, huge investment in products (ie Microsoft's Windows Phone 7) or by marketing – it is clear that nobody can pretend that it is good-natured rivalry that is spurring on a now vicious battle.

Eric Schmidt On The Case
Android Has To Be Kept Free
Microsoft And Oracle Misbehaving On Android



The short term victory would be to see that Android stays free, that manufacturers are not having to pay Microsoft - Darth Vader - a dime. The long term victory would be to see the ridiculousness of software patents in general go away.

Could Skype Be Microsoft's YouTube?

Image via CrunchBaseThe Skype founders did not have what it takes, or they would not have done the selling, twice. And that is a surprise to me because Skype is just wonderful. Skype hit 500 million users way before Facebook did. But somehow the monetization did not happen. A nine billion dollar exit is a decent monetization, would you say?

Fred Wilson: Skype Out: Big companies mostly mess up entrepreneurial companies when they buy them and it really is best that companies like Skype stay independant and run by their founders if that is possible. ...... Skype filed to go public last year but the offering never came. ..... Maybe the company was having difficulty growing its revenues as fast
Image via CrunchBase as the public markets wanted. Maybe the investors lost confidence in the management's ability to continue to build and grow Skype as an independent company. Whatever the reasons, Skype's experiment with being independent is over and I am disappointed. ...... We use Skype every day in our office. It is our videoconferencing system and increasingly our phone system. It works amazingly well. ...... Skype brought VOIP to the masses and I'm very certain that someday we will all be communicating by voice and video over IP, maybe via Skype, maybe be other services. It is the future for sure. ..... I'm not particularly inspired by the idea that Microsoft will do something great with Skype. But I do think they are a better corporate owner than eBay. The second acquisition of Skype isn't likely to change our daily usage of the service. But it may be an inspiration to VOIP entrepreneurs everywhere to think big and create new services that can someday be as big or bigger than Skype.

Microsoft missed out on the smartphone, Microsoft missed out on the tablet, and Microsoft is on its way to being hammered by Google on both Windows and Office. Although Microsoft has done decent in gaming, and it has made some early, smart moves in 3D computing.