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Five years ago, in September 2013, Microsoft made one of the most ill-conceived acquisitions in the history of technology, buying Nokia for $ 7.9 billion. After failing in all previous attempts to strengthen its failing Windows Phone line, Microsoft decided to buy its own mobile by acquiring what was once the world's leading mobile phone maker.
Keywords: "Once". At the time of the acquisition, Nokia, like Microsoft itself, was brutalized in the smartphone market by the iPhone and Android. Microsoft ended up canceling Nokia's deal in 2015, laying off thousands of people.
It was not the first time that a lack of market share on smartphones had led Microsoft to spend money as a drunken sailor on the coast – a billion dollars in his pockets. For example, the company had spent $ 400 million on marketing alone when launching Windows Phone in 2012. Internal business estimated that $ 1,666 was spent on marketing and advertising for each Windows Phone sold later – for just $ 100, before being lowered to $ 50.
After the delisting, Microsoft has always tried to make it mobile, and it has continued to fail. According to IDC, Windows Phone accounted for only 0.1% of the global smartphone market in the first quarter of 2017. A put at the mercy of the mobile operating system seemed likely.
And in July 2017, Microsoft finally seemed to get there. Joe Belfiore, vice president of Windows Experience, announced in a tweet that Microsoft will not add new features or new hardware to Windows Phone.
End of the story? Maybe not. I gave you this story because it puts this in perspective: many reports from reliable sources indicate that the company is working hard on a new device, called Andromeda, which will probably include telephony features. The leaked company documents call it a "new pocket device form factor".
It is not yet clear what constellation of Andromeda features will have. It can fold like a book and have a pen for digital ink entry. It can include two screens. It can cost more than $ 1,000. It will certainly be based on Windows 10. And everyone agrees that it will include the ability to send and receive phone calls and SMS.
It is believed that Microsoft will not position the new Andromeda device as a smartphone. But no matter how the company markets it, the device will likely have built-in features to do what a phone does – make and receive phone calls. And as they say, if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and charlatans like a duck, it's a duck. So, in this case, it's a duck.
A dead duck, that's it. Because Microsoft can not enter the phone market after so many years of failure.
It could make sense before throwing millions of others. This might not finish working on the device. And even if it does, it may not end up selling it. A recent report indicated that the code required for Andromeda to work does not appear in the next Windows 10 update, which will be released in October. howeverAccording to another report, Microsoft reorganizes its hardware and software and "sends them back to the labs to be significantly reworked." Even if all this is true, the device could never see the day if Microsoft was not satisfied with the result. result.
And we do not know much. Although the device has telephony capabilities, it is possible that these are based on software such as Skype, rather than on embedded hardware. Thus, its telephone capabilities may not be an essential part of the product.
But if Andromeda has this hardware and Microsoft releases it, expect it to crash. iOS and Android dominate the smartphone market, and their power shows no signs of slowing down. There is no sign that Microsoft has finally understood what people want in a smartphone or any other "portable device form factor". He should just give up and move on.
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