Ballmer: Microsoft Won't Make A Mobile

Author Gordon Kelly
Published 2nd Oct 2008
Ballmer: Microsoft Won't Make A Mobile
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Well if you had no other choice than to use Windows Mobile would you make a phone...

Certainly Microsoft CEO and no-shrinking flower Steve Ballmer shares this conclusion - if not my reasoning behind it - saying the company has no plans to make its own handset.

Speaking to Reuters, he said the company will instead stick to licensing fees explaining "We are doing well, we believe in the value of what we are doing."


Naturally he also took time to have a go at Google and open source in general: "It's interesting to ask why would Google or Nokia, Google in particular, why would they invest a lot of money and try to do a really good job if they make no money. I think most operators and telecom companies are skeptical about Google. In the case of Nokia - are they really open sourcing, or are they really making Symbian their own operating system? We have to wait and see."

Of course Microsoft long denied they would enter the console market and the MP3 / PMP player markets too and that eventually happened but they weren't damaging partners in doing so in either of those cases. By contrast, whether it would really wish to kick the likes of Samsung, Palm, HTC, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and many more in the teeth simultaneously must be highly doubtful at this stage.

In related news Ballmer has also confirmed its 'Windows Cloud' OS will debut next month at its Professional Developers Conference. Not to be confused with Midori - Ballmer describes Windows Cloud as similar to Windows Server on the outside but with features that can be accessed via the Cloud stripped from the OS to streamline it.

All a bit vague but we should know more soon...

Links:
Handset Info via Reuters
Windows Cloud info via The Register

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Comment Juxtah said on 2nd October 2008

Actually MS got where they are now by a extremely competitive pricing policy and shrewd (sometimes questionable) business practices.

Comment Stephen Allred said on 2nd October 2008

Thank god they aren't.

Comment Paul Randle said on 2nd October 2008

So we can expect the zphone (zuphone? zoofone?) NEXT Christmas then?

Comment Oliver Levett said on 4th October 2008

What the hell is wrong with Windows Mobile? Microsoft licensing the OS is far better than being restricted to one device with one OS. WM devices being manufactured by OEMs is bette... more

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