Market Currents

More on Microsoft's (MSFT) smartphone: Bloomberg reports Mister Softee views a home-grown...

Friday, November 2, 2012, 4:30 PM ET
More on Microsoft's (MSFT) smartphone: Bloomberg reports Mister Softee views a home-grown smartphone as a backup plan in the event this quarter's Windows Phone 8 launches (headlined by Nokia, Samsung, and HTC) disappoint. That's in-line with an October report from The Verge. Also: a Microsoft exec says WP8 still lacks a notification center (a feature long available on Android/iOS) because Microsoft "ran out of time" ahead of its launch. (Lumia 920 review) (market share data)

This Market Current was sent to 41,820 people who get email alerts on MSFT.

Get email alerts on MSFT »

Share this Market Current

Short URL:

Track new comments on this story

This news story has 13 comments:

jjmc2001 Comments (1087)

I think it makes no logical sense to mention the MSFT phone as a backup plan in case the other WP8 launches don't work. With HTC, Samsung, and NOK launches WP8 phones the failure of the WP8 phones to get traction will be the fault of the operating system and not the companies manufacturing them. These companies know how to make phones and have good relationships with carriers. The wild card is the OS. If the OS takes off MSFT can jump on the bandwagon with their phone but if it doesn't wasting money on their on phone defies logic.

2 Nov 2012, 05:14 PM Reply Like

css1971 Comments (814)

Exactly. A MSFT phone only makes sense to steal revenue from Nokia and HTC & Samsung. If MSFT do produce a phone they will almost certainly have to jump ship, you simply can't compete against the owner of the platform, they can kill you at any point.

2 Nov 2012, 06:22 PM Reply Like

Davidoff Comments (159)

Surface tablet is simply great, it's much better than iPads or Samsungs and unlike other tablets you can actually use Surface to work. However its obvious that its design is poor compared to Apple and Samsung tablets. When you use it to work, I would probably consider the design as being about 30% of the customer's choice. Since it offers a lot of exclusive functions and since its design isn't completly ruined you deal with it and you still buy it.
On the other hand a smartphone isn't really bought for its specifications (they are all pretty much the same nowadays) but on 75% for its design. Microsoft, no matter how trendy they would like to seem, are unable to make something cool enough to make young people thrill. So basically, Microsoft should open their eyes and realize that they will never become like Apple. Surface fits perfectly for the corporate world and their exclusive partnership with Nokia is the best way they could find to push their WP products.
Microsoft is being greedy again and trying to fool its partners. Not sure that it's the best way to go for them since we aren't in nineties and it isn't the same monopolist Microsoft anymore.

2 Nov 2012, 06:24 PM Reply Like

DeepValueLover Comments (5066)

Game over, Nokia.

Why would MSFT dedicate support for an outside company that will compete with its own hardware?

Nokia is being "Palm'd"!!

3 Nov 2012, 12:59 AM Reply Like

Seppo2 Comments (707)

And that's why Samsung is screwed all over by Google dedicating all Android support only to Motorola?

3 Nov 2012, 07:22 AM Reply Like

DeepValueLover Comments (5066)

Samsung is a SIGNIFICANT earner for Google so it is in the best interest for GOOG to continue support.

Nokia earnings represent less than 0.06% of Microsoft's profits so MSFT can (and will) cut bait on Nokia at any time.

3 Nov 2012, 08:34 AM Reply Like

riwm45 Comments (72)

@DeepValueLover......I personally think Elop did a fine job closing that partnership deal with Ballmer...what more can one really say about a billion dollars fee to collaborate in the development of the 3rd ecosystem and by building a killer phone that includes a mandatory inclusion of embracing the NOK's Mapping to all devices that will have W8 & Wp8 & that even include the Surface tablet...In this deal however, the sacrifice appears to be the complete abandonment of the Symbian, & Meego OS, a gamble that at the moment remains to be seen.

Now they are back with Lumia 920 loaded with new innovative features that is purely their own (no copycat)....Yes purely their own except for the core....See how good they can be? Heck, APPL, Samsung, MOT, Sony are all phone pioneers in building phones but surprisingly, there appears to be nothing out there that will beat the NOK Lumia 920 at the moment...Looking ahead, as these companies try to catch up on Lumia, I can only but think that NOK will come up again way ahead of any of these OEMs.

In saying so, one cannot also disregard the facts that Nokia's phones template Library is so huge that they are capable producing a phone model in 1 day by just mixing up a few templates....So, the way I see it, NOKIA remain's to be the king for phone's OEM...

So now the question remains, can MSFT really build their own phone good enough to be among the top contender out there in such a short period of time? My guess is, it will be nothing more than a typical cannibalized phone like the iPhones.

Nokia is not a valid comparison to Palm

4 Nov 2012, 02:10 AM Reply Like

mitrado Comments (1360)

"Nokia earnings represent less than 0.06% of Microsoft's profits so MSFT can (and will) cut bait on Nokia at any time."

If that happens, MSFT will have to drop NavTeq Maps & Nokia's mapping programs (Nokia Drive, Transit, Transport, Parking, City Lens...) and do it like Apple: release a much worse Microsoft (Bing) Maps that will probably be as crappy as Apple Maps.

Windows Phone 8 wins a lot just from having these Nokia apps.
If Microsoft decides to back-stab Nokia, they'll lose one of the areas where Windows Phone 8 beats Android & iOS. That would be very foolish, something like the contemporary Apple would do.

5 Nov 2012, 04:30 AM Reply Like

Duke67 Comments (135)

Lacks a notification center? The HOMESCREEN is the notification center! I own a Lumia 800 for 9 months and never felt like missing notifications.

3 Nov 2012, 06:09 AM Reply Like

Alfred Hong Comment (1)

I think MSFT is making positive steps in the idea that business these days is about giving customers a complete experience and enlarging its focus on hardware will allow MSFT to control the user experience from the software all the way to hardware; much like what AAPL has done.

3 Nov 2012, 10:34 AM Reply Like