Plea to Microsoft: Do Not Become More Like Apple

by Holly Shoemaker

Microsoft will continue to make news with its upcoming release of Windows 8. Last week, Steve Ballmer, the company’s CEO, said he could envision the company becoming more like Apple. In his annual letter to shareholders, Ballmer said the company may decide to build its own smartphones to complement the upcoming Surface, the company’s first tablet. 

Concluding Thoughts

While I understand the need to compete, consumers do not need another Apple, and Microsoft will need to analyze how its current partnership with Nokia affects it standing in the smartphone market. It will also need to see how successful Windows 8 is with consumers.

I still maintain Microsoft will better position itself by filling the market gap left by Research In Motion (RIM). Despite its intentions to relate more to individual consumers, gaining strength on the business-to-business (B2B) side has strategic merit as we see with Nokia and its map app platform. With Windows 8 approaching, Microsoft should think more about the opportunity to promote its new Windows Phone and the Surface, but on a B2B scale.

Samsung Undercuts Nokia: Debuts First Windows 8 Smartphone

by Holly Shoemaker

After the verdict in California, a Samsung attorney said the company had already put plans in motion to differentiate its products from iPhones and iPads. At the IFA trade show in Berlin today, Samsung did just that. In a move that undercuts Nokia, Samsung announced that in Q4 2012, it will offer its first Windows 8 Phone, the ATIV S. Nokia is expected to announce its new Lumia Windows 8 smartphones on September 5, 2012 in New York.

Overview of ATIV S

While the ATIV S is not the first Windows-based phone, it is the first Windows 8 one. It will feature a 4.8-inch HD display, HSPA+ support, a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera and a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core processor. At this time, the price has not been released and the phone lacks LTE connectivity, which has analysts speculating that T-Mobile will become the first carrier to sell the phone. In January, T-Mobile started selling the Lumia 710.

Concluding Thoughts 

While I discussed in June how the rumor of Samsung buying Nokia lacked rationale, perhaps more news will follow if Nokia fails to gain traction when its releases its Windows 8 phone. One thing remains certain - Samsung shows no signs of losing its number one spot as the world's largest handset manufacturer; the company dethroned Nokia to gain that honor.

Digitimes Research Shows Growing Android Market; New Players in Chinese Market

by Holly Shoemaker

Digitimes Research reported on Friday that Android smartphone shipments will continue to dominate the market.

Overview of Findings
By the end of the year, the research indicates that the Android Market should garner 70 percent of the market share. For Q 2 2012, the research compared to IDC findings. IDC reported that the Android Market held 68 percent of the global smartphone market share in Q 2012, compared to Digitimes figure of approximately 60 percent. The IDC report attributed the growth to Samsung. Despite the current U.S. ruling against Samsung, it is likely that Samsung will continue to gain consumers as the ruling does not affect the popular Galaxy S
III.

Nokia should finally garner some attention with its Lumia phones.  The research shows that shipments of Windows Phones should double from last year to 21 million units.

Digitimes expects Apple shipments to surpass 125 million units. However, the growth is expected to be lower than the previous two years.

The Continuing China Factor

China continues to factor into the growing Android Market. Another Digitimes Research study estimated that China handset shipments will make up 430 million units in 2012. Smartphones should account for approximately 32 percent of the Chinese market, which is equivalent to 143 million handsets. There is also a growing number of entry-level handsets expected to debut in the China market.

Microsoft Should Use RIM’s Likely RIP to Position Itself to Corporations

by Holly Shoemaker

Microsoft should take advantage of the continuing decline of Research in Motion (RIM). Amidst layoffs, and numbers that again fell below expectations, RIM's stock hit an all-time low yesterday. The latest developments and the continued delay of the BlackBerry 10 provide an opportunity for Microsoft to position its Windows Phones and the Surface.

RIM's Q1 2013 Figures at a Glance

The company reported the following:

• Revenue of $2.8 billion, down 33 percent from $4.2 billion the previous quarter.
• That it shipped 7.8 million BlackBerrys and 260,000 PlayBook tablets.
• A workforce reduction of 5,000 employees.
• That its revenue fell by 42.7 percent

The company also announced that the chipset it needs for its BlackBerry 10 phones will not be available until 2013. Initially, RIM said the smartphone would come out late in 2012.

I am not going to discuss the possible sale scenarios or the rumors that Microsoft or Nokia could buy RIM. They have already been discussed and while Microsoft could use some components, mainly related to email infrastructure, Microsoft should take independent action related to rebranding and advertising. Microsoft does not have to purchase RIM to do that.

Concluding Thoughts

I see the latest bad news from RIM as an opportunity for Microsoft to keep in line with what it said when it announced the Surface. That it wanted hardware to complement its software. This is a prime opportunity to promote its new Windows Phones coming in the fall, Windows 8 and the Surface, but this time, on a B2B scale. 

As previously stated, I associate Microsoft with business and I see Apple as the company that appeals largely to individual consumers. However, Apple has said that almost all Fortune 500 companies approve of the iPhone for their networks. Therefore, Microsoft should focus some attention on advertising and even talking to BlackBerry developers to see how RIM's likely RIP, could actually help Microsoft.