Microsoft told TechEd Conference attendees in New Orleans this week that they can expect the company’s Windows Phone 7 smartphone OS to attract plenty of business users. By combining familiar tools such as PowerPoint, OneNote, Word, Excel and SharePoint with rich e-mail, calendar and contacts, the new platform will be able to offer compelling business apps for increased productivity, the company said.
According to Gartner, Microsoft’s global smartphone OS market share amounted to just 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2010 — down from 10.2 percent in the year-earlier period. Microsoft also fell to the number-five slot behind Nokia (Symbian OS), Research In Motion (BlackBerry OS), Apple (iPhone OS), and Google (Android OS).
Nevertheless, Microsoft’s days as a top-tier smartphone contender are far from over, noted Al Hilwa, director of application development software at IDC. “It is still early enough for the software giant to capture a sizable slice of the market and reemerge as a leading player,” Hilwa observed.
A Fragmented Market
Still, Hilwa said Microsoft will have to execute flawlessly to make a comeback. “Out of the gate they need to show significant developer momentum with thousands of great apps available,” he said.
Unlike the PC market, the smartphone market will continue to be fragmented with multiple big players for a long time, Hilwa observed. “Microsoft will have to get used to being a top-five player rather than the top dog from a market-share perspective,” Hilwa said. “But it is very possible for them to muscle up to top-three status with a generation or two of the platform behind them.”
One of the things Microsoft must have at the outset is a significant gaming portfolio. “They could make a position as the mobile gaming solution to beat if they leverage their Xbox assets properly,” Hilwa said.
Hilwa also believes Microsoft will…