Bill Gates on Microsoft’s strategy around the phone
This is a good interview, where Bill Gates describes Microsoft’s approach to the phone. A few things struck me from the interview and other stuff I have read:
- Microsoft don’t make any money on Windows Mobile, but they seem committed to the market for the long term
- Microsoft know that it won’t be long before the phone is powerful enough to take advantage of its operating system. At that point they believe they will then have a real advantage over the people who squeezed their operating systems into current generation phones. Of course as soon as the phone is this powerful it will make a great platform for Linux as well.
- Microsoft are waiting for the phone to be powerful enough to disrupt the portable game console market, at this point I suspect they will be ready to compete
- Microsoft will leverage their integrated innovation strategy
- The connected car is a huge market, this post talks about the potential
- The carriers, rather than the phone makers are a key route to market for Microsoft, I guess that Microsoft with its robust strategy around content and rights management is well placed to woo the carriers
- Microsoft is to be commended for being clever enough to keep on investing is a loss making business, until such a time as they are in a position to disrupt the market leaders
