Microsoft faces challenge with Windows 10 mobile
Microsoft is caught a little between a rock and a hard place as it tries to finalize and perfect its Windows 10 ecosystem.
Windows 10 is starting to work out pretty well as a desktop and laptop operating system. The Windows 10 server looks like a sure thing based on the success of the Windows 2012 server and the company's integration with its Xbox platform looks promising. The challenge remains with the mobile operating system.
It looks as if Microsoft is in denial about the Windows phone platform primarily because the "fix" to this platform would be too complicated and expensive.
I believe that Apple and Google have defined what a mobile phone operating system should look like. I also believe that as a result, over the past decade, consumers have gotten used to that look and feel. The look and feel is pretty standard — various graphical icons resting on a mobile desktop of sorts.
In fairness, the Windows 10 operating system is original and innovative but typically can only snag 3 percent of consumers.
Consumers simply do not seem to be that excited about the user interface.
There is speculation that Microsoft will release a Surface phone — a sleek, sexy looking device that will be attractive and may bring Microsoft back into the mobile race as a serious contender.
My contention is the Windows phone is not popular because of the operating system and not because of the aesthetics of the hardware. Introducing better looking phones can help but fundamentally cannot alter the overall user experience. That may have been one of the core lessons of Windows 8 — users prefer a traditional desktop to tiles.
If Microsoft cannot present a compelling reason for users to switch from iPhones and Android phones, expect Microsoft to abandon Windows 10 Mobile within the next calendar year.
Spending vast sums of money to support a phone infrastructure that cannot even get to 5 percent of the market will at some point simply make no financial sense. At that point, it will make way more sense for Microsoft to refocus on building apps for all phones and quietly exit the phone hardware business.
In the event that the increase in market share does not happen, the Windows 10 ecosystem will remain incomplete and will never really provide the full level of efficiency and returns for both Microsoft and the investors. That would be a real tragedy for Microsoft's Windows 10 strategy.
George Cox is the owner of Computer Diagnostics and Repair. He can be reached at 702-346-4217.
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