The list of partners include (this list is not exhaustive):
- Acer (Taiwan)
- Alcatel (now owned by CTL Communication, China)
- Allview (Romania)
- Archos (France)
- Asus (Taiwan)
- BLU products (Miami US)
- Celkon (India)
- Cherry Mobile (Philippines)
- Coship (China)
- Eve Tech (Finland)
- Fly (London)
- Gionee (China)
- HiSense (China)
- HTC (Taiwan)
- Huawei (China –unconfirmed)
- iBall (india)
- K-Touch (China)
- Karbonn (India)
- Kazam (Taiwan – founded by former HTC execs)
- Kyocera (Japan)
- Lava (India)
- Lenovo (China – also owns Motorola and Medion - supplier to Aldi)
- LG (South Korea)
- Micromax (India)
- Microsoft Lumia (US – at present over 90% of Windows Phone sales)
- My Go (UK)
- Next Generation Mobile (Italy)
- Pinnacle (South Africa)
- Polaroid (US and Europe)
- Panasonic (not confirmed)
- Prestigio (Cyprus)
- Q-Mobile (Vietnam and South Africa)
- Samsung (South Korea)
- TekStor (Germany)
- Xolo (India)
- Yezz (US and Europe)
- ZTE (China)
- In addition some of the above will produce OEM versions for telcos and other markets
|
|
Each manufacturer has its own take – low cost units from US$59 replete with the full Windows experience – Office; Cortana; HERE off-line mapping; Camera etc.; IP67 up to fully ruggedized and waterproof phones for use in work place and hostile environments; and bespoke, co-branded Harley-Davidson hand-stitched leather for several hundred dollars. There are rumours of co-branded phones for major department stores and telcos.
Many are looking at using Windows 10 Mobile on tablets as well. Overall most will ‘try’ the market with handsets up to $250 then look at flagship products.
Microsoft says its Lumia (formerly Nokia) brand will continue to be the most recognised but like all good marketers says the ‘pie will grow’ when there are a full range of devices in most markets.
What all OEMs are saying is that they like Windows 10 Mobile because (a) Microsoft has done a lot of the hardware reference design work but allows considerable customisation and (b) Microsoft, not them, will be responsible for OS updates leaving them to issue firmware updates if ever necessary. LG is understood to like Windows because, “The Android market is too crowded and dominated by one player.” PC makers like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and more like the ideal of having a complete range of products.
Another reason OEM’s want to get on board is that Windows 10 and its universal apps will run on the entire range of products from smartphones to 100+” TV’s and this OS offers them the ability to get into different markets.
And finally Intel has released an x3 Atom that is said to do what Qualcomm Snapdragon system on a chip does – and Intel is not backward with manufacturer rewards for those willing to put the ‘Intel Inside’ sticker on the product. While there have been no formal announcements the Atom x3 may also run in i386 mode – interesting – especially in light-weigh tablets able to run full fat Windows.
Manufacturers are excited as Windows 10 Mobile supports full Bluetooth standards – add a Human Interface Device like a mouse or keyboard and create content on a smart phone.
What is the Microsoft Windows 10 Mobile end game?
It is no secret that Microsoft is number three in the smartphone race. It commands on average about 5% of the global market – in some markets it has over 15% (largely due to the HERE offline maps).
It is no secret that 90% of Android phones are sold by Samsung and its lead in that space is pretty well unassailable.
It is no secret that 100% of iOS phones are sold by Apple.
Microsoft made its zillions by supporting its OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and that is what it is doing now – back to its roots. It knows that when Windows 10 takes hold in 2016 it needs a full range of products from low end smartphones to futuristic ‘minority report’ style computers using HoloLens.
The difference this time is that it is sharing risk and reward by offering the OS at no cost – making its money instead from the Microsoft ecosystem and a big part of that will be universal apps.
This time it all about vertical integration and that is most definitely part of Microsoft's master plan; it wants users engaged with its OS on their mobile device, tablet, PC, and more.
