post Thursday February 13, 2014
Microsoft recently acquired the mobile device business of Nokia and is trying to improve its presence in the mobile phone market. It is said that Microsoft is changing its strategy and is now working on a low budget Android Phone. There are positive and negative opinions about this whether this is a good idea.
Robert McMillan from Wired is positive: “Building an Android phone is the best thing Microsoft can do in this market. Well, the best save one. We’ve argued for months now that Microsoft should just open source its Windows Phone software. Windows Phone can’t compete with Android if it’s closed source — pirating closed code is messier than grabbing open code — but there’s plenty of space for open source alternatives to Android, not only in China, but here in the U.S. In the U.S., the problem is that Windows Phone costs money, whereas Android is free.”
He thinks it makes perfect sense. It shows how much things have changed for Microsoft in the past years. The company is now playing catchup in newer markets like mobile and cloud computing. Microsoft is better off in embracing the free code (Android). A lot of hardware makers in China are using Android for their phones. As a result Android is quickly becoming the standard with phones. When Microsoft wants to go forward in the US, Europe and China, it might need to change to Android.
Peter Bright from Ars technical has another opinion: “As happens from time to time, the suggestion has been made that Microsoft cancel Windows Phone, and instead fork Android. It's not the first time this suggestion has been made. It's probably not the last, either.
It's a poor idea. Google has worked to make Android functionally unforkable, with no practical way to simultaneously fork the platform and take advantage of its related strengths: abundant developers, and abundant applications.“
When Microsoft is using Android for the Windows Phone it should result in a platform that is more attractive to consumers and developers, using all those Android apps and cheaper for Microsoft to develop, since core operating system development can be left to Google.
But when the platform falls down there is no good way to use the Android platform. It is not designed for it. In fact, with each new Android release, Google is making a forked operating system less and less viable.
At the end there are different opinions on whether or not Microsoft should start building Android phones. Future will tell us what Microsoft will do and if it is the right strategy.
Besides this al there is also another rumor. From 1 February, Google no longer approves new devices with Android version 4.1 or lower to run well. This is based on information that the site Android Police would have received from a manufacturer. Starting this summer, version 4.4 or later is required. Phones with an older Android version of Android are often cheaper phones.
Technology is changing fast and also the needs of the consumers. In a short period of time we will see what Microsoft will do and what the result will be.
Source: Wired , Ars technica , Tweakers
Image courtesy of Sippakorn /FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Looking for more great content? Subscribe to our RSS feed to get articles as soon as they are posted.
