Operating Systems

Has the Window Closed for Microsoft's Phone 7?

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Steve Ballmer is one of those guys who just can't hide a mood. Probably a terrible poker player. Which is why-- when Microsoft is crowing about Kinect sales-- that the refusal to provide Windows Phone 7 sales figures is damning.Ballmer and Phone7

UK store deal aggregator MobilesPlease says Phone 7 has accounted for just 3% of their smartphone sales, with Android outselling WP7 handsets 15:1. With 800,000 visitors to their sites, you have to take this report seriously.

The site says Symbian devices outsold Windows Phone 7 handsets by 3:1, with one device (Nokia N8) outselling all WP7 devices from a variety of manufacturers.

They even questioned one Carphone Warehouse store who claimed no Windows Phone 7 devices were on the sales floor. That's 0 for sale, that's nada to the cash register. Although the store did volunteer they “might have one in the back.” They probaly would have Palm PDAs back in storage if thet went looking....

That report makes sense as Carphone Warehouse corporate just announced they believe Android will be their best seller in their 2000+ European stores in this all-important Q4. That drops Nokia down a peg after decade of sales leadership.

CPW has the exclusive contract to sell the newest Google-branded phone, the Nexus S, which will go on sale this month with Android 2.3 software, the "Gingerbread".

Meanwhile, retailers and operators report Microsoft's Phone 7 phones, released in October, have seen disappointing sales due to product shortages, consumer confusion and (in UK) rivalry between networks over co-branding with Orange.

CPW chief commercial officer, Graham Stapleton says, "Customers tell us that being able to have a choice, being able to personalise their choice of phone is a key difference about Android compared to some of the other platforms out there."

Microsoft's relaunch of its mobile offering through the Windows Phone 7 devices is off to a slow start. Stapleton says sales "haven't yet met expectations." He actually hopes the platform would grow in popularity. "It would be healthy for customers if Microsoft were here, too."

Better hang up now. Ballmer is not going to be pleased.

Go MobilesPlease

Symbian Benefits from EU Million Injection

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The EC gives €11 million to the Symbian Foundation, as its Artemis joint technology initiative endorses the ailing platform.

Symbian FoundationThe SYMBEOSE ("Symbian-- the Embedded Operating System for Europe") consortium contributes the same amount-- meaning  €22 million worth of investment, with half from EU taxpayers' money.

The consortium consists of 24 organisations from 8 EU countries.

The funds will be used to develop new core platform capabilities in power efficiency and system optimisation, alongside new asymmetrical multiprocessing techniques and cloud capabilities.

R&D in future mobile platforms and embedded devices will also feature.

This news surely brings some cheer to the Symbian Foundation-- 2010 didn't show the Foundation too much favour (CEO Lee Williams' resigned, Sony Ericsson and Samsung abdicated, and Nokia leans on its Qt and MeeGo projects.)

Go Euromillions for the Symbian Ecosystem

A Window to ARMs?

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MicrosoftThe Wall Street Journal reports Microsoft plans a new OS aimed at low-power devices-- and non-Intel chip technology.

The new Windows version should add support for ARM designs as well as x86 processors. Discussion on the new software is due this January's CES.

Why the move to ARM? Surely to rival Apple int he tablet market. ARM chips consume less power, making them a favourite with smartphone manufacturers.

According to people close to Microsoft the plans to create an ARM-based Windows are part of efforts to make Windows more modular-- similar to what Apple does with iOS, stripping away OS components unnecessary for smaller devices.

Many analysts say a Windows overhaul is required to make it better suited for tablet devices.

Go Microsoft to Reveal New Version of Windows