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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Research and Markets: Microsoft Smartphone
DUBLIN, Ireland--May 11, 2004--
While it is estimated that only 1.6 million Smartphone handsets, representing just 0.4 percent of the total handset market will be sold in 2003, this figure will rise to 28 million units in 2005, 5.8 percent of the total handset market.
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com) has announced the addition of Microsoft Smartphone: the entry strategy, chances of success, and the impact Smartphone will have on the handset industry and Microsoft's balance sheet to their offering.
Microsoft's Smartphone platform is not having an easy birth.
Orange has managed to sell just 60,000 of its own-brand SPV handsets across its territories in the four months to April this year.
Smart Communications in the Philippines is the only other operator to have launched a Smartphone device.
The software giant is also having problems getting devices to market.
HTC is the only manufacturer with a commercially available handset, and resistance from the Symbian camp is fierce and well organised.
But Microsoft is far from being out of the race to steal mobile handset real estate. In this new report, Edge Consult estimates that while only 1.6 million Smartphone handsets, representing just 0.4 percent of the total handset market will be sold in 2003, this figure will rise to 28 million units in 2005, 5.8 percent of the total handset market.
Compiled through discussions with Microsoft, operators and developers, Edge Consult models the impact of the Smartphone licensee fee on Microsoft's bottom line and demonstrates that the software giant is fundamentally not in this game for the license fee alone.
Smartphone is a key component of a broader strategy to propagate devices that can 'consume'.NET applications and services. Edge Consult examines the NET strategy, identifies where Smartphone fits in and how it will act as a multiplier for revenues from other Microsoft divisions. This affects the metrics that matter to Microsoft. While the handset vendors focus on stagnating annual shipments figures, Redmond will be watching the growth of an accumulated installed user-base.
Large, high-quality colour screens, Pda-level processing capacity, and application and hardware extensibility, make generic smartphone devices distinct from the traditional 'dumb' mobile handset. Users obtain greater utility while application developers acquire a new addressable market and network operators get devices that offer a very real chance of driving data revenues. Edge Consult provides a full overview of the component aspects of Microsoft Smartphone and the hardware device specifications. The user experience of smartphones generally is analysed, and the strengths and weaknesses of Microsoft Smartphone itself are highlighted from three perspectives: the end-user, the application developer and the network operator.
The traditional handset vendors are smart to oppose Microsoft's entry into their market. The report analyses the impact the software giant's entry will have on the handset industry, from shifting consumer utility away from handset hardware towards software and applications, to lowering the barriers for new market entrants.
Microsoft is running a strategy that anticipated a hostile reception to Smartphone. Edge Consult identifies the five fronts on which the company has launched attacks in order to secure a presence in the handset OS market, and Microsoft's performance on each is assessed. Contrary to much industry sentiment, its position is not impossible. Edge Consult identifies the factors driving and retarding the roll-out of Smartphone. The report also highlights the issues Microsoft must address now if it is to see success in the handset arena.
This report is required reading for:
- Network operators
- Handset manufacturers
- Analysts, VCs and investors
- Consultants in the wireless sector
- Wireless software developers
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c1911
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