DAVOS / SWITZERLAND, 25JAN08 - William H. Gates III, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation, USA, captured during a press conference at the Annual Meeting 2008 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 25, 2008.
Copyright by World Economic Forum swiss-image.ch/Photo by Andy Mettler
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The billionaire and ex Microsoft, Bill Gatessometimes says interesting things. One of the last has been a sentence on Microsoft Windows Mobile that has not left anyone indifferent and that I think is not right, no matter how much he tries to defend his company and cover the tremendous failure of Windows Mobile. I sincerely believe that Microsoft has succeeded in many aspects, but it is not the case with its operating system for mobile devices.
Some time ago, the United States Justice denounced the company by monopolistic practices. The antitrust case surely had an impact on Microsoft, although I'm not sure it was that big, and if so, I think it has nothing to do with what Bill Gates said. Well why am I saying all this?
Well, because Bill Gates has commented to the British media The New York Times that «There is no question that the antitrust suit was bad for Microsoft and that we would have focused much more on creating the mobile operating system. Instead of using Android, you would be running Windows Mobile had it not been for the 'antitrust case'. […] We were very close. Now no one has heard of WIndows Mobile. But hey, it's a few hundred billion here and there. (on the cost of the process) ». Well ... ummm, I think, with all due respect, this is not so.
The tycoon does not think that it is the fault of the apps, or how mobile technology has evolved, or anything like that, but this court case. And as he has said, he thinks that if it had not happened now the most used operating system would be Windows Mobile. But I don't think a Windows NT-based system would be the best for mobile platforms and could cope with iOS and Android, I have serious doubts, the truth. I had the opportunity to review a Sony Xperia smartphone with Windows Phone and it was the most horrendous experience with its interface and other features… I received the product with enthusiasm and in the end I was looking forward to it. Although ... hey! Stranger things have happened. They have certainly known how to make Windows the main platform for the desktop. Maybe they had some strategy to get the mobile segment as well.
Brexit is so strong that the New York Times decided to become a British outlet.
Outside of jokes, Windows Mobile never caught on, and neither did Ubuntu's attempt.
haha I thought the same.
At the time Bill set out to be the most used desk, he wanted to be in every home with a PC and he succeeded
what I've seen recently with this issue is that people keep confusing Windows Mobile with Windows Phone. that they are neither alike nor the same thing.
Windows Mobile was a pioneer in many things, and it was a system that enjoyed great popularity in its day. It had thousands of apps, for everything, from office automation to emulators, the cooking rom was not invented in android, but it started with windows mobile. Huge scene communities like XDA today started as windows mobile-oriented communities (XDA itself began as a forum dedicated to the O2 XDA, a Windows Mobile device).
The same system predates iOS for several years. so Gates may be correct. Since Mobile was developed during its final years at Microsoft, Mobile's successor, Windows Phone was more of a product of the period of its Ballmer successor, which was eventually discontinued by Ballmer's successor, Nadella.