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Don’t be surprised when Microsoft Android shows up

• WorldMaker 11y ago
  Another "Windows Phone sales are down" article. It doesn't add anything new to the conversation and overlooks some obvious things: A) The intentional shutdown of Project Astoria; which is more proof that Astoria was on the verge of BlackBurying the platform, if for no other reason than it would be yet another bullet point in articles such as this. B) It's glossed over, but as much as the author seems to want to stick with "Windows Phone" as a brand, the brand is dead. The trick is not for the reason the author asserts: it's not "yet another rebranding", it's an entirely new position that the author doesn't seem to understand/appreciate yet. There's no more Windows Phone (RIP), because there's now just Windows, on a mobile form factor. So yes, Windows mobile device form factor sales are down, but Windows device sales in general are up. Microsoft is clearly and intentionally counting on the platform effects of Windows keeping mobile efforts cheap in the long run and maybe bring developers to some excitement in building for the platform as a whole, across all device form factors. I think the closest to a "Microsoft Android" will continue to be Microsoft providing toys for Cyanogen's efforts, and I think Cyanogen's efforts themselves (and Amazon's) show the limits of commercial viability for non-Google Play Store Android forks/alternatives.