14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft announced during the first part of the year several partnerships with handset vendors willing to launch Windows Phone smartphones in the not so distant future.
There are now approximately 17 OEMs that joined the Windows Phone caravan in the last couple of months, which keeps Microsoft’s mobile operating system in the cards for a consistent increase in market share by the end of the year.
The momentum should be maintained in all regions by these OEMs, which are expected to launch one or two Windows Phone handsets each, by the end of the year.
Combined with the new Windows Phone 8.1 handsets that are now making their way to more countries, Microsoft should start seeing positive results in less than a year.
The bad news is that some or all Chinese vendors that have confirmed earlier this year that they will launch Windows Phone handsets in the coming months are still reluctant to move ahead with their plans, Digitimes reports.
The reason for this unexpected turn of events is the fact that the production cost for these Windows Phone devices are higher than originally expected, thus offsetting the benefits of the free licensing of Windows Phone promised by Microsoft earlier this year.
Aside from offering Windows Phone for free to those who launch smartphones, Microsoft has also made it easier for handset vendors and ODMs to release devices with differentiated features, sources familiar with the matter claim.
In fact, the use of peripheral chips and some important components for the so-called “product differentiation” is to blame for the higher production costs.
It will take some time until Chinese handset vendors manage to absorb the high production costs required for the adoption of the “less-developed” ecosystem of the Windows Phone devices, but once they establish a feasible line of production, the rewards will start pouring.
Obviously, that’s assuming that the Windows Phone platform will have an astounding success in China, which is almost a guarantee if Microsoft invests enough in marketing its cheapest Windows Phone 8.1 devices like Lumia 630/635.
Sources familiar with the matter report that the first wave of Windows Phone smartphones powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 200 and 400 chipsets should arrive in China in the second half of 2014.
According to Digitimes, “it will remain a major task for Microsoft to see a significant up-tick of the market share of WP-based smartphones in China in the second half of 2014.”
Let’s hope that these Chinese vendors will keep their promise and launch Windows Phone products later this year. Stay tuned for more updates on this one.