14 DAY TRIAL // Authorities in Norway are getting ready to abandon Windows Phone for Android because of a very simple reason: the existing models available on the market do not meet their requirements, so jumping ship seems to be the only option.
A report from local site Digi.no (via MSPU) reveals that 100 Norway municipalities which are currently using Windows phones for healthcare are planning the transition to Android and working with their partners to develop software solutions to run on this platform.
Many of these departments decided to use Windows phones thanks to their security, but now that they need to change devices because they’re outdated, the available options simply do not meet their requirements. Some are too expensive, and the low-end models are too underpowered, so moving to Android is their only alternative.
“Now it starts to get hard to get hold of Windows Phones. Microsoft has sold mobile their division, and there is little availability of handsets in the market,” sales manager Snorre Johansen of Tieto, a company that provides medical solutions to Norway authorities, was quoted as saying.
Microsoft not really keen on keeping customers on its platform
Surprisingly, Norway officials have already contacted Microsoft to discuss the transition to new devices, but the Redmond-based software giant has shown a somewhat lack of interest in keeping customers on the platform.
“We have an ongoing dialogue with Microsoft. They are trying to reassure the market that 3-4 producers have plans to create Windows-based smartphones,” Johansen said.
“Our customers use the phone as a tool in home care. It is then in your pocket with everything they need equipment for wound care and so on. It provides, among other wear and devices do not last as long. Our customers usually buys Windows Phones to around 1,500 to 2,000 krone ($170 to $240).”
The decision to make the switch to Android is not yet final, and the existing Windows phones are still under evaluation, but it’s hard to believe that Norwegian municipalities would remain on Windows 10 Mobile for too long.
At the same time, officials are also discussing with software companies about building Android alternatives to their solutions, so it might after all be just a matter of time until the transition is complete.