We’ve heard of delays in the mobile industry, but a 2008 release delayed until late 2009 is bad and a now we have been told Windows Mobile 7 might not see the light of day until 2010. With the mobile OS race heating up thanks to Android’s upcoming October 17th launch, Apple introducing the iPhone and BlackBerry updating their OS for the Bold, Windows Mobile is in dire need of a major overhaul. The good news for Microsoft is that even if Apple sells 10 to 12 million iPhones this year, it still will not match the 18 million Windows Mobile licenses sold in the same period.
The area that will really hurt Microsoft is not simply the release date of their next mobile OS, but the ease and openness of software development on other platforms. By the end of the month, developers will have three completely renovated operating systems to choose from, all of which are less than 6 months old (Apple, RIM, Android). Let’s hope that Microsoft is holding an ace up its sleeve and we don’t see a repeat of Motorola’s current situation of falling from grace ($1 billion decline in revenue).
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Haha! Did you just list Apple as an OS that allows for “openness of software?”