Goodbye, Microsoft, you won't be missed

Sorry, @FireEmblem_Man... but it's true--

MICROSOFT HAS GIVEN UP ON CONSUMER SMARTPHONES

What this means:

• 1,850 jobs to be cut
• $950 million charge

I think most of us knew this was coming for some time. MS had been unsuccessful in creating a new market with its devices. Their feature set was underwhelming, not in concept but in practice. Universal apps never really took off across the board, Microsoft's ability to distribute their products was always a puzzling failure, and no amount of pomp and circumstance or bad IDC analysis (and there was plenty of it) could change the fact that MS lost the mobile war.

More blood on Apple's hands, quickened by Google. Scary time for Microsoft, who made their fortune on expensive operating system and office productivity software. They have no foothold in the post-PC generation.

What an interesting time to be alive.

Bonus images, for the lulz:

...aaaaand some bonus videos for even more lulz:

This sounds bad. I am not a fan of Windows Mobile, but I would prefer having the extra competition by having them still around. I don't want Apple and Google to have too much power in the smartphone industry. Thankfully, MS are still staying in smartphone market, although they are focusing more on corporate users.

Given the OS couldn't utilize the largest advantage of Windows, the ecosystem, it couldn't offer users an advantage over iOS or Android. With Intel cutting the contra-revenue fueled Atom in favor of the much more powerful and more profitable Core M, Microsoft's chance of bringing x86 Windows 10 to smartphones to the mainstream was crushed. Last year Intel said Core M is being tested in smartphones, so an x86 Windows smartphone is still possible (with an Intel modem), but not for a mainstream market.

The global tablet and smartphone market are starting to see declines, the next battleground of services and AI is already a direction Microsoft is headed in. Although, in the tablet market, the Surface line is still growing, as is the market for Windows tablets. Outside of that, Windows is still the dominating force in the desktop/laptop market, a market that might be seeing decline, but will not disappear or become insignificant.

@musicalmac said:

Bonus images, for the lulz:

Is that supposed to be an iPhone they're carrying? Haha, oh sweet irony.

I do agree, more competition is usually a good thing, but Microsoft wasn't exactly bringing anything new to the table through their mobile OS. Most apps/services Microsoft offers are already in app form on Android/iOS, such as Office, OneDrive, Cortana, Skype, etc. The integration is far enough along that you can tell Cortana from a Windows 10 PC to send a text message through an Android phone.

@NVIDIATI: lol, it is...

I don't like MS mobile it's sucks and there apps are low-quality .. i agree with this

Microsoft Surface Phones are coming in 2017 and will run Windows 10. If they run desktop software and will play DirectX12 games, then I'll gladly make the switch to Microsoft phones. Android mobile OS is terrible, IMO. And, iPhones are nice and fast, but Surface phones that run desktop software would overshadow anything that Apple can offer me.

@musicalmac: There is no such thing as a post-PC generation.

@doubutsuteki: It's likely that you're holding one in your hands. Either that, or you carry it around in your pocket.

@musicalmac: An Android phone? It doesn't replace a PC though.

this was a dumb idea...facebook phone was worse...amazon phone..lol google phone....all rip....

this is why I buy a sony.....never has one failed one is 10 years old still going w810 I had a sony acr s thinner then I iphone better cam too....sony z1 worker under water ....great fun in the pool doing movies.

sony makes all the cams for all the flagship phones....and that division really makes sony a lot of money.

@SuperClocks: A windows phone running windows 10 and desktop OS and software is the worst, stupidest and ugliest idea ever

No such thing exists