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Windows Phones Will Over-Take Android Phones, Says Expert
[July 31, 2014]

Windows Phones Will Over-Take Android Phones, Says Expert


(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) A technology expert has said the Microsoft brand of phones that run on Widows Operating System (OS) will likely over-take smartphones that run on the Android OS, which currently appears to be the most popular in Nigeria and some countries of the world. Former President of Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), who is a computer software programmer, Mr. Chris Nwannenna, who chronicled the antecedents of Microsoft against Samsung Electronics that is currently the highest selling smartphone device manufacturer in Nigeria and across most countries of the world, said Samsung and other high volume smartphone sellers like Apple and HTC, will soon bow to Windows operating phones from Microsoft, having successfully bought Nokia smartphone operations this year.



Before now, Microsoft based its windows operating system on desktop and laptops, and for years, it remained the dominant operating system globally. According to Nwannenna, Google, in an attempt to break the dominance of Microsoft, came up with the Android operating system that is currently driving smartphones.

"The introduction of Android OS drastically reduced Microsoft dominance as most people, especially the youths, use Android smartphones to do virtually everything that desktops and laptops could do, using the Windows OS. For the mobility of smartphones and the ease to pocket it and travel with it to any destination, Windows OS that was originally made for desktops and laptops, started losing market share to Android operating system," he said.


Nwannenna further explained that , however, Microsoft decided to reclaim its market dominance, when in February 2010 it announced Windows Phone to supersede Windows Mobile that it introduced in 2000 for pocket PC. "Windows Mobile came in several editions similar to its desktop equivalents and mainly targeted business and enterprise consumers. Its peak was in 2007 when it was the most popular software on smartphones in the US, but it dipped in the following years. With the introduction of Windows OS for smartphones, Microsoft launched its first Windows phone in 2010. Still itching to take over the smartphone market, Microsoft, early this year, concluded its deal with the once dominant Nokia mobile device and bought it for 5.44 billion euros ($7.52 billion)," he noted.

Since the purchase of Nokia, Microsoft, which retained the Nokia brand name, has introduced several Nokia smartphones running on Windows OS, a shift from the Symbian OS that Nokia was known for.

BlackBerry, which recently launched its BlackBerry Z3 smartphones, currently operates with the BlackBerry 10 OS, and it is also trying to regain market share across globe. For Apple, the iPhone, which runs on iOS, continues to be the gadget that makes the company tick. Sales for the handset grew even in a time of the year when smartphone sales are expected to be slow.

Apple reported recently, a profit of $7.7 billion in the fiscal third quarter that ended June 28, up from $6.9 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.

The company reported revenue of $37.4 billion, up from $35.3 billion compared to the quarter a year ago. Strong sales of iPhones and Macs fueled the growth, the company said. According to Apple's Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Cook, "We are incredibly excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, as well as other new products and services that we can't wait to introduce." For Apple, the acquisition of Beats largely follows a familiar pattern of buying technology outfits that have resources and talent that it can blend into future devices and online services.

Samsung Electronics, one of the biggest handset maker in the world and Apple's top rival in the mobile handset industry, is no exception to this trend. This month, Samsung said it estimated its quarterly profit would fall 24 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. The company, however, attributed the low sale to the slow season for smartphone sales in China, the largest smartphone market in the world.

Copyright This Day. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

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