Microsoft has long said that it’s not fooling around when it comes to the mobile phone market — and now it’s putting its money where its mouth is. $1 billion, to be exact, according to one analyst.
That’s one serious research budget for Windows Phone and new Windows mobile devices, but it’s money that Microsoft is likely to sorely need.
After all, Apple, Google’s Android, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry and Nokia-backed Symbian are all pushing hard for a bigger slice of the lucrative smartphone market. Meanwhile, Microsoft is finding itself needing to play catch-up in spite of having been in the phone market for years, with Windows Mobile (or Windows Phone, as the mobile OS is soon to be known) occupying a slipping fourth-place position in the mobile software market. EnterpriseMobileToday takes a look at the software giant’s plan.
Microsoft plans to spend $1 billion on its Windows Phone strategy this year, according to a financial analyst who covers the company.
The word on Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) investment strategy came from Bill Koefoed, general manager of the company’s investor relations group, via a conversation he had recently with Brendan Barnicle, senior research analyst at Pacific Crest Securities.