At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014, Microsoft today said it is working with Foxconn, Gionee, Lava (Xolo), Lenovo, LG, Longcheer, JSR, Karbonn and ZTE to develop on the Windows Phone platform.
Microsoft said the main aim is to develop phones on new price points for emerging telecom markets and expand its OS market share.
The new list of OS partners is in addition to existing partners — Nokia, Samsung, HTC and Huawei.
With this latest news, Microsoft is now working with seven of the top 10 smartphone manufacturers in the world in addition to leading brands in Mainland China, India and Taiwan, representing more than 56 percent of the addressable market.
“We are pleased to add these new partners to our expanding Windows Phone ecosystem. They will be key contributors to continued growth across price points and geographies for Windows Phone,” said Nick Parker, corporate vice president of the OEM Division at Microsoft.
Windows Phone is the fastest-growing smartphone operating system, according to IDC, and posted the largest increase for 2013 (90.9 percent), more than doubling the growth of the overall market during the year.
Android dominates OS
Earlier, ABI Research said Android dominated the Q4 2013 shipment numbers for smartphone advanced operating systems with 77 percent market share of over 280 million smartphones shipped in Q4 2013. Nearly one billion smartphones were shipped in 2013, Android accounting for 78 percent across the year.
Android’s dominance is not quite as rosy as it seems though, with most of the growth coming from forked Android operating systems (137 percent year-on-year), mainly in China, India, and adjacent markets. Forked Android or AOSP accounted for 25 percent market share with 71 million unit shipments, as opposed to certified Android’s share of 52 percent, of a total of 77 percent market share.
“The growth of AOSP is significant for Android’s owner Google, because AOSP does not offer Google’s services (due to their unavailability in China), impacting Google’s ability to monetize the Android ecosystem,” said Nick Spencer, senior practice director, mobile devices.
Microsoft OS and Qualcomm
Microsoft also unveiled expanded hardware support. Microsoft is adding support for Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 and 400 processors by Qualcomm Technologies with options that support various major cellular technologies, including LTE (TDD/FDD), HSPA+, EVDO and TD-SCMA. Windows Phone will also support soft keys and dual SIM, critical requirements particularly in Asian markets. These changes allow for manufacturing partners to easily leverage existing design investments to diversify their portfolio to include Windows Phone devices, including larger screen phablets.
Microsoft Windows Hardware Partner Portal
On Sunday, Microsoft launched the Windows Hardware Partner Portal, which is designed to speed up device commercialization while minimizing development costs. Speed and economies are especially important for manufacturers needing to compete and win in the dynamic high-volume smartphone segment..
To help enable smartphone device manufacturers to broaden their portfolio to include Windows Phone devices, Microsoft and Qualcomm Technologies are collaborating to give OEMs and ODMs that are working with the various Qualcomm Reference Designs for Snapdragon 200 and 400 processors direct access to Microsoft tools, content and adaptation kits to build devices on the Windows Phone platform.
The expanded Windows Phone ecosystem will also provide mobile operators and retail partners with additional opportunities to offer white-label Windows Phone devices under their own brands. Mobile operators will also have more options to build custom apps and services for their Windows Phone devices that increase customer satisfaction, retention rates and revenue streams.
