Hot on the web on Sunday from Mobile-review.com and PocketGamer.biz is an interesting news item about Microsoft’s mobile strategy. PocketGamer.biz reported that Microsoft have been convincing them to port their games over to Microsoft’s Windowsphone 7 platform. PocketGamer stated in clear terms that “Microsoft is contacting successful iPhone developers, offering them upfront cash to port their games to the new platform”. PocketGamer described the monetary amount involved as being “substantial”, but was not in any way tempted.
Microsoft is clearly trying to achieve the robustness of Apple’s apps store which is one of the major attractions of the iPhone. Microsoft are thus offering to pay developers to re-engineer their games and possibly other applications to be compatible with their Windowsphone ecosystem. This strategy is interesting and noteworthy because it gives some insight into part of the Business Strategy of the Redmond Company.
“The iPhone application store has been a monumental success for Apple and a huge part of that success has been the large choice of quality game titles available”, says Mobile-Review. What this shows is that Microsoft has an uphill task to surmount especially seeing that developers are not just tempted even by “substantial” amount of upfront cash.
Realistically speaking, the conversion process of an iPhone app to a Windowsphone 7 app is a difficult process involving a lot of resources. In the light of these, no developer would undertake this job lightly, no matter the “substantial” monetary inducement. The iOS apps are based on Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, while Windowsphone 7 apps are written with Silverlight or C#.
My suggestion is that instead of Microsoft inducing developers, that they should make the Windowsphone 7 platform impeccable with good UI, enterprise compliance and mass appeal. If the phone itself is good with tremendously good sales, surpassing the iPhone, Android and Blackberry (Nokia has too much distance), then they do not need to convince developers to create apps for them. Developers would just troop there in droves and Microsoft can then call the shots.
Another option is that since Microsoft has DEEP pockets, they can just offer developers bigger offers to induce them. I believe everyone has a price, especially if the price is even more “substantial”.
This post was written by
Ovie Albert – who has written 22 posts on Mobility blog.
Guest writer, Ovie Albert, is a medical Doctor by profession and a Techworld lover by interest. Opinions expressed in this article are strictly the author's and do not necesarilly represent the position of MobilityNigeria.
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June 22nd, 2010 at 5:30 pm Browsing with
Very funny, they decided to go for iphone like Apps to entice users.
I just cant imagine that all these keeps showing that Microsoft is copying Apple.
Sad.
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June 22nd, 2010 at 6:13 pm Browsing with
It’s really a little early to pass judgement on the new OS. Microsoft will finally get their act together this time, as for the financial incentive they know what they are doing. They want their apps out there already before the devices arrive. We should remember that the ipad was pronounced a failure before it debuted but today it has sold over 3 million devices
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June 22nd, 2010 at 8:51 pm Browsing with
@martinkem. Alright. Let us wait. But the windows mobile phone OS offerings is now plenty and confusing as it is. At last count you have up to five. Namely; Windows Mobile 6.x (the last of the line in the Windows Mobile OS family), Windows Phone OS 7.0., the Kin phone OS which is a modified version of Windows Phone OS 7.0 (Doing badly in sales), Windows Embedded Handheld OS (just launched for enterprise), Windows Embedded Compact 7 (for tablet form factor). Need I mention another windows OS for TVs, set-top boxes, kiosks and other embedded tasks, known as Windows Embedded Standard 7?
If you ask me, this is all very confusing. And a probable recipe for failure. Steve Barmer, Microsoft CEO in a classic example of a pot calling the Kettle bad at the D8 some weeks ago, criticized Google for having two OS namley; Google Android OS and Google Chrome OS.
Keep it easy and keep it slick has been APple’s success. With the Wow factor included! Their ios 4 is not a watered down version of the MAC os but an entirely new, innovative and sweet OS. It is used in all their non PC platform from the ipad, ipod touch, apple TV to their own phone (Iphone). Microsoft ought to emulate this!
Microsoft’s mistake is to assume that a mobile OS is the same as a watered down version of their PC OS. This is in no way true. That shall be their albatross.
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June 22nd, 2010 at 9:21 pm Browsing with
Wait and see attitude is the best option at this time. But it would be nice to have the apps in Windows MarketPlace before the phones actually come out just like we have with apple store.
Nothing wrong in copying a good thing but how they are going about it may suggest that they are desperate and that’s bad for business.
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June 23rd, 2010 at 11:09 am Browsing with
They say it is good to copy a ‘good thing’
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June 23rd, 2010 at 7:45 pm Browsing with
What is the difference between ipod phone and window mobile? Which one is better web surfing. Ple yomi@ i am trying to login my facebook with bolt1.7 but is not working, i try it on yahoo mail but is not working? Ple help. I am sorry for deviating the topice under disscusions. Thanks.
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June 24th, 2010 at 9:57 am Browsing with
@bosun99uk. yes. It is good to copy a good thing, but you should copy it better. At least, leave a footprint and improve on the copying or you’ll just be a copy-cat!
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June 26th, 2010 at 9:46 pm Browsing with
meeennn… i am slowly given up on windows os.. even before the lunch of the windows 7. neither am i interested in the ios 4 as to me, apple products are damn too controlled.
Android OS i think is the way i will be following next after my experience with windows. For christ sakes… Microsoft has all it takes to develop all they need for a good app store. One that all developers in the world will be working towards developing apps for. All they need is to step up their OS and make it more competitive. Even the HTC HD2 that i was initially eyeing is getting more and more attention by developers trying to port it to run on android os as its a much preferred OS.
I believe windows 7 will bring about some improvements… but it better be good enough to convince present winmo users before they all jump off their ship for other OS. These days, smartphones are not being sort after by their manufacturers, or even hardware these days, but the OS they run on.
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