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 Channel Futures

Mobility & Wireless


Microsoft: Time to Merge Windows RT, WIndows Phone OSes

  • Written by The VAR Guy 1
  • August 5, 2013
Windows RT for tablets and Windows Phone 8 both are struggling. And they both run on ARM processors. Time for the two Microsoft operating systems to converge?

What if Microsoft (MSFT) merged its struggling Windows RT and Windows Phone operating systems into a single software platform for tablets and smartphones? That concept, which Mary Jo Foley proposed toward the bottom of a recent blog, makes a ton of sense for Microsoft’s partners, developers and customers. Here’s why.

In a recent blog about Microsoft’s commitment to Windows RT, Foley wrote:

“Windows Phone runs on ARM. Windows RT runs on ARM. Both use the NT core. And Microsoft is trying to unify the programming interfaces, frameworks and dev tools across these platforms. … What if the Windows Phone OS and Windows RT both evolve so they become, for all intents and purposes, one OS that can run on mobile devices without a desktop?”

Foley is onto something here. Consider the bleak reality:

  • Microsoft in July announced a $900 million write-down for unsold Surface RT inventory.
  • Total sales of Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets since launch is under $1 billion.
  • Windows RT had 0.5 percent tablet OS market share in Q2 2013, while Samsung tablet sales running Android were skyrocketing, according to IDC. Translation: One in 200 tablet sales for Q2 2013 ran Windows RT.
  • In the smart phone market, Microsoft had about 3.9 percent operating system share for Q2 2013, Gartner estimates. The bulk of that Microsoft market share surely involves Windows Phone.

With those market share realities in mind, it’s time for Microsoft to simplify its message to partners, developers and customers. Both Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 are struggling to attract native applications vs. Apple iOS and Android. Instead of forcing developers to choose between Microsoft’s tablet and phone offerings, it’s time for the software giant to give developers one code base upon which to write apps. 

Microsoft has been down this path before. Anyone else remember how Windows 95 and NT Workstation gradually looked more and more alike in the 1990s? The end destination was Windows 2000 (on the NT code base) at the close of the decade.

It’s time for Microsoft to steal a page from its own playbook. Converge Windows RT and Windows Phone. Surely, one struggling (but promising) OS is better than two — correct?

Tags: Agents Cloud Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Mobility & Wireless

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7 comments

  1. Avatar Marees August 6, 2013 @ 2:46 pm
    Reply

    …. two turkeys dont make an
    …. two turkeys dont make an Eagle? or do they?

  2. Joe Panettieri Joe Panettieri August 6, 2013 @ 11:45 pm
    Reply

    Worst case: Isn’t it nice to
    Worst case: Isn’t it nice to have one fewer turkey on the Microsoft farm?
    -jp

    • Avatar Marees August 8, 2013 @ 12:28 pm
      Reply

      I agree with you. Just wish
      I agree with you. Just wish that MS/Sinofsky had never released RT then both windows phone and surface would have benefitted by having common OS/apps

      • Joe Panettieri Joe Panettieri August 27, 2013 @ 9:03 pm
        Reply

        Marees: With Ballmer moving
        Marees: With Ballmer moving out of the picture at some point over the next 12 months, I suspect Windows RT will get a close look from the next CEO…
        -jp

  3. Avatar graxspoo August 10, 2013 @ 1:36 am
    Reply

    What I don’t understand, and
    What I don’t understand, and am trying to figure out, is why Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT were different in the first place. You would think that Microsoft, having some experience with software, would realize that having a unified code base would be vastly preferable both because it would reduce their own maintenance headaches, but also because it would present a single API to third party developers, thus helping bolster their app portfolio, something that they desperately need. So, wtf Microsoft?

  4. Avatar Anonymous August 10, 2013 @ 6:58 pm
    Reply

    I would certainly like to not
    I would certainly like to not have to cboose between developing for the phone or the tablet. Merge, yes, please.

  5. Joe Panettieri Joe Panettieri August 13, 2013 @ 7:30 pm
    Reply

    Graxspoo, Anonymous: I’m
    Graxspoo, Anonymous: I’m still tracking the reader comments that surface (sorry for the pun) here. Other than Microsoft itself, I wonder how many tablet makers are truly committed to Windows RT…?
    -jp

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