If Microsoft’s India-born CEO Satya Nadella is not in tears, he’d better be.
Five months after Nadella became CEO of Microsoft, the mediocre leader of one of the world’s largest software firms is finding it impossible to move the needle on Windows Phone.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that Windows Phone is the mobile software underpinning Microsoft’s smartphones.
Windows Phone – Struggling
Microsoft has invested billions on its smartphone business but seen little consumer interest in its devices.
When Nadella became Microsoft CEO on February 4, 2014, Windows Phone had a market share of 3.2% in the U.S. (Source: comScore).
Fast forward four months.
At the end of May 2014, Windows Phone is still limping with a U.S. market share of 3.4% (Source: comScore).
Windows Phone: Few Takers
Smartphones have turned into a massive revenue opportunity for Microsoft’s rivals Apple and Samsung.
Smartphones also present a huge opportunity in countries like India, China, Southeast Asia and most parts of Africa where feature phones still rule the roost.
But Microsoft is for the most part out of the smartphone game!
The company was late to the smartphone game, has few apps and is finding it impossible to overcome the challenge from established players like Apple and Samsung.
Just in case you’re curious, Apple’s iOS based iPhones accounted for 41.9% of smartphone subscribers and Samsung’s Android phones for 27.8% in the U.S. at the end of May 2014.
If Satya Nadella fails to boost market share Windows Phone quickly, a Herculean task given the challenges, he’ll find himself booted out of Microsoft sooner rather than later.
Hairless Wonder Satya Nadella Scratching His Head on Windows Phone added by SearchIndia.com on
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Hairless or heirless, one has to realize that under 6 months is an insignificant time for anybody, including a telugu bidda to come up with a strategy for every aspect of the empire he is now controlling.
Apple is losing market share like there is no tomorrow, and currently Samsung seems to rule the roost.
Cut some slack will ya.
Just a couple of days ago, I read that the new AP Chief Minister, Naidu, wants Nadela to revitalize the new mutilated Andhra Pradesh.
Who knows, Nadela might still be able to turn things around and be hailed as the Messiah who turned things around in Andhra Pradesh as well as Microsoft.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. In certain situations when things are so precarious (as it is for Microsoft in the mobile arena) the leader has to hit the ground running.
More so as the world has moved from the client-server and desktop paradigms (Microsoft’s traditional bread and butter) to cloud computing and open source alternatives like Chromebooks and Linux take root (Linux distributions like Mint/Cinammon are so easy to install, boot off an USB stick and use that Windows seems irrelevant on the desktop). Plus, outside corporates/small businesses I don’t see families/home users buying Office any more.
So Mobile must be Microsoft’s salvation and I see nothing so far that Nadella’s favorite head-shaver God, Lord Balaji of the Seven Hills, is anywhere close to showing him the way.
2. You write: Apple is losing market share like there is no tomorrow, and currently Samsung seems to rule the roost.
Apple is still king in the U.S. and with the 5.5-inch/6-inch new iPhones and the iWatch coming in a few months, the fan boys will be out in force. So Apple is fine for the foreseeable future.
3. You write: ….currently Samsung seems to rule the roost.
Samsung is under tremendous pressure from two sides – From the cheaper Android rivals like Xiaomi on the one side and from Google on the other (Google’s insistence that Samsung use all of the Android elements forces Samsung into design compromises and duplicative features that vex users).
4. Let Nadella lift MSFT’s sunken mobile business out of the morass first and then we’ll worry about Telengana, Andhra, Chilakularipet etc.
5. The odds are against Nadella pulling off a miracle in mobile.
Microsoft is coming up with MS Office for Android tablets.
SI – Have you tried the office version on iPhone / iPad?
Period of Six months (or less) does not even matter, if Nadella / his team ever visualized a game-changing product/ idea on mind.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: SI – Have you tried the office version on iPhone / iPad?
No, I have not tried Office on iPad. Most likely, it won’t work because my tablet is a dinosaur, iPad 2. And I have not upgraded to iOS 6 or 7 or whatever the new OS is out of fear that it’ll slow down the device.
On the iPhone 5S I have not installed or even tried to install Office for two reasons: Form factor of device (screen too small) and second, I don’t need it. I notice that Office 365 is free for iPhone (likely because there’re no takers for paid versions of mobile Office).
2. Nadella (like his predecessor Ballmer) is clueless about what to do on the mobile front.
Only a jackass like Nadella will pitch a tablet for $2,500. A 512GB version of Surface Pro 3 with keyboard, case, docking station, mouse and Office software costs over $2,500. http://www.searchindia.com/2014/06/23/desperation-microsoft-offers-650-bribe/
Nadella is a king-sized idiot for taking the failed Surface tablet, buffing it up and trying to sell it for $2,500 by calling it a Tablet + Laptop.
Other than the asinine $2,500 tablet initiative, the only other Nadella move I’ve seen in mobile is to make Windows Phone OS and Windows 8.1 software free for smartphone and tablets with screen size less than 9-inches hoping that hardware vendors will make a beeline for the two platforms. I doubt that strategy will work with Chinese device manufacturers (whose assembly lines are committed to iPhone or Android devices) unless you pay them a lot of money. http://www.searchindia.com/2014/04/03/desperate-telugu-bidda-nadella-takes-free-road-to-boost-windows-phones-tablets/
Surface is a lousy and laughably over-priced piece of crap. The keyboard sucks, the thing is too heavy and big for a table and it is a perfect example that Microsoft just doesn’t get it.
I was at playing around with the new Surface Pro 3 in BestBuy yesterday and could not find even one reason to buy it. In contrary the Lenovo laptop convertibles were far more attractive.
If Apple comes up with Mac Book Air with retina display then I might just abandon Microsoft for good.
BestBuy didnt have a single Windows phone for the normal post paid plans. The guy there said they had 1-2 windows phones for pre-paid and the thing isn’t moving.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. What a coincidence! I too went to Best Buy Friday to check out Surface Pro 3. Unfortunately, the 128GB display model wasn’t working.
I checked out the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablet – Gorgeous.
2. You write: If Apple comes up with Mac Book Air with retina display then I might just abandon Microsoft for good.
I’m considering abandoning Apple for Linux!
LinuxMint works so well even off a flash drive. I bought a Windows 7 Dell system on Craigslist for $150 and now boot LinuxMint off that via a 32GB USB device.
You should get a 16GB flash drive ($8 at Best Buy) and try it.
Previously, I installed Fedora/KDE on a 10-year-old HP machine. Runs beautifullybut for newbies I recommend LinuxMint.
3. Sometimes I wonder if MSFT’s mobile (tablet & phone) mess is even fixable. Likely not.
Mobile will take down Nadella.
Satya, who? 😉
btw, off the topic, have you been following this news?
http://www.firstpost.com/living/who-is-maria-sharapova-tennis-star-gets-trolled-for-not-knowing-sachin-1601053.html
Need we any other proof to show majority of Indians are mentally challenged?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Crazy! I was not aware of the Who is Maria Sharapova thing.
Just saw the comments on Maria Sharapova’s FB page. Some of the comments are in Malayalam. I swear I am not joking!
India has the advantage of numbers…but it’s being put to use for silly stuff like Who is Maria Sharapova!
I must confess though that the whole thing is also funny at one level.
Timepass for a nation of bored cretins!
BTW, have you seen the recent BBC piece on Timepass and other instances of English creep into even the Indian heartland.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28054460
2. Your Satya, Who is an apt response to this blog post!
Many said Satya, Who when he was named MSFT’s CEO and they’ll repeat Satya, Who when he’s booted out!
This Who is Maria Sharapova? farce is another example of how Indians make a fool of themselves and prove to be a source of embarrassment.
Too many fanatics with nothing better to do….
SearchIndia.com Responds:
As I mentioned yesterday, India’s numbers advantage are wasted on silly things.
WSJ, Guardian,….who doesn’t have that story now!
Time of Telugus are Over.
They Like Bombay, Bangalore, South Chennai, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Kochi, Trichur and so many Post IT developed Cities; are running out of Ideas and Lies.
It is even surprising that their Lies have been believed by people for so much years.
This is no way connected to Article, but the general Attitude of this People seems to be Never Speak the Truth, Never hear Truth and Never see the Truth.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: Time of Telugus are Over.
Not in the U.S.
Most Telugus are thriving here because of IT. They’ve established a strong presence in North East (NY/NJ/MA), in Northern California (San Jose/Fremont/Sunnyvale/Mountain View).
Telugus are edging out Gujjus and Punjabis as the most visible, prosperous Indian community in the U.S. They’re also the most visible face of big Indian crime (Yandamuri/Erramilli/Kalidindi etc) in the U.S. now.
2. You write: the general Attitude of this People seems to be Never Speak the Truth, Never hear Truth and Never see the Truth.
Sweetie, in Kaliyuga that is the attitude of most people not just Telugus.
Off-but-related:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2014/07/15/10542285.aspx
Some of the comments are hilarious.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Okayish.
Comment responses are generally better in Reddit, Guardian, and, of course, SI. 😉
I know that Nothing comes close to SI 😉 Given that it is MSDN (Microsoft ‘Dumb’-Developer Network) where dull people (including me) often hangout, you can raise the bar.
The point was the story (about bill gates and the bug he raised) itself.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
No talk of MSFT or MSDN here.
Just O P E N S O U R C E.
I’m now advocating Linux to all and sundry.
After fiddling with Fedora and Linux Mint/Cinnamon desktop, I’m now planning to download and play with a very lightweight version.
Yes, I read the piece and the comments in your previous link.