Microsoft is all set to take on Android with lower
end Windows Phone 8.1 Smartphones. MS is going to launch range of lowly priced
Smartphones from recently acquitted Nokia as well as local Indian OEMs such as Micromax,
Karbonn, Lava and Xolo, MS’s latest partners.
"I think in the next three months, you will see some really aggressive portfolio expansion," Chakrapani Gollapali, Microsoft's country GM (consumer channels group), told TOI in an interview.
According to a report produced by Gartner last year,
only 3% of Smartphone was powered by Microsoft Windows Phone 8 OS globally
while on the global Tablet shipments only 2% market share was accounted by
Microsoft’s mobile platform.
Both Android and iOS minding their own business on
their turf, MS’s platform didn’t attract neither consumers nor manufacturers.
Mostly because, Apple produces their own Smartphone and Google made Android
Open source OS, so manufacturers don’t need to pay any license fee to Google
for the OS. But MS charged $20 for license fees for each device.
So, Microsoft has taken the initiative to increase
the adoption rate of its devices and made the license fee free for newly
partnered Indian manufacturers to help them make Smartphones cheap without
compromising on features.
Even Microsoft has announced its Cloud based office
365 service free for one year on the new devices that would be powered by the
free Windows (screen sizes under 9-inches).
"The idea is to ensure that as you look at customer acquisition, you also want people to use and experience Office," Gollapali said.
Local Smartphone manufacturers take a huge part when
it comes to market share of Android in India, as most of the manufacturers make
Android Smartphone starting from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 20,000 with dual SIM
connectivity and high end specs.
So, Microsoft has also enabled support for Dual SIM
and affordable Snapdragon 200 processor on Windows Phone 8.1 to hit Android
where it is most powerful in the country.
Gollapali said that Windows phone has had a good run
in India as it commands 5% share, "way ahead" of Apple's iOS. The
focus now will be to have a set of devices at the "affordable" level
and the top-end. "... that would complete the whole desirability and
affordability needs of the market."
He also claimed that Windows Phone has managed to
poach customers from both Android and iOS OSs.
"A significant portion of people who are buying windows phones are actually android switchers. And, we will see more”- he added.
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