Windows Phones are Easier to Make than Android

At an event in Hong Kong, Michael Dell reportedly mentioned that it was easier to make a Windows Phone 7 handset than it was to work with Android. Though Dell is still relatively new to the smartphone game, they have cranked out the Dell Streak and the Venue Pro, so they know something about either platform. Particulars of the quote have been removed from the original Reuters article, so it seems like there has been a redaction of some kind. I wouldn’t imagine Dell wants to burn any bridges with Google.

Presuming Dell actually leans towards Windows Phone, that would be quite the endorsement for Microsoft’s burgeoning mobile platform. We’ve seen plenty of the OS in action from the end-user standpoint, and Microsoft certainly managed to rope in lots of partners for the Windows Phone launch last month, but we have yet to gauge interest on any comparative level. If Android has managed to get where it is so far thanks to help from outside manufacturers, and Windows Phone can appeal to those same manufacturers better than Android can, Microsoft may have a chance at being a serious contender in the long run (or at least wrestling its way out of last place from webOS).

[via Engadget]

About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=541242999 Kevin Stacy

Sure hope so because Android OS sucks.
Manstrato

If the moon stops rotating around the earth it may cause problems with tides, but we have no reason to expect that the moon will stop rotating around the earth, but then again if it did then it may or may not have a negative impact on shipping prices of Windows Mobile phones.

What exactly was the point of this article? We don’t even know what Michael Dell may have meant if he did say that a Windows phone was easier to make than an Android phone, and we actually don’t even know if he did say that because the source that this article quotes has now retracted the quote. Then based on this complete lack of actual data the author goes on to say what might happen if it were true that Dell believes that Windows phones are easier to make, and as a result Dell decided to make only Windows phones, what the ….. Dell isn’t even a serious player in the phone market, and regardless of how much Dell does or doesn’t like building Windows vs. Android phones it is going to be the customers who are going to decide whether they want to buy an Android vs. Windows phone.

I have seen literally dozens of these tail wagging the dog articles lately, and I have to wonder what is driving this kind of nonsense journalism. It is certainly possible that Windows phones will take the world by storm and take the market away from Android, but there is absolutely no evidence what ever to base this on. At this point it is as likely that Apple, RIM or a phone maker that doesn’t even exist yet will take over the smartphone market from Android, as it is that Microsoft will do so. In fact based on past experience it seems much less likely that Microsoft will somehow end up on top of this market than almost anyone else. Based on the facts and projections, the reasonable call would be to say that Android will end up with the loin’s share of the smartphone market, and any other prediction is based on nothing but a simple uneducated random guess.
http://twitter.com/res08hao1 Uncle Bernie

Here’s another secret: they will be much easier to throw away.
http://www.intomobile.com/ Simon Sage

Seeing as Windows Phone and Android are the only real smartphone operating systems that are being licensed these days, I think any manufacturer perspective when it comes to choosing between the two is worth taking into account, especially if one player with a lot of money is picking the underdog. The rest of the industry aside, I doubt Dell would switch exclusively to WP7 in the near future, but it sounds like they’ll pump out more Windows phones than Android ones. That’s a forecast worth making, isn’t it?

As for the credibility of the info, I trust that Engadget spotted it before Dell sent a polite letter to Reuters to make a few changes. I can hardly blame anyone for being skeptical about the quote, but I would rather do the post with that disclaimer than write nothing at all, that way readers can make their own decision rather than have me make it for them.