kgsbca:

Zarni, you're using old data. The iphone passed all winmo devices in the 3rd qtr (http://www.engadgetmobile.com­/2008/12/04/smartphone-numbers­-are-in-iphone-sales-exceed-wi­ndows-mobile-sa/). My guess is that the lead will have grown in the 4th quarter.

Good link, though I couldn't find the report itself. It does state that Apple slashed its production for 4Q 2008 with 2 million unit in inventory indicating that Apple expected its 4Q numbers to drop off.

kgsbca:

In regards to points 1-3, in spite of this apparent advantage, people still choose other phones over WinMo in large numbers.

My point was that WinMo, latest sales results notwithstanding, is a major player in the smartphone market. The article implied that MS should buy Palm in order to become a major player in the smartphone market.

kgsbca:

Yes, there is nothing to stop a third party from putting a better UI on WinMo, except for maybe a viable business model. MS wouldn't be happy with a carrier that shipped a WinMo phone with a third party GUI.

HTC has a viable business model and installed a better UI on WinMo (Manilla TouchFlo3D) for several devices for Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T (notably the Diamond and Touch Pro/aka Fuze) with no complaints from MS. Why would they have any objection to that?

kgsbca:

In light of Palm's recent announcements, I wouldn't characterize them as a company that is abandoning their OS for WinMo. If you read about the Pre, you would come to the conclusion that they will be abandoning their WinMo products, for a linux-based system. They are basically betting the farm on the Pre, and there is no WinMo involved.

They may be abandoning WinMo for linux, but they have also abandonded PalmOS for linux. Plus they have such a small market share. So why should they buy Palm to get a linux OS for mobile platforms.

kgsbca:

People do care about their phone, more than you concede, and while they may not be able to name its OS, they also do care about its UI. It's not just the apps. And they seem to choose in large numbers anything but WinMo. Also, it's not just Nokia is beating them outside of the US ( a pretty large market), but they are losing in the US, and that's with Apple only selling through one carrier, and android only available on what is basically a beta software device (I have one).

I couldn't agree with you more that people care about their phone quite a bit. The differentiation between phones involves multiple aspects. Style, features, size, compatibility with work infrastructure, etc. The advantage that WinMo has - along with linux - is that it is not tied to a particular handset or manufacturer. Any manufacturer could build a device and then use WinMo as its OS - or linux for that matter. Apple, RIM, and Nokia all have their OS's tied to their own hardware - for better or for worse.