Photo: Elliott P. / Flickr

Pretty much day and date with the revelation that Adobe was abandoning Flash mobile – and, in effect, the platform altogether in the long run – news has emerged that Microsoft Silverlight is on its way to the graveyard, too.

The end of the road

Writing for CNet, Microsoft watcher Mary-Jo Foley writes: ‘Several of my customer and partner contacts have told me they have heard from their own Microsoft sources over the past couple of weeks that Silverlight 5 is the last version of Silverlight that Microsoft will release.’ She continued, saying: ‘They said they are unsure whether there will be any service packs for it, and they are also not clear on how long Silverlight 5 will be supported by Microsoft.’

Refocusing?

Foley’s report that Silverlight 5 may be the last release of the platform comes just a few months after there was evidence that Microsoft was reshifting the services focus to be used as a tool for creating rich media for platforms like the Xbox 360. There was a rumour at a point that suggested that Microsoft was retooling Silverlight for use as an app framework on the Xbox, not dissimilar from Apple’s App Store for its mobile devices.

The end of proprietary cross platform tools

With the potential end for Microsoft Silverlight being announced side-by-side with the abandonment of Adobe Flash Mobile, it appears that proprietary cross-platform web tools are dying, giving way to an open-sourced global standard in HTML5. What’s interesting regarding Silverlight 5 being the end of the road for Microsoft’s web tool is how little momentum the platform had to start with. Short of needing the tool during its high profile stint of being a requirement to stream Olympic Games event, I’ve never used the platform. Ever.

The same cannot be said for Flash, which, even today, is ubiquitous.

Photo: gillyberlin / Flickr

In an interview with the New York Times, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop outlined his company’s plan to make a comeback in the mobile devices market where it has fallen behind rivals like Apple and handset manufacturers making devices for the Android platform. He says the key to recovery is to capitalise on users making the transition from feature phones to smartphones, leveraging its relationship with Microsoft, and to leverage unique Nokia software like its location and mapping technology.

Differentiation is key

Stephen Elop told Steve Lohr of the New York Times that ‘There is tremendous opportunity for differentiation’. The first big difference is the mobile OS Nokia’s next generation of handsets will run on, and that’s Windows Phone 7. Though the operating system has been critically praised – we really like it – it’s struggled to get traction. This effectively means few customers have come across it, as opposed to Android and iOS. The opportunity for Nokia is to drive the mobile OS platform into more customers’ hands, surprising them with how different the OS is from what Apple and Google offer.

Smartphones aren’t phones

The next part of the Nokia comeback plan is to build a strong ecosystem around the platform. Where the company will look to differentiate itself from some of its competitors is in investing in the application ecosystem Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets run on themselves. Elop previously hinted at something similar with regards to his company’s comeback plans in the US specifically.

Showing keen insight, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop looks at mobile handsets as more than just phones, but rather platforms primarily for other uses, including phones. He says: ‘These devices are essentially a platform of sensors,’ adding that ‘The Navteq location data is one of the best assets we have. Fully integrating that technology into our smartphones is a major area of investment for us and a real area of differentiation.’ Whether it will be enough to close the gap, given the incredible momentum iOS and Android have remains to be seen. At least, in Elop’s case, a comeback plan is well articulated. Whether it succeeds is another matter altogether.

Photo: Microsoft Sweden / Flickr

Gavin Kim, who was Samsung’s VP of consumer and enterprise services, has left the company to become general manager of Microsoft’s Windows Phone team. The move comes at a time when fortunes in the smartphone industry are very different for the two companies. Samsung is winning and Microsoft is not (well, not directly, at least), and Kim’s experience in helping Samsung become a smartphone juggernaut in a short 18 months could be of great use to Microsoft.

Why he’s moving

BGR broke the story of Kim’s departure, interviewing him to find out the motivation behind his leaving. He said: ‘In my experience, there is an already fervent base of Windows Phone supporters out there and they all get it. They are passionate, and already very vocal about it … so, it is really my new job to make sure we reflect that message clearly in our product and marketing collaborations with all of our partners to create more Windows Phone believers.’

He explained that his role includes helping set the Windows Phone 7 product roadmap, as well as developing relationships with ‘consumers, carriers, device manufacturers, developers, and partners.’

Product management incredibly important

For Microsoft, the appointment of Samsung VP Gavin Kim as general Manager of the Windows Phone team is a small step in a series of moves the company needs to make if it is to win in the smartphone market.

Microsoft’s sales problems are currently two-parted – their presence and clout with mobile carriers is really small, and consumer demand for the extremely polished mobile OS platform is low, too. The problem for the company is one feeds the other: if the carriers have Windows Phone 7.5 handsets on display, customers will be more interested. If customers start demanding Windows Phone 7.5 handsets, the carriers will, well, carry them. It’s starting that feedback loop that will be Gavin Kim’s challenge.

Photo: Google

Microsoft says Google, one of the company’s fiercest rivals, has lost its way. The company claims that the search giant’s product initiatives have become a veritable graveyard, with the cancelling of several Google products being a sign that there is a lack of vision and product roadmap, which makes the company dangerous for business customers.

Fighting

Tom Rizzo, who is a Senior Director at Microsoft, wrote a blog post entitled Google Graveyard Spooks Customers, pointing out the many products the search giant has cancelled in recent years and what it may mean. Undoubtedly adding more zing to the Microsoft Google stand-off, he does not hold back.

‘In cancelling this group of social media-like services, it is clear that Google is not in tune with the market needs and does not have a product roadmap and clear vision for productivity for their business customers,’ writes Rizzo. ‘The Microsoft Office team does. Our vision demonstrates a clear focus on what business customers are looking for, such as intuitive interfaces across a wide range of devices.’

Shooting arrows in the dark

Rizzo, who really has a go at the search giant in the post, continues, writing: ‘Google releases experimental products and tracks adoption to determine whether to continue providing them. Its products are like spaghetti, Google throws them up against the wall to see if they stick.’

In analysing the merit of Microsoft Senior Director Tom Rizzo’s accusation, we have to consider whether it is at all true, and whether Microsoft is genuinely doing better. Google has been axing many products of late, but that does not necessarily make it a bad thing. The company has publically stated that they will throw more support behind fewer products in the future, in the hopes of hitting more home runs.

What of Microsoft, though? The Redmond-based company is not necessarily the paragon of innovation. Yes, Kinect is nice, as is Windows Phone 7, but what follows that? Moreover, how much recent success has the company had outside of the venerable Office and Windows businesses? The post no doubt adds spice to the Microsoft Google standoff, but its merit beyond that is somewhat questionable.

Photo: Vicchi / Flickr

While there were rumours earlier in the year that a dual-core ST-Ericsson processor would power some Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets, it has emerged that all Nokia WP7 handsets going forward will be powered by the company’s processor. This is both a major victory for ST-Ericsson, and a significant blow for NovaThor all at once.

The deal

The Nokia ST-Ericsson deal was announced in a press release, wherein ST-Ericsson CEO Gilles Delfassy said [via Engadget]: ‘We are pleased to have been selected by Nokia as a key partner for Windows smartphones, in line with our goal to be present in all segments and major operating systems.’ He added that: ‘Our NovaThor platforms continue to gain traction as they enable customers to bring great smartphones to the market.’

A slight power shift

It’s well established that the next major battle ground in computing is mobile devices. This is not only so at the smartphone or tablet PC level, but with the components that power these devices, too. The likes of Qualcomm and ARM have had a vice grip on the industry for some time now. For a company as significant as Nokia to throw their support behind ST-Ericsson and their NovaThor product is very significant.

The comeback

Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets – and by extension the NovaThor processor – will be under intense scrutiny in the coming months. The Finnish mobile phones giant has fallen behind in the smartphone battle in recent years, and the launch of the Nokia WP7 handsets is supposed to serve as the beginnings of a comeback. Media, analysts, Nokia, Microsoft and competitors alike will be keeping a keen eye on the progress of the platform, giving the ST NovaThor processor a chance to shine if it is really up to the task.

Photo: RafeB / Flickr

In the Wake of the Nokia Lumia reveals, various tech writers and industry analysts have chimed in on whether it will be enough to save the Finnish mobile phones giant. Peter Bright of Ars Technica argues that beyond resurrecting the ailing company, it will also be a massive kick in the backside for the Windows Phone 7 mobile OS platform. He attributes this belief to Nokia’s strong carrier relationships.

The logic

Bright’s argument is simply this: smartphones need carriers to push them if they are to succeed. Microsoft has bad carrier relationships. Nokia has great carrier relationships. Nokia will open doors for Microsoft as a result.

Bright writes: ‘Microsoft has relatively weak relationships with the carriers. The carriers don’t buy product from Microsoft. They may be selling Windows Phone devices, but those are all sourced from Samsung, HTC, and LG. That’s where the strongest relationship is.’

He continues: ‘Nokia, however, has very strong carrier relationships. The company sells hundreds of millions of phones a year, and has fostered close working relationships with network operators around the globe (with the exception of the US).’

Marketing blitz

Moreover the Nokia Windows Phone 7 push is expected to be the biggest in the mobile phone giant’s history. Remember, of course, that the Finnish manufacturer has bet the farm on WP7, and is expected to make a huge marketing push in its own capacity to make the platform succeed.

As such, Nokia has already pronounced that they have managed to get more phones into the hands of sales associates at mobile carriers so as to familiarise them with the devices and to get them to like it. Additionally, many flashy promotions campaigns are expected over the coming months to drive home the statement that the Nokia WP7 handsets have arrived. The rumoured marketing budget of £80m is evidence enough.

At this point, the only difference maker will be the customers. Either you will buy the Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets or you will not. The fact that visibility will shoot through the roof will certainly help, but it’d be insufficient in its own right.

Photo: camknows / Flickr

Microsoft attorney Horacio Gutiérrez, who has fast become the face of Microsoft’s Android patent licensing strategy, sat down with James Temple of the San Francisco Chronicle to explain why the company’s strategy is, in fact, the opposite of patent trolling.

The process

Microsoft attorney Horacio Gutiérrez went to pains to explain that licensing patents – and by extension Microsoft’s Android patent licensing strategy – was beneficial, in that it allows people to use solutions created by other companies without getting in trouble in the process.

‘When you buy the device as a consumer, you get it out of the box and enjoy it immediately. What you don’t see is an invisible web of licensing and cross-licensing arrangements that actually make it possible,’ explains Gutiérrez.

He continued: So licensing is not some nefarious thing that people should be worried about. Licensing is, in fact, the solution to the patent problem that people are reacting so negatively about.’

The solution makes sense insofar as a company wants to actually license out its patents, as opposed to keeping them for themselves. This is how patent trolls have emerged, and also how other companies look to use patents as a competitive advantage over their competition.

In defense of patents in general

A particularly interesting question Temple asked Microsoft attorney Horacio Gutiérrez was to do with the growing chorus of people who say that software especially should not be patentable. Gutiérrez responded, saying that patent protection programmes have historically benefited technology in the US. He says: ‘Study after study has demonstrated that the patent system has actually played a role in securing the leadership that the United States has in this field.’

What’s unusual, now, though, is that there is legitimate claim that the numerous patent lawsuits, and even patent licensing initiatives are killing innovation in the US – the very same innovation that allowed the United States to become the leader in technology in the very first place.

Photo: Nokia

At Nokia World 11, the Finnish mobile device giant unveiled its first Windows Phone 7 handsets. The company unveiled a pair of devices, named the Lumia 800 and the Lumia 710.

Lumia 800 – the N9 with Windows OS

The Nokia Lumia 800 – formerly codenamed SeaRay – retains the form factor of the stillborn yet extremely well-received Nokia N9, only this time replacing the MeeGo mobile OS with WP7. This, the top of the range Nokia Windows Phone 7 handset, ticks every single box one would want from a high end smartphone. It has an 8-megapixel camera that is based on Carl Zeiss optics, it’s powered by a 1.4GHz processor and it has a nicely sized 3.7-inch AMOLED ClearBlack curved display. It has native storage of 16GB as well as 25GB of SkyDrive cloud storage that will be used for music and pictures – not too dissimilar from Apple’s iCloud solution.

Other native features are Nokia Drive, the company’s heralded turn-by-turn software, as well as Nokia Music. It’s not cheap, though, currently available on pre-order for €420 unsubsidised, with a November release date earmarked for the United Kingdom.

The Nokia Lumia 710

The company unveiled a second Nokia Windows Phone 7 handset at Nokia World 11, called the Lumia 710. It’s less powerful than the 800 – as Nokia’s new naming strategy implies. The handset, previously codenamed the ‘Sabre’, also has a 1.4GHz processor and a 3.7-inch ClearBlack Display. It has less onboard storage, topping out at 8GB, and it has a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video.

The Lumia 710 will arrive before the end of the year with a retail price of €270 unsubsidised.

Is it enough?

Nokia’s ability to build amazing hardware has never been questioned. And with the rock solid Windows Phone 7 mobile OS powering it, the company could have a pair of handsets that perfectly marry great hardware with a great mobile OS platform. This should spell victory, with should being the operative word, of course. Neither Microsoft nor Nokia are winning in the smartphone category at present (unless you count the Big M’s impressive patent licensing campaign as victory). Whether the two companies together will do the trick remains to be seen.

I, for one, have so far been hugely impressed by the Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets coming out of Nokia World 11.

Photo: Kit_Hartford / Flickr

Windows XP, one of Microsoft’s greatest successes, is turning out to be something of an irritation for the company. In the Windows Experience Blog, Microsoft’s Kristina Libby in no uncertain terms encourages users to give up the aging OS in favour of the more modern Windows 7 if they want to retain any sense of ‘cool’.

Get cool – Microsoft

She writes: ‘Think about phones – would you even carry a flip phone now? Think about music– would you still claim that Destiny’s Child is your top favorite band (if you or your wayward self ever did)? Think about hair–are you still rocking the same cut? Why then are you still on Windows XP when Windows 7 is so much better?’

Firstly, how’s that Destiny’s Child zinger? Jeez. Secondly, what Libby is pleading you to do is stop being uncool and to get with the times.

You did this to yourself

I would argue, however, that the only reason Windows XP managed to get as big as it did, and have the staying power it has had is down to how poorly received Windows Vista was, which is Microsoft’s own doing.

We recently wrote about Windows 7 finally surpassing Windows XP in terms of the number of users it has, noting that it would never get to XP heights due to the unlikelihood of Microsoft blowing it with Windows 8. We wrote: ‘However with Windows 8 scheduled to arrive in 2012 already, 7 won’t have enough time on the market to cement total dominance the way XP prior did. What’s more, XP’s performance was most certainly inflated by the poor showing that was Vista, and it is highly unlikely Microsoft would be so irresponsible as to make another misstep that epic.’

Please don’t prove us wrong, Microsoft. Oh, and XP users, Windows 7 is a really, really good operating system, and a worthwhile upgrade. Now cut your hair, toss your flip phone, and please turn off ‘Bills, Bills, Bills!’

Photo: Dekuwa / Flickr

Android patent licensing is becoming an extremely lucrative business for Microsoft, and it’s becoming that way at breakneck pace. The software giant this weekend announced it had signed a far-reaching Android patent licensing agreement with Compal, one of the biggest original device manufacturers in the world.

Warning shot

In a blog post that reads one part like one-upmanship, and another part like gloating, the company’s Brad Smith and Horacio Gutierrez revealed that they had signed their tenth Android patent licensing agreement, and that the licensing initiative was outpacing litigation in the space.

The post reads: ‘Today Microsoft announced its tenth license agreement providing coverage under our patent portfolio for Android mobile phones and tablets. Today’s agreement is with Compal, one of the world’s largest Original Design Manufacturers, or ODM. Compal is based in Taiwan, where it produces smartphones and tablet computers for third parties and has revenue of roughly $28 billion per year.’

Litigation secondary

In the chart embedded in this post – taken from Microsoft’s post, one can see that there is more Android patent licensing agreements taking place than there are lawsuits. In reference to the chart, Smith and Gutierrez write: ‘While lawsuits may dominate many of the headlines, these are being overtaken by the number of license agreements being signed. At this point, the fast pace of licensing is reshaping the legal landscape for smartphone patents.’ The duo say that these agreements ‘ensure respect and reasonable compensation for Microsoft’s inventions and patent portfolio’.

Tipping point approaching

What this Microsoft patent offensive against Android vendors has done is proven that installing Android on a smartphone is not, in fact, free, and though there is no direct OS licensing fee charged, the patent fee has to be factored into a vendor’s pricing model. This serves to wipe out some of the pricing competitive advantage Google’s mobile OS has over Microsoft’s, in turn potentially making Windows Phone 7 attractive to manufacture for. It’s all chess games, really, and to be fair Microsoft, who are well off the pace in terms of their own sales, are really turning the screws from a tactical perspective.