The case for Windows Mobile
It's the third most popular mobile OS and is deployed by IT, so it's not subject to consumer trends
Follow @infoworldThat Windows Mobile is "on life support" must come as news to the 7.2 million users of Microsoft's smartphone operating system. While the smartphone OS is in jeopardy, I don't see a situation nearly so dire.
The 7.2 million figure is how many users ComScore found in its October survey. It is an increase from 6.5 million users in July, making Windows Mobile the third most popular smartphone OS, after RIM's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone. My colleague, Tony Bradley, twists that number to say Windows Mobile is "on life support."
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How does being the third most popular smartphone OS equate to being "on life support"? Yes, I know Microsoft's smartphone ambitions have always exceeded its grasp, but number three isn't such a bad position to be in.
Except in Tony's eyes: He says Apple's leap into the No. 2 spot somehow makes Windows Mobile an endangered species.
That might true if Apple's customers were actually would-be Microsoft customers. Yet, in enterprises and businesses of any size, the iPhone is not a serious player. For business customers, the competition is between BlackBerry and Windows Mobile. That Apple now sits between them in total U.S. users doesn't mean terribly much.
