Micromax to offer Windows Phone smartphones later this year

Domestic handset maker Micromax has
partnered with Microsoft to offer
Windows Phone 8.1-powered
smartphones in the country.

The deal -
that was announced on Wednesday at
Microsoft's Build 2014 conference in
San Francisco - is expected to
intensify competition in the
smartphone space in India.

Microsoft Executive VP (Operating
Systems) Terry Myerson on Wednesday
said: "We are thrilled to welcome 11
new Windows Phone partners since
Mobile World Congress in February,
with the addition of Micromax and
Prestigio just announced today".
Delhi-based Micromax's revenues were
Rs. 3,168 crores for the financial
year 2012-13 and it expects to clock
revenues of $1 billion for the last
fiscal-ended March 2014. The mobile
manufacturer is expected to release
its first Windows Phone smartphone
later this year.

Micromax, which is the second largest
smartphone player in India, held about
16 percent market share in Q4 2013,
according to IDC data. Some its top-
selling models were the entry level
smartphones like A35 Bolt and A67.
Besides, the software giant has also
announced that it will offer its
Windows operating system free to
smartphone and tablet makers (for
devices with screen-sizes less than 9-
inches), a move that will help the firm
compete with Google's Android and
Apple's iOS in the fiercely competitive
smart devices market.
This offering also enables hardware
partners to provide their customers a
one-year subscription to Office 365 .

The move, though surprising, will led
to a fiercer competition in the
smartphone and tablets space,
especially in the backdrop of its plans
to acquire the handset business of
Finnish phone maker Nokia for $7.2
billion.

Microsoft's third CEO, Satya Nadella,
since his appointment in February
has been emphasising the company's
focus on mobile and cloud.

Microsoft continues anti-iPad offensive with new commercial

Microsoft today continued its anti-
iPad offensive with yet another
commercial, this one highlighting the
many differences between the
Microsoft Surface RT and Apple's
fourth generation iPad.
Per usual, the differences pointed out
by the commercial aren't all that
interesting and I sincerely doubt
anyone would watch this commercial
and feel compelled to abandon plans
of an iPad purchase and head on over
to the land of the Surface.
Somewhat amusing, though not
terribly surprising given how the
marketing world works, is that
Microsoft boasts that a 32 GB
Surface RT will cost you $349 while a
16 GB iPad will cost you $499. Funny
thing is, the same Surface RT used to
cost $499 before Microsoft recently
slashed $150 off the price on
account of lackluster sales.
I also find it curious that Microsoft
continues to tout Microsoft Office as
an attractive selling point for tablet
buyers. The iPad is by and large a
mass consumer device and I doubt
that many prospective iPad buyers
think to themselves, "Man, the iPad is
great, but I just wish I could use it
to create some Excel spreadsheets."
Point blank, Microsoft Office likely
doesn't factor into the purchasing
decision process for the majority of
iPad owners. It's as if Microsoft is
advertising the benefits of a sensible
briefcase to a group of surfers.