Microsoft: Windows Mobile sales to grow by 50 percent - News - Communications

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Microsoft: Windows Mobile sales to grow by 50 percent

By Marguerite Reardon, CNET News.com
May 28, 2008
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Microsoft-Windows-Mobile-sales-to-grow-by-50-percent/0,130061791,339289378,00.htm

Microsoft sees big growth for its Windows Mobile operating system, with one of the software giant's execs in Asia telling Reuters on Tuesday that sales will increase at least 50 per cent over the next year as demand for smartphones picks up.

Eddie Wu, the software company's managing director of OEM embedded devices in Asia, said the company expects to sell 20 million "units" of its software in the 2007-2008 fiscal year, which ends in June, according to Reuters, and the company expects to grow at least 50 percent annually over the next two years. Microsoft sold more than 11 million units of its Windows Mobile software in its 2006-2007 fiscal year.

Wu told Reuters that the company is seeing the fastest growth in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Brazil, Russia, and India. Demand is also strong in Europe and the US.

Smartphones are already growing in popularity. In the first quarter of 2008, sales of smartphones in the US accounted for about 17 percent of all mobile phone sales, the NPD Group reported, an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year. The increase in smartphone demand comes as sales of mobile phones in general are declining in the US.

Microsoft has been working hard to cash in on the growing demand for smartphones. Earlier this year, Microsoft released version 6.1 of theWindows Mobile operating system. This version includes an updated browser, which is supposed to make web surfing on a mobile phone look and feel like it does on a desktop. The company also has added support for Adobe's Flash.

Windows Mobile 6.1 will be available on a number of manufacturers' phones including HTC, Samsung, Motorola, and Pantech. And carriers including AT&T, Sprint Nextel, and Alltel have already announced that they will offer the upgrade.

Despite predictions for strong growth, Microsoft still faces tough competition, and it may have a hard time increasing its market share as competition intensifies. Apple is rumoured to be getting ready to launch the 3G, or third-generation, version of the iPhone in a few weeks. The company has already announced software upgrades that should make the iPhone more appealing for business users.