» ‘Microsoft’s Mobile Muddle’

Ben Thompson says Microsoft should pick services, fork Android and dump hardware.

To say this strategy would be a stark departure from Microsoft’s current course is, obviously, an understatement.

I just don’t see them ditching Windows Phone now that it’s having such great success… in Spain.

There really has been a great deal of effort put into this idea that “Windows Phone is on the rise and the iPhone is falling!” by Microsoft surrogates. I doubt they’d do it, but it would be funny to see the rug pulled out from under that.

I don’t pretend to know what the right thing for Microsoft to do is. There is a “clarity of purpose” appeal to Thompson’s pitch, but then it puts them exclusively on a direct path to confrontation with Google. Not that that’s not what’s happening anyway and Office and their strength in the enterprise might give them a good footing in that battle.