It seems like some IT industry analysts, industry rivals and partners, and even consumers still would not forgive Microsoft for its role in the Wintel homogeny (some would say, monopoly) during the 1990s and early 2000s.
We can understand that coming from business rivals whose business models were trampled upon and demolished by the Redmond behemoth a decade or two ago, and, to a lighter degree, from those companies coerced by the whims and caprices of the market.
But what this corner cannot fathom, for the life of me, is how some analysts seem to have this fetish for bashing Microsoft, its products, and how it conducts its business. Quite a number of them have been predicting the software vendor’s demise. This has been going on for quite some time; it reminds me of those dime-a-dozen doomsday forecasters.
And when their predictions failed to pass, they would never ever admit their mistake. They would just come up with another date, as easily as most people change their shirts, or charlatan prophets pick another end-of-the-world date and scenario.
This thought came to mind after Nokia and Microsoft announced their smartphone partnership last February 11 in London.
Even before rumors about the partnership could be confirmed, some analysts had been belittling and berating the pact. That is why I find Blue Badge Insights founder Andrew Brust’s comments quite refreshing.
Soon after the pact was announced, Brust told eWeek that “the two companies are on their respective back feet.” He added, however, “… they can certainly help each other: Microsoft gets global reach and market share from Nokia; Nokia upgrades from the somewhat stunted Symbian OS to something modern, touch-centric and contemporary in design value, through Microsoft’s WP7.”
Now, if only other analysts would be as level headed and impartial.
HTC’s Facebook Phones
Taiwan-based device vendor HTC unveiled a pair of designed-for-Facebook smartphones. The HTC Salsa and HTC Chacha, designed in partnership with Facebook, were launched at the mobile industry congress in Barcelona.
These phones feature a Facebook-dedicated button, allowing users to instantly upgrade their status or share photos on the social network.
The phones’ other applications, such as calendar, also come integrated with Facebook.
iPhone Light
Apple has confirmed media reports of the Cupertino company’s plan to launch a smaller and cheaper iPhone or two. Code-named “N97,” in an apparent dig at rival Nokia, the phones will reportedly cost about half as much as a regular iPhone.
The phones are scheduled for release this summer.
Hmm. In a way, this iPhone Light phone is a “netbook” version of the original iPhone.
That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.
From www.mb.com.ph
