Why Samsung and other OEM's want Microsoft to die out.

Posted by MrBrain on March 6, 2013 04:50 pm 57

Samsung’s mobile ecosystem and its most profitable venture by date is fronted by Android. Samsung you can say has its own OS in Android which it can customize any way it wishes and fork it should the need arise. For once it’s in control of the software platform from the ground up, without having to pay licensing fees and is not simply being a dumb OEM which loads someone else’s software on their hardware (PC's with Windows etc.) with a junkware app or two of their own installed.

There’s nothing more Samsung would like to see than a similar situation taking place on the PC and thus allow it to control its entire ecosystem, vertically integrate all products and avoid paying licensing fees to Microsoft. There’s nothing more Samsung would like than Microsoft Windows dominance wain across all industries and for Android to become a viable substitute and eventually the dominant full computing PC platform. Samsung secretly wishes cancer upon Microsoft :) there’s no doubt about that.

Of course this doesn't just go for Samsung, most of the other OEM's are in the same camp naturally, because the premise is simple: "Get a highly customisable OS/platform that is constantly advanced and evolved for you and the tools for which are free, have complete control over the look (own brand image) and function, not pay a cent (patent royalties aside) to anyone for using these assets."

The signs are obvious when Samsung and others throw little marketing resources and support behind Windows powered products, when Microsoft launches its own devices division and invests in dell (Buying an OEM's loyalty in the enterprise you can say), when Windows and office licensing fees are slashed by up to 200%+ for Ultra Mobile devices and this is just the start too as Android will soon be attacking the pro/enterprise and power user market space with Android bringing desktop grade computing to smartphones, touchscreen notebooks and mini desktops on both X86 and ARM. Desktop computing on smartphone connected to external monitor is the next big thing I have no doubts about that.

The possible outcomes are just as obvious:

1. Microsoft slowly diminishes and looses further influence in the consumer space as OEM's push Android, with even the full computing PC buying consumer having other options available to them as companies like Adobe etc. are on the verge of releasing the latest and full desktop suites for Android and Linux. Enterprise will be effected too, not as much/deeply and not as soon but will none the less.

2. Microsoft succeeds with its new devices division and unified platform strategy, bringing a top notch vertically integrated experience to its own line of tablets, phones and PC's backed by similarly excellent services (Many of which will have to be free and eat away profits from products Microsofts typically charges for). Buys a large chunk of marketshare in some of the biggest OEM's to ensure they continue making Windows products for increased diversity and market saturation.

I am actually surprised in that Microsofts recent hardware design efforts have been great and the damage in my opinion is coming from an "awkwardly" implemented mobile software platform, god awful first party metro apps and an absence of "very lucrative and popular services like Google search, Youtube etc". Its services have improved greatly but Bing is still an abysmal money pit, I feel like I am visiting an underfeatured national geographic site every other rare occasion I stumble on it.