Sony Ericsson: why we chose Windows
Mobile World Congress Why has Sony Ericsson succumbed to Microsoft? — The way the company's chief technology officer Mats Lindoff explained it to us, is that you can't crack the US market without it. He was giving El Reg a glimpse into the future.
Context & Ripple Effects
Sony Ericsson has been one of Microsoft's conspicuous holdouts among the big handset makers, and CTO Mats Lindoff used Mobile World Congress 2008 to explain the reversal: per his account to El Reg, a Windows commitment is the entry ticket to the US market, where carrier requirements dictate the platform. The move lands mid-stampede — Microsoft agreed to acquire Danger Inc. on 11 February 2008, framing it as strengthening its mobile consumer vision, and spent the same week fending off Yahoo questions and shipping Vista SP1 news.
First-order effects
- Sony Ericsson commits development resources to Windows-based handsets aimed specifically at US operators, splitting its portfolio between its established platforms and Microsoft's.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft gains a top-tier OEM endorsement for its phone platform days after the Danger acquisition, giving its consumer-mobile pitch a flagship hardware name to point at when courting other manufacturers and carriers.
Third-order effects
- If the US market keeps forcing global handset makers onto whatever OS local carriers demand, operating-system choice migrates from device-maker preference to operator procurement — consolidating the industry around a few licensed platforms.
The trend: Handset makers are increasingly letting US carrier requirements pick their operating systems, pulling the global phone market toward a small set of licensed platforms.