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Is Microsoft ready for Windows phones to go?

Curiously, some observers believe that the future of Windows phones will not be phones.
Rumours about a category-defining Surface smartphone sparked a lot of heated discussion and culminated in real dissatisfaction with Microsoft following its press conference last Wednesday. How is it possible that Microsoft didn’t even mention Windows 10 Mobile? Neither customers nor partners fully understand why anyone should invest in Microsoft’s mobile strategy.
Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s executive vice president for Windows and Devices, was unable to clarify the situation. Clarity was preferable to obscure.
When Myerson was asked why Microsoft was spending so much time on Windows 10 Mobile, Myerson replied, “Technically, there really are two things that are truly unique about Windows Mobile.” “One is cellular connectivity, and the other is the ARM processors that exist.”
Myerson said, “So we’re continuing to invest in ARM cellular.” “And although I don’t know what kind of device I’m referring to, I believe we’ll see Windows devices that use ARM chips. I believe we’ll see devices with cellular connectivity.”
Not phones, but devices
Myerson’s “phones” pronunciation was not understood by anyone. There would be a “tablet” in its place. It will likely be an ARM-based tablet with cellular connectivity, but it won’t be a phone.
So, the most current Windows phones are powered by ARM processors from Qualcomm, and other vendors, using Windows 10 Mobile. However, Windows tablets do not have this feature. They did at one time. The original Surface ran on Windows RT (a version of Windows that is optimized for ARM chips). However, consumers refused to buy the Windows RT tablets and Microsoft scrapped a smaller Surface Mini that may or not have run Surface RT.
Microsoft instead doubled down on Surface Pro 3, which became the Windows tablet that made Surface and Windows tablets easier to define. Microsoft encouraged development on Windows 10, which it considered to be a more successful implementation of Windows 10 running on top ARM: Windows phones.
It’s a puzzle to me that Microsoft can’t stop developing Windows 10 Mobile and release Lumia hardware. Or why ARM and cellular connectivity could be distinguishing features for Microsoft only — and not every phone ever manufactured. Why didn’t Myerson emphasize Continuum, Microsoft’s phone-as PC argument? Or virtualized Win32 applications, like HP’s Passport uses. He is honest, and so he will answer the question in the same way that Microsoft is solving the problem.
Myerson is not someone to whom you can trust completely. But, why not give him some credit? How often do smartphones serve their intended purpose? As smartphones grow in size, they are becoming more data-driven messaging and computing devices rather than simple squawk boxes.
It is hard to believe that the collapse of Microsoft’s mobile business is part of a master plan to bring in the next big thing. However, there is still the possibility of something extraordinary to emerge from Microsoft’s mobile business. It may not, however, be a phone, if Myerson is to be believed.
PCWorld published the original article first.

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