Lenovo will not build smartmobes running on Microsoft’s Windows operating system because it doubts the software giant’s long term commitment to the market.
This is the view from Lenovo’s chief operations officer Gianfranco Lanci, who told attendees at the Canalys Channel Forum 2016 that Windows 10 was generating interest in the corporate market for PCs but that his company won’t entertain basing its phones on the OS.
“We don’t have Windows phones or any plans to introduce a Windows Phone,” he said.
“I don’t see the need to introduce a Windows Phone and I am not convinced Microsoft is supporting the phone for the future,” Lanci added.
According to Gartner, Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile was the third most popular OS on the planet behind Android and iOS during Q2, running on 1.97 million phones compared to 297 million on Google’s OS and 44.39 million on Apple’s software.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS grew just 2.5 per cent year-on-year in the quarter versus 82.2 per cent for Android and 14.6 per cent for iOS.
Lenovo was placed outside of the top five players but its lack of appetite for a Windows integration won’t help Microsoft build momentum against much bigger rivals.
On the PC market, Lanci noted that refresh activity in the commercial PC space was picking up momentum, but warned the global PC market was likely to decline by low single digits this year, and for the next couple of years.
Lenovo has contacted the Reg to say that it has no comment and Microsoft is preparing a statement.
[Source:-The Register]
