You may not believe this, but IDC long ago predicted that Windows Phone would take over the number two spot in the smartphone market. I caught one of those predictions in a story dating back to June of 2011. At the time, iOS had an 18.2% share of the market, and Android had 38.9%. Windows […]

Even though Android has a gigantic share of the mobile handset market, Google clearly needs Apple to generate income. How gigantic? I’m talking about roughly 85%, with iOS occupying roughly 15%. This varies a few points one way or the other from quarter to quarter. What this means is that Google has agreed to pay […]

A few years ago, a certain industry analyst firm suggested that Windows Phone, or whatever Microsoft intended to call it, would be the second most popular mobile platform on the planet by now. Seriously. Obviously somebody spent a little too much time reading Microsoft’s press releases of hope and change and didn’t consider the reality. […]

Before I discuss Microsoft, let’s look at Google. Once upon a time, Google tried to build smartphones, and failed. In 2011, the search giant announced it was buying Motorola Mobility, a maker of mobile handsets, set-top boxes and other gear, for $12.5 billion. The purchase was finalized in 2012. But Motorola handsets had been on […]