Microsoft On Windows Phone: There Is No Plan B

I love it when executives are this direct. In the media, that is. Microsoft is well aware that its mobile ambitions now ride solely on the Windows Phone platform, and for good reason the company is solely focused on making it a success.

Problem is that things may be progressing a bit too slow for the liking of a lot of people.

While the Windows Phone platform is starting to gain both market numbers and acceptance (not to mention a healthy amount of smartphones), it has been at it for a while now. But Redmond, smelling triumph, is willing to play the waiting game.

At the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein was asked whether there was a ‘Plan B’ in case the Windows Phone platform ended up unsuccessful. Reuters reports his reply:

“It’s less ‘Plan B’ than how you execute on the current plan…. It’s probably more nuanced than just you lower prices or raise prices. It’s less a Plan B and more, how do you tweak your plan, how do you bring these things to market to make sure you have the right offerings at the right price points?”

The “right price points” bit is something that sticks. Part of the reason for the success of the Android platform is that it available at almost all major price points — even the downright budget smartphones.

To its credit Microsoft has been putting some much needed weight behind the Windows Phone mobile platform, working with vendors not just at the high end of the market, but with affordable devices too. More importantly, the company is looking to unify the experience across multiple form factors.

This year will better tell us where the platform stands.