Over at the New York Times' Bits blog, Steve Lohr is reporting on a shocking recommendation from tech analyst/writer Mark Anderson: Microsoft should abandon the phone business. Anderson says that Microsoft d
oesn't get consumers -- with the exception of game-playing consumers -- and it's time for the company to focus on business customers.
As Lohr says, the chances that Microsoft will give Windows Mobile a respectful burial and move on are slim. Very, very slim. If I were Steve Ballmer, I sure wouldn't: Even if the company's phone strategy is in crummy shape, some chance of getting back on track is better than no chance. Phones are the future of personal computing: To exit the business would be the equivalent of Warner Bros. giving up on TV in 1950, or the New York Times shuttering its Web site in 1998 or so.
So I'm not advocating for Microsoft to give up -- and in fact would be happy to see Windows Mobile 7 turn out to be something worth getting excited over.
What say you?
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