Microsoft is pushing very hard to make Windows Phone the third most widely used mobile platform behind Android and iOS. In some markets it has already been able to overtake BlackBerry in order to clinch the coveted third position. The company’s aim can only be fulfilled if OEMs are actually making and selling devices powered by Windows Phone. One of China’s biggest OEMs has decided to give up all plans of making Windows Phone devices for now. Shao Yang, Huawei’s consumer business group marketing director told reporters at the company’s HQ in Shenzhen, China that while Huawei has developed Windows Phone smartphones in the past it will not be making anymore and instead will focus on Android to counter Apple and Samsung’s dominance in the market.
Smartphone maker Huawei has put its plans for Windows Phone devices on hold, saying it will use Android to try to challenge the dominance of Samsung and Apple. Huawei is perhaps best known for building telecoms infrastructure but has been moving increasingly into the consumer hardware space. The company is now the third-biggest smartphone maker behind Samsung and Apple, with its Ascend range of devices among its best-known products. In an interview at Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China, Huawei’s consumer business group marketing director Shao Yang said that while the company had built Windows Phone devices in the past, they were hard to sell and Huawei has now suspended plans to use the operating system. “For us we think Android is the best choice,” he said. “The biggest problem is that Windows is not quite easy to develop independently… a lot of things are defined by Windows [and] they leave a very small space for vendors to develop.” In contrast, he said, with Android phones “every vendor has their own potential to make… innovation”. Back in March, Shao said the company was working on a phone that would dual-boot both Windows Phone and Android, but the project has been shelved.
