Foxconn Taking Mobile Off Microsoft’s Hands in $350m Deal

Microsoft has really struggled to gain a foothold in the mobile sector and their current market share is dwindling at a disappointing rate. To be fair, it’s extremely difficult to compete with the likes of iOS and Android as shown by Blackberry’s poor financial standing. According to The Verge, Microsoft is going to sell its feature phone business to FIH mobile which is a subsidiary of Foxconn for $350 million. This is a continuation of Microsoft’s new policy to focus less on their mobile division which doesn’t appear to have a bright future.

To be perfectly clear, this arrangement only impacts Microsoft’s feature phone business, which currently goes under the Nokia brand. As a result, the Windows 10 Mobile operating system will not be affected and current devices should receive after-sales support. Microsoft appears to be ditching the hardware side of things when it comes to mobiles and backing key partners including Acer, Alcatel, HP and others in creating Windows handsets. Whether or not this is completely the end of Microsoft handsets remains to be seen as rumors suggest they might still be creating a Surface model. Despite this, it’s fairly clear that their feature phone business and all the staff involved will be moving to Foxconn.

Are you a fan of the Windows Mobile operating system? Personally, I really like the simplistic user-interface but the lack of app support from key developers poses a major problem to entice people away from Android and iOS.