Third party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous
With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether. I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone Bid Heats Up In March 2014, Huawei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal: We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have Third party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether. I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone BThird party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether. I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone Bid Heats Up In March 2014, HuaThird party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous
With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether.
I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone Bid Heats Up
In March 2014, Huawei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal:
(To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.)
Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR).
While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others.
Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930.
But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy.
While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update.
Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are:
This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time.
ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out.
One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other.
Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point.
II. A Plethora of Product
Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA.
Who?
Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand.
What?
Alpha Luxe
Who?
London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes.
What?
Kazam Thunder 340W
Who?
Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup.
What?
Polaroid WinPro 5
[Image Source: WinTouch.de]
Who?
Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor.
What?
Win JR
Win HD
Who?
Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU)
What?
Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone
Who?
Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East
What?
The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central]
Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO
Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO
Who?
Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market.
What?
Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone
[Image Source:MobileOS.it]
III. Conclusions
It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform.
But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown.
Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.wei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal: We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice. (To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.) Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR). The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others. Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930. Lumia 635 Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured). But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy. While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update. Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are: Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD) Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD) Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD) Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD) Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD) Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD) NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD) Looking at these new Windows Phones, a clear pattern emerges -- many of them look suspiciously similar to each other. That's not mere coincidence. It appears many of the newly announced handsets are ODM designs, based on the Chinese "original design manufacturer" (ODM) JSR Technology's products, including the i3 (a 4-inch QVG device) or its latest 5-inch i7b spec, which was already used in the XOLO Win Q900 and Yezz Billy 4.7. This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time. Windows Phone Store In August, the Windows Phone Store passed 300k apps. [Image Source: Microsoft] ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out. One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other. Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point. II. A Plethora of Product Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA. Who? Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand. What? Alpha StyleAlpha Style [Image Source: WPCentral] Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Alpha Luxe Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes. What? Kazam Thunder 340W Kazam 540w Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract) Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup. What? Polaroid WinPro 5 Windows Phone Polaroid [Image Source: WinTouch.de] Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract) Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor. What? Win JR Windows Phone JR Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract) Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm Weight: 122g Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Win HD Windows Phone Blue JR Price: $179 USD (off contract) Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 22000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity Who? Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU) What? Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 WIndows Phone Twin of Android Pop2 Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract) Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm Weight: 147g Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple) Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit) CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores GPU: Adreno 306 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: ?2000mAh Cellular: 4G LTE Who? Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East What? Windows Phone Prestigio 84008500 DUO The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central] Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract) Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market. What? Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone Windows Phone NGM [Image Source:MobileOS.it] Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support III. Conclusions It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform. But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown. Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.id Heats Up In March 2014, Huawei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal: We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice. (To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.) Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR). The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others. Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930. Lumia 635 Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured). But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy. While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update. Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are: Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD) Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD) Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD) Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD) Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD) Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD) NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD) Looking at these new Windows Phones, a clear pattern emerges -- many of them look suspiciously similar to each other. That's not mere coincidence. It appears many of the newly announced handsets are ODM designs, based on the Chinese "original design manufacturer" (ODM) JSR Technology's products, including the i3 (a 4-inch QVG device) or its latest 5-inch i7b spec, which was already used in the XOLO Win Q900 and Yezz Billy 4.7. This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time. Windows Phone Store In August, the Windows Phone Store passed 300k apps. [Image Source: Microsoft] ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out. One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other. Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point. II. A Plethora of Product Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA. Who? Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand. What? Alpha StyleAlpha Style [Image Source: WPCentral] Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Alpha Luxe Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes. What? Kazam Thunder 340W Kazam 540w Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract) Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup. What? Polaroid WinPro 5 Windows Phone Polaroid [Image Source: WinTouch.de] Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract) Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor. What? Win JR Windows Phone JR Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract) Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm Weight: 122g Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Win HD Windows Phone Blue JR Price: $179 USD (off contract) Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 22000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity Who? Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU) What? Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 WIndows Phone Twin of Android Pop2 Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract) Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm Weight: 147g Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple) Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit) CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores GPU: Adreno 306 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: ?2000mAh Cellular: 4G LTE Who? Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East What? Windows Phone Prestigio 84008500 DUO The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central] Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract) Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market. What? Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone Windows Phone NGM [Image Source:MobileOS.it] Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support III. Conclusions It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform. But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown. Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice. (To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.) Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR). The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others. Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930. Lumia 635 Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured). But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy. While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update. Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are: Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD) Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD) Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD) Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD) Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD) Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD) NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD) Looking at these new Windows Phones, a clear pattern emerges -- many of them look suspiciously similar to each other. That's not mere coincidence. It appears many of the newly announced handsets are ODM designs, based on the Chinese "original design manufacturer" (ODM) JSR Technology's products, including the i3 (a 4-inch QVG device) or its latest 5-inch i7b spec, which was already used in the XOLO Win Q900 and Yezz Billy 4.7. This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time. Windows Phone Store In August, the Windows Phone Store passed 300k apps. [Image Source: Microsoft] ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out. One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other. Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point. II. A Plethora of Product Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA. Who? Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand. What? Alpha StyleAlpha Style [Image Source: WPCentral] Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Alpha Luxe Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes. What? Kazam Thunder 340W Kazam 540w Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract) Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup. What? Polaroid WinPro 5 Windows Phone Polaroid [Image Source: WinTouch.de] Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract) Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor. What? Win JR Windows Phone JR Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract) Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm Weight: 122g Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Win HD Windows Phone Blue JR Price: $179 USD (off contract) Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 22000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity Who? Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU) What? Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 WIndows Phone Twin of Android Pop2 Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract) Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm Weight: 147g Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple) Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit) CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores GPU: Adreno 306 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: ?2000mAh Cellular: 4G LTE Who? Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East What? Windows Phone Prestigio 84008500 DUO The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central] Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract) Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market. What? Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone Windows Phone NGM [Image Source:MobileOS.it] Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support III. Conclusions It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform. But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown. Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.
With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether. I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone Bid Heats Up In March 2014, Huawei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal: We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have Third party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether. I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone BThird party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether. I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone Bid Heats Up In March 2014, HuaThird party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous
With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether.
I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone Bid Heats Up
In March 2014, Huawei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal:
We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult
to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for
us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've
decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have
worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice.
(To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.)
Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR).
The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone
While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others.
Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930.
Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured).
But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy.
While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update.
Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are:
- Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD)
- Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD)
- Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD)
- Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD)
- Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD)
- Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD)
- NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD)
This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time.
ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out.
One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other.
Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point.
II. A Plethora of Product
Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA.
Who?
Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand.
What?
[Image Source: WPCentral]
- Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract)
- Availability: On sale next month
- Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD
-
SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
- CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores
- GPU: Adreno 302
- Memory: 512 MB DRAM
- Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD)
- Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing)
- Battery: 1500mAh
- Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support
- Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract)
- Availability: On sale next month
- Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick
- Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass
-
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
- CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
- GPU: Adreno 302
- Memory: 1 GB DRAM
- Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
- Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing)
- Battery: 2400mAh
- Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support
Who?
London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes.
What?
Kazam Thunder 340W
- Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract)
- Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD
-
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
- CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
- GPU: Adreno 302
- Memory: 512 MB DRAM
- Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD)
- Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing)
- Battery: 1500mAh
- Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support
Who?
Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup.
What?
Polaroid WinPro 5
[Image Source: WinTouch.de]
- Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract)
- Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick
- Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p)
-
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
- CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
- GPU: Adreno 302
- Memory: 1 GB DRAM
- Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
- Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing)
- Battery: 2400mAh
- Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support
Who?
Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor.
What?
Win JR
- Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract)
- Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm
- Weight: 122g
- Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD
-
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
- CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
- GPU: Adreno 302
- Memory: 512 MB DRAM
- Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD)
- Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing)
- Battery: 2000mAh
- Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support
- Price: $179 USD (off contract)
- Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm
- Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD
-
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
- CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
- GPU: Adreno 302
- Memory: 1 GB DRAM
- Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
- Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing)
- Battery: 22000mAh
- Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity
Who?
Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU)
What?
Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone
- Twin of Android Pop2
- Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract)
- Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm
- Weight: 147g
- Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple)
- Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD
-
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit)
- CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores
- GPU: Adreno 306
- Memory: 1 GB DRAM
- Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
- Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing)
- Battery: ?2000mAh
- Cellular: 4G LTE
Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East
What?
The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central]
Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO
- Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract)
- Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick
- Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD
-
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
- CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores
- GPU: Adreno 302
- Memory: 512 MB DRAM
- Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD)
- Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing)
- Battery: 2000mAh
- Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support
- Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract)
- Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick
- Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD
-
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
- CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
- GPU: Adreno 302
- Memory: 1 GB DRAM
- Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
- Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing)
- Battery: 2000mAh
- Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support
Who?
Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market.
What?
Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone
[Image Source:MobileOS.it]
- Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract)
- Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick
- Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD
-
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
- CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
- GPU: Adreno 302
- Memory: 1 GB DRAM
- Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
- Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing)
- Battery: 2000mAh
- Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support
III. Conclusions
It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform.
But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown.
Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.wei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal: We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice. (To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.) Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR). The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others. Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930. Lumia 635 Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured). But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy. While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update. Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are: Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD) Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD) Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD) Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD) Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD) Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD) NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD) Looking at these new Windows Phones, a clear pattern emerges -- many of them look suspiciously similar to each other. That's not mere coincidence. It appears many of the newly announced handsets are ODM designs, based on the Chinese "original design manufacturer" (ODM) JSR Technology's products, including the i3 (a 4-inch QVG device) or its latest 5-inch i7b spec, which was already used in the XOLO Win Q900 and Yezz Billy 4.7. This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time. Windows Phone Store In August, the Windows Phone Store passed 300k apps. [Image Source: Microsoft] ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out. One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other. Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point. II. A Plethora of Product Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA. Who? Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand. What? Alpha StyleAlpha Style [Image Source: WPCentral] Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Alpha Luxe Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes. What? Kazam Thunder 340W Kazam 540w Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract) Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup. What? Polaroid WinPro 5 Windows Phone Polaroid [Image Source: WinTouch.de] Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract) Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor. What? Win JR Windows Phone JR Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract) Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm Weight: 122g Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Win HD Windows Phone Blue JR Price: $179 USD (off contract) Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 22000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity Who? Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU) What? Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 WIndows Phone Twin of Android Pop2 Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract) Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm Weight: 147g Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple) Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit) CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores GPU: Adreno 306 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: ?2000mAh Cellular: 4G LTE Who? Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East What? Windows Phone Prestigio 84008500 DUO The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central] Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract) Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market. What? Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone Windows Phone NGM [Image Source:MobileOS.it] Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support III. Conclusions It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform. But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown. Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.id Heats Up In March 2014, Huawei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal: We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice. (To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.) Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR). The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others. Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930. Lumia 635 Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured). But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy. While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update. Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are: Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD) Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD) Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD) Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD) Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD) Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD) NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD) Looking at these new Windows Phones, a clear pattern emerges -- many of them look suspiciously similar to each other. That's not mere coincidence. It appears many of the newly announced handsets are ODM designs, based on the Chinese "original design manufacturer" (ODM) JSR Technology's products, including the i3 (a 4-inch QVG device) or its latest 5-inch i7b spec, which was already used in the XOLO Win Q900 and Yezz Billy 4.7. This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time. Windows Phone Store In August, the Windows Phone Store passed 300k apps. [Image Source: Microsoft] ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out. One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other. Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point. II. A Plethora of Product Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA. Who? Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand. What? Alpha StyleAlpha Style [Image Source: WPCentral] Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Alpha Luxe Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes. What? Kazam Thunder 340W Kazam 540w Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract) Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup. What? Polaroid WinPro 5 Windows Phone Polaroid [Image Source: WinTouch.de] Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract) Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor. What? Win JR Windows Phone JR Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract) Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm Weight: 122g Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Win HD Windows Phone Blue JR Price: $179 USD (off contract) Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 22000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity Who? Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU) What? Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 WIndows Phone Twin of Android Pop2 Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract) Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm Weight: 147g Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple) Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit) CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores GPU: Adreno 306 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: ?2000mAh Cellular: 4G LTE Who? Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East What? Windows Phone Prestigio 84008500 DUO The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central] Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract) Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market. What? Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone Windows Phone NGM [Image Source:MobileOS.it] Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support III. Conclusions It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform. But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown. Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice. (To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.) Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR). The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others. Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930. Lumia 635 Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured). But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy. While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update. Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are: Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD) Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD) Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD) Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD) Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD) Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD) NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD) Looking at these new Windows Phones, a clear pattern emerges -- many of them look suspiciously similar to each other. That's not mere coincidence. It appears many of the newly announced handsets are ODM designs, based on the Chinese "original design manufacturer" (ODM) JSR Technology's products, including the i3 (a 4-inch QVG device) or its latest 5-inch i7b spec, which was already used in the XOLO Win Q900 and Yezz Billy 4.7. This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time. Windows Phone Store In August, the Windows Phone Store passed 300k apps. [Image Source: Microsoft] ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out. One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other. Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point. II. A Plethora of Product Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA. Who? Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand. What? Alpha StyleAlpha Style [Image Source: WPCentral] Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Alpha Luxe Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes. What? Kazam Thunder 340W Kazam 540w Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract) Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup. What? Polaroid WinPro 5 Windows Phone Polaroid [Image Source: WinTouch.de] Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract) Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor. What? Win JR Windows Phone JR Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract) Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm Weight: 122g Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Win HD Windows Phone Blue JR Price: $179 USD (off contract) Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 22000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity Who? Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU) What? Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 WIndows Phone Twin of Android Pop2 Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract) Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm Weight: 147g Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple) Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit) CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores GPU: Adreno 306 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: ?2000mAh Cellular: 4G LTE Who? Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East What? Windows Phone Prestigio 84008500 DUO The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central] Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract) Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market. What? Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone Windows Phone NGM [Image Source:MobileOS.it] Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support III. Conclusions It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform. But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown. Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.
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