“HTC Corp. is being shut out of the introduction of Microsoft Corp.’s next Windows software, people with knowledge of the matter said, cutting off another source of revenue after HTC reduced its second-quarter sales forecast by 13 percent,” Ian King, Tim Culpan and Dina Bass report for Bloomberg.
“Microsoft locked out HTC from the development of products using the newest version of its operating system on concern that HTC doesn’t sell enough devices or have ample experience making tablets, said the people, who asked not to be named because negotiations between HTC and other companies are private,” King, Culpan and Bass report. “Microsoft’s decision will keep HTC, maker of the first Google Inc.-branded smartphone, from participating in the electronics industry’s latest attempt to erode Apple Inc.’s lead in tablets.”
“Microsoft, which has tightly controlled the number of ARM- based devices it is supporting at first to ensure quality, opted not to work with HTC after initial discussions with the company, said the two people familiar with the matter. The world’s largest software maker decided to work with other vendors that had greater sales volume and more tablet experience for the first round of devices, the people said,” King, Culpan and Bass report. “HTC engineers wanted to build a Windows device with a customized home screen that would be distinctive to its devices, as manufacturers are allowed to do with Android. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft (MSFT) refused, said the people, and HTC was left off the list of companies the software maker provided with early versions of the software.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: That’s like denying a cigarette to a late stage emphysema patient.
Microsoft is a spiteful bunch. They didn’t much like HTC riding high for awhile by focusing on Android and all but ignoring Windows Mobile.
[Attribution: Barron’s. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “breeze” for the heads up.]