14 DAY TRIAL // The January 21 event that Microsoft will be holding at its headquarters in Redmond is expected to bring us not only fresh details about Windows 10 but also the very first testing version of Windows Phone 10, a revamped mobile platform which could help the software giant boost its share in a market dominated by Android and iOS.
At this point, statistics put Windows Phone on the third position of all market share charts, but with Windows Phone 10 Microsoft hopes that it could actually bring more users on-board and thus get closer to its rivals.
That's very unlikely to happen, Ben Thompson, an independent technology analyst, is quoted as saying by the New York Times, pointing out that, without help from developers, all Microsoft's efforts are likely to fail in the mobile industry.
“Microsoft can’t make that happen,” Thompson stated, adding that “it’s up to developers. I think the situation is pretty hopeless from that perspective.”
Microsoft: We're going to help developers
Microsoft does not wish to comment on Windows Phone plans right now and obviously waits for the January 21 event to share more details, but a company representative said in a reply that Windows 10 would help developers create apps for its modern platforms.
“We’re making steady progress toward our vision of giving people a single Windows experience across a full range of devices,” Frank X. Shaw, a company spokesman, also added. “With Windows 10, we’re moving to a more unified Windows platform for phones, tablets and PC, helping developers do more with their code.”
At the January 21 event, Microsoft could provide insiders with the very first testing build of Windows Phone 10, which could indeed bring a number of changes developed to bring the company closer to its rivals.
At the same time, Microsoft is also working to bring new devices running Windows Phone 10 to the market soon after the public launch of the new mobile OS, which, according to people familiar with its plans, could happen either in mid-2015 or in the fall of this year.