Microsoft Drums Up Developer Support for Windows Phone, Heads to $32

Microsoft‘s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone OS competes with Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android, Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS, Research in Motion‘s (NASDAQ:RIMM) Blackberry OS and Nokia‘s (NYSE:NOK) Symbian in the highly competitive smartphone market. It was launched more than a year ago, but is yet to gain any significant marketshare.

A recent report by IDC suggests that Microsoft has been reasonably successful in attracting app developers to its platform, and now ranks only after Android and iOS in terms of developer interest, despite having a much smaller market share. 38% of all surveyed developers were interested in developing apps for Windows Phone. ^[1] There are currently around 40,000 apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace, which is much less compared to the iPhone App Store or the Android Market, which have close to 500,000 apps each. However, as the Windows Phone user base expands, we see more developers flocking to the platform.

Windows Phone has only one way to go: Up!

Windows Phone now has the backing of all major smartphone manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung, HTC and LG. It is not only spending a lot on marketing its new devices, but also pushing its hardware partners to up their marketing spend. It is also working with component manufacturers to bring down the prices of Windows Phone devices. We expect it to soon become one of the most popular smartphone OS in a couple of years, possibly overtaking Apple’s iOS in terms of market share by 2015.

Windows Phone, coupled with the Xbox and Zune, accounts for only about 8% of Microsoft’s $32 Trefis price estimate, which is driven primarily by Windows and Office. We don’t expect it to impact Microsoft’s revenues in any significant manner, at least in the near future.

Understand How a Company’s Products Impact its Stock Price at Trefis

1. Microsoft Overtakes RIM in Battle for Devs’ Hearts and Minds, TechNewsWorld [↩]