There’s an endless amount of speculation as to what Apple’s victory over Samsung in its patent lawsuit will mean for the tech industry. Some say Apple is gearing up for an even bigger fight against Google, while others think the $1 billion judgement is a pretty cheap price to pay to become the #2 handset maker. And while Apple may have come out on top in the verdict, there have got to be a lot of sly grins in Redmond, Wash, home to Microsoft. The Boston Herald writes:
Microsoft was smart enough to pursue a cross-licensing deal on patents with Apple. So Apple won’t sue them and vice versa.
Samsung may well rethink its hardware relationship with Android and start making more Windows Phones, which get rave reviews from customers but suffer a continual problem with market share and branding.
What’s more, Apple has essentially indemnified the Windows Phone platform from litigation, at one point holding up a Nokia Lumia to illustrate, as they put it, “Not every smartphone needs to look like an iPhone.”
And while they’re at it, Microsoft employees might be seeing the hands of Nokians for a long-distance high five. Nokia is expected to unveil the first phone running on Microsoft’s newest operating system early next month. From Reuters:
Nokia has been fighting for survival after losing vast ground to Apple and Samsung. In 2011 it forged a software alliance with Microsoft, which had also fallen behind in smartphone software.
Nokia is now the largest maker of Windows Phones, but the market share of the software has stayed at below 5 percent.
“We think that the real winner hear will be Microsoft and the Windows Phone ecosystem,” Nomura analysts said in a note.
“As Android and Apple tear each other apart, Microsoft has been waiting in the wings and is in a very good position to move in and entice users to switch from Android to Microsoft, as we have already seen that user loyalty is low,” they said.
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