Microsoft Has No Plans To Make Another Smartphone, Exec Says
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is going to stick to core businesses and has no plans to develop a new smartphone device, such as its ill-starred Kin handsets, the chief financial officer of Microsoft’s mobile-communication business said Thursday.
“We are in the software business and that is where our business will be focused,” Tivanka Ellawala told investors at a conference in San Francisco. He made the remark in response to a question about rumors that the Redmond, Wash.-based behemoth is working on a new phone.
Ellawala’s comments come as Microsoft tries to rejuvenate its mobile-phone business with a new operating system, dubbed Windows Phone 7. It also comes as a growing number of software giants, including Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), move outside of their traditional markets to offer customers integrated hardware and software products.
Microsoft’s mobile business has suffered, while Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone and Google Inc.’s (GOOG) Android operating system continue to enjoy popularity with consumers. Microsoft’s attempt to sell phones, which it called Kin line, ended earlier this year after the phones had been on the market for less than two months.
