3. Windows Phone
Again, I personally have limited experiences with Windows Phone. But I can read, and I do understand some basic facts. 1. No one wants to buy Windows phones. Microsoft currently holds 5% of the global smartphone market. Samsung and HTC have a couple of phones between them, but HTC is quickly becoming irrelevant in the big leagues losing both profit margins and market share. Meanwhile when was the last time anyone got excited over a Samsung phone? Oh that's right, every single one of their Android phones, not their Windows phones. 2. No one wants to sell Windows phones. Most of Windows marketshare is Nokia, who some time ago signed a deal with Microsoft saying that they would use Windows Phone, and Windows Phone only. Since then, the Lumia smartphone range has run some decent hardware and admittedly nice looking software. Did this work for either Nokia or Microsoft? No. In fact, earlier this year, the Finnish former phone giant was hinting that some Android phones would be on the way as soon as the contract expired. So Microsoft bought Nokia to keep their phone OS alive. In all honesty, Smartphones is an area that Microsoft never did well. Yes they had the original smartphones, those clunky old pocket pcs with crappy screens, easily lost styluses, all manner of crazy keyboards, and not very good batteries. But who made smartphones worth owning? Apple. Who made tablets worth owning? Apple. Who then improved on Smartphones and Tablets, making them worth using? Android. Contenders: iPhone, Android