The Windows Mobile brand has returned. Well, sort of.
Microsoft is making a move to get rid of its Windows Phone brand, which truth be told has struggled quite a bit in the worldwide mobile market in the last few years. Now, the company is replacing that brand with the new Windows 10 Mobile brand, which is a kind of throwback to the original brand name of Microsoft's mobile operating system. Some may remember that Microsoft has been busy rebranding certain parts of its business relatively recently. For instance, during last year's fall, the company had started shedding the Nokia brand off its Lumia line of smartphone products, and now it is doing the same for its smartphone OS.
As for Windows 10 Mobile, it expected to debut some time in summer this year. True to Microsoft's thrust of making its products universal, the mobile operating system will run Microsoft's apps which are specifically designed to function across all mobile devices.
Also, Windows 10 Mobile will take advantage of Microsoft's new Continuum feature, which automatically changes an app's layout when the smartphone is connected to a PC screen and when used with a keyboard and mouse.
Windows Mobile used to be the dominant mobile operating system in the world. For almost a decade in 2000 to 2007, Microsoft's phone OS was the most widely used, running on personal digital assistants (PDAs), the precursor of the modern smartphone.
But when iOS and Android came along, Windows Mobile never managed to keep up, taking a back seat in the eyes of consumers, and ensuingly lost its once dominant market share.
Microsoft is certainly hoping to reverse things with the upcoming release of its Windows 10 Mobile. The company thinks that the universal appeal of this new version of this mobile OS should be a formidable selling point. Microsoft is even ambitious enough to say that it is targeting to hit 1 billion devices running on Windows 10 Mobile by the year 2018. It just might be possible, especially now that the company is planning to offer the mobile OS absolutely free of charge to the majority of the smartphone, tablet, and PC owning global populace, as well as those that own Xbox one, Microsoft HoloLens, and even Surface Hub.
Moreover, Microsoft is settings its sights even further. The company is hoping that the OS will not only run on standard computing devices, but also on sensor-fitted appliances, automatic teller machines (ATMs), automobiles, and devices connected to the Internet of Things.
