News Windows Phone’s future is grim, says Gartner Smartphone users will continue adopting Android and iOS handsets Gartner is predicting a grim future for Microsoft’s Windows mobile OS, saying it won’t make its mark in consumer smartphones, remaining relegated to enterprise users. Microsoft’s Windows 10 mobile OS is just now reaching devices, but prior versions didn’t fare so well. Windows Mobile was in just 5.87 million handsets shipped during the third quarter this year (capturing 1.7 percent market share), declining from 9.03 million (3 percent) in the same quarter a year earlier. That pales in comparison to Android, which was in 298.8 million units shipped during the third quarter (84.7 percent market share), increasing from 254.35 million (83.3 percent) a year earlier. Apple’s iOS was shipped in 46.06 million handsets (13.1 percent), rising from 38.19 million (12.5 percent) in the year-earlier quarter. The Windows operating system is primarily used in Microsoft’s handsets, whose shipments also declined in the third quarter. The company was in third place behind Samsung and Apple, with phone shipments of 30.3 million units, a decline from 43.13 million in the year-earlier quarter. Worldwide mobile phone shipments totalled 477.9 million units during the third quarter, increasing by 3.7 percent, according to Gartner. The numbers include smartphones and feature phones. Handset shipments overall rose due to growing demand for affordable smartphones in emerging nations, where local brand names are emerging. Lower-cost handsets typically have slower processors and sacrifice on advanced features found in top-line phones from Apple and Samsung. Most low-price smartphones carry Android, but Microsoft is making an attempt to put the Windows 10 mobile OS in low-cost handsets by partnering with companies such as Acer. Samsung remained the world’s top smartphone vendor in the third quarter, selling 102 million units, an increase from year-earlier shipments of 93.6 million, and holding a 21.4 percent market share. The release of new Galaxy handsets four months ago helped boost shipments. Apple’s shipments totalled 46 million units (a 9.6 percent market share), growing from 8.3 percent in the year-earlier quarter. Apple shipped new iPhones at the end of the September, and that will boost shipments for the company’s fourth quarter. Several Chinese companies including TCL, ZTE and Xiaomi were in the top 10. India’s Micromax, whose smartphones have taken the country by storm, also made its way into the top 10. Gartner said little-known brands like Oppo and BBK were also flourishing in emerging markets. The little-known brand names are rising as device sales soar in countries such as China and India. J Windows 7 <strong>PC</strong>s available to buy for one more year <strong>PC</strong> makers will have to stop preinstalling Windows 7 on October 31, 2016. Halloween 2016 could be especially frightful for Windows 7 fans, as it’s the last day <strong>PC</strong> makers will be allowed to preinstall the aging operating system. Microsoft recently updated its Windows lifecycle page to include an end date for Windows 7 <strong>PC</strong> sales. That date is October 31, 2016, which is also the same day that Windows 8.1 <strong>PC</strong> sales will cease. From then onward, all <strong>PC</strong>s must come with Windows 10 preinstalled. The end of sales date for Windows 7 is actually much later than usual for older Windows versions. Usually, the cut-off comes two years after version’s successor arrives, which in the case of Windows 7 would have been October 2014. But Microsoft extended those sales indefinitely for the Pro version, likely due to the negative response to Windows 8. (Some <strong>PC</strong> makers even used Windows 7 as a selling point, with special promotions on some computers.) The cut-off date for <strong>PC</strong> sales doesn’t mark the end for Windows 7, however. Businesses will still be able to use downgrade rights to get back to Windows 7. And while mainstream support, such as feature updates, for Windows 7 ended in January 2015, extended support will continue until January 2020. That means you’ll still get roughly four years of security patches if you snag a Windows 7 <strong>PC</strong> before sales cease. Why this matters: While <strong>PC</strong> makers are now putting most of their marketing efforts behind Windows 10, today vendors such as Dell and HP continue to sell machines with Windows 7 onboard, even direct to consumers. For users who are more comfortable with the six-year-old operating system, don’t like the mandatory updates of Windows 10, or want access to Windows Media Center, the clock is now ticking on a chance to buy new Windows 7 hardware. J 8 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news February 2016
DOMAINS | MAIL | HOSTING | eSHOPS | SERVERS 1&1 CLOUD SERVER TEST THE BEST! TOP PERFORMER Easy to use – ready to go The 1&1 Cloud Server offers unbeatable performance in terms of CPUs, RAM and SSD storage! Implement your cloud projects with the perfect combination of flexibility and powerful features. Load balancing SSD storage Billing by the minute Intel ® Xeon ® Processor E5-2660 v2 and E5-2683 v3 1 month free! Then from £4.99 per month * TRIAL TRY FOR 130 DAYS CLICK UPGRADE OR 1DOWNGRADE CALL SPEAK TO 1AN EXPERT 0333 336 5509 * 1&1 Cloud Server 1 month free trial, then from £4.99 per month. No minimum contract period. Prices exclude 20% VAT. Visit 1and1.co.uk for full offer details, terms and conditions. Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. 1&1 Internet Limited, Discovery House, 154 Southgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2EX. 1and1.co.uk
Change language