I was dismayed to see that although Microsoft has been working on some East Asian Language support for Windows Phone, they still have neglected the market in mainland China.
Seems like a shortsighted move; considering the massive gains iOS and Android are making there, and that there is a significant portion of early adopters there who will spend top dollar (or yuan) to upgrade to the next latest & greatest thing every 6 months. Also worth mentioning, getting some halo-type product in hearts and minds there will help prime the market for lower-end products as well (which seems to be the rumored Tango strategy).
The market there still seems to have a very robust number of Microsoft enthusiasts, yet Microsoft sure is taking its sweet time getting their new mobile products ready there.
Microsoft can be very US-centric, seems like they are missing/wasting an opportunity in China as there's still so much smartphone adoption yet to happen there.
Suppose that the Nokia partnership might help this as they have good China distribution (though for that matter, so do HTC, Samsung, and LG).
I don't see why this is taking them so long to do; though I suppose if a Traditional Chinese version of the OS exists then converting to Simplified Chinese won't take too much beyond that...but I'm baffled why they are dragging their feet; it's not like there's a shortage of China-based Microsoft talent...
Discussion about
Why hasn't Microsoft localized and launched Windows Phone in Mainland China?
From what I hear, Microsoft has been working on the localization for a while now, so I'm sure it will eventually happen. Just a little baffled that it is one of the last ones to get released. I'm of the opinion that if Microsoft made the effort to get into the market sooner in China, they might make more headway, rather than continually playing catch up.
But maybe I'm being impatient; the Nokia partnership should go a long way for helping in China, and Microsoft may be better-served by first getting some marketshare wins and traction anywhere, rather than spreading its (not yet broadly successful in terms of sales) efforts thinly across the globe.
But maybe I'm being impatient; the Nokia partnership should go a long way for helping in China, and Microsoft may be better-served by first getting some marketshare wins and traction anywhere, rather than spreading its (not yet broadly successful in terms of sales) efforts thinly across the globe.
