Microsoft's Bach predicts Linux will lose mobile OS race

Even with the vultures circling Microsoft's beleaguered Windows Mobile operating system, the software giant's Entertainment & Devices division president Robbie Bach forecasts Linux will emerge as the loser in the race for mobile OS dominance. Speaking to financial analysts during last week's 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, Bach predicted Linux-based devices will fail the "quality" test, contending that the number of Linux variants currently in the marketplace will face operator pruning as carriers look to simplify their support efforts.

"I think everybody would say there are too many operating systems in the mobile world today," Bach said. "I'm not talking about the smartphone world necessarily, but if you just look across the million, two million, or billion, two billion, feature phones sold today, I don't think there's an operator in the world that wouldn't tell you that it's a pain to support all the different operating systems they have. In particular the 17 versions of Linux they have on feature phones, all of which are a little quirky and a little different, require separate network certifications, network product support, and the like that goes along with that."

As for Microsoft's own mobile efforts, Bach said the company will offer new information on its long-awaited Windows Mobile 7 revamp during February's Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. "I don't think we have some specific challenge outside of the fact that our (user) experience is very skewed towards business users, and it's not as modern as it needs to be," Bach said. Speculation continues to mount on the status of WinMo 7--while some sources report Microsoft will formally announce the updated OS next month, others indicate it is now delayed until 2011.

For more on Bach's OS insight:
- read this PCWorld article

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