Microsoft: Why Low-End Phones in Large Quantities is the Best Strategy

While smartphone manufacturers race to release high-end handsets with dual-core chips, Microsoft continues to offer solely single-core-equipped phones. So why does the Windows Phone maker stray from the pack in its adoption of a faster CPU?

Well according to Microsoft’s Windows Phone president Andy Lees, the company can offer better battery performance, at a lower cost, with single-core chips than it could with a dual-core chipset. As Android and Apple smartphones comprise key features for speed, Microsoft hopes that a larger volume of inexpensive phones will ultimately prove successful over devices like the iPhone 4S and Droid Bionic. 

Claiming that Microsoft’s main goal is to deliver a low-cost phone with the best possible experience, Lees said he mainly looks at the transfer price and hopes to ultimately erase it or make it as low as can be.

As competitors tout their dual-core chips, Lees says the graphics processor already counts as a second processor on the less-than 1GHz chip that Microsoft uses, and it is what provides users with the most performance. Despite a single-core chip, a Windows Phone handset will outrank dual-core-powered smartphones in battery life and other aspects, according to Lees. 

While Windows Phone has struggled to find its niche, evident in the relatively low adoption rate of users, Lees believes offering low cost phones and better performance is the best strategy. 

“It seems like you're slower, and then boom, you come out with these low cost phones that are fantastic,” said Lees. “You leapfrog in multiple dimensions.”

Yet, Lees was sure to note that Microsoft is certainly not against dual-core, so perhaps we will eventually be seeing a quicker, higher-end Windows Phone after all. 

Source: Business Insider