Samsung calls demand for Windows 'lackluster'
The company takes a swipe at Microsoft and says that all types of devices running Microsoft's latest operating systems are selling poorly.
Samsung mobile chief J.K. Shin offered some less-than-stellar observations about Microsoft in an interview published last night.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Shin said his company sees "lackluster demand for Windows-based products in Europe." And elsewhere around the world, he said, Microsoft's software efforts in smartphones and tablets are not going so well either.
"Smartphones and tablets based on Microsoft's Windows operating system aren't selling very well," Shin told the Journal, ostensibly referring to both Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. "There is a preference in the market for Android."
It's hard to argue with Shin's comments. According to research firm IDC, Android owned 70 percent of the smartphone market in the fourth quarter, easily topping Apple's 21 percent market share. Windows Phone could only muster 2.6 percent market share. The latter's market share, however, was up 150 percent compared to the same period in 2011.
Despite Samsung's concerns with Windows Phone and Windows itself, the company still seems committed to the platforms. Samsung offers products running Microsoft's operating systems and has not made any indication it will stop.
Shin's comments come just a day after Samsung unveiled its latest handset, the Galaxy S4. That handset is considered the company's best smartphone yet. It runs Android.