Does Microsoft still have a chance against Android and iOS?

Microsoft's CEO decided to start on the clean in the phone business, announcing a complete writeoff of the Nokia acquisition, to the tune of $7.8 billion, or about the same it paid for the struggling Finnish phone maker last year. In addition, Microsoft will gradually be nixing 7800 jobs, the vast majority of which will be from Nokia's ex-Devices and Services division, thus leaving only one in four employees from the Nokia that were when it was gobbled up.

It's a pretty smart move on behalf of the new CEO Satya Nadella, who was against the Nokia acquisition in the first place. Now, all the writeoffs can be blamed on his predecessor, who pushed relentlessly for the Nokia coup, while any future positives resulting from the rumored thin and light metal Lumias with Windows 10 Mobile, will be attributed to Mr Nadella's leadership.

Since Microsoft's CEO commented yesterday that the company is not giving up on the mobile strategy, but rather restructuring it, and will be outing fewer, more tailored handsets to see what sticks, it's a bit premature to sing the eulogy for Windows phones. This is why we asked you yesterday if you think that even with new and attractive Lumias, and a fresh Win 10 operating system across the phone, tablet and computer realm, Microsoft can stand a chance against the Android-iOS duopoly? Interestingly enough, more than 58% of our respondents consider Microsoft still a viable player in mobile, which jibes with the CEO's comments on the matter, too. It's too early to tell anyway, let's see what phone will Microsoft announce in the fall, and how will they be folded into the Windows ecosystem.

Phonearena polls

Does Microsoft still have a chance against Android and iOS?: 58.01%
1007 votes (1007 votes) Yes, with the new Lumias and Win 10 Microsoft can bounce back in mobile; 41.99%
729 votes (729 votes) No, it's too late for any meaningful success against Android and iOS