And so ends the great cull where Microsoft has been letting stocks die for the best part of two years. In fact, we have been surprised how long some of the inventory hung around. We thought the 2017 Holiday Season would have dried the well, but Windows Phone devices lived on. The HP Elite x3 and Alcatel Idol 4S were the two remaining devices and they are now out of stock. Interestingly, the HP Elite has been on offer with its dock for $299 in recent months. That is a complete steal for what is still an amazing piece of hardware which would normally cost $799. Hell, if I had known I would have personally been all over buying one. Perhaps it highlights how much Microsoft turned the lights out on Windows Phone that I did not even consider looking for a handset on the company’s store. So the long and winding road to obscurity is complete. Last year Microsoft all but killed its mobile aspirations as a platform and hardware provider. The company said it will no longer add new features or hardware to Windows Phone. However, the platform will still be supported in terms of security patches.
Embracing Rival Platforms
Of course, Microsoft may one day return to the mobile platform and hardware game, but for now the company is content with being a software provider. It makes much more sense for the company to peddle its solutions and products on rival platforms that actually have a significant user-base (iOS and Android). Which is why Microsoft is now ironically a full-on Android vendor. The company’s only remaining smartphones for sale on the Microsoft Store are running Google’s platform.
