HTC, once known as High Tech Computer,
is a Taiwanese company that began making
phone sets using Microsoft software in
2002. By 2005, it had grown to sales
of $2.2 billion, double that of the year
before, making it the fastest growing
tech company that year according to
BusinessWeek.
HTC grew by jumping on bandwagons. Windows Mobile 6 was the product with an established market.
Furthermore, Microsoft engaged HTC in many matters of industrial design, and all these competencies allowed them to effectively move from being a PC company to a mobile phone company.
The situation for Nokia is somewhat different. MS is no longer the dominant platform in the mobile space.
However, MS still has the advantage of outlook/exchange being the dominant enterprise email solution. If MS can do a good job of integrating features like Sharepoint into WP7, then it has a strong position to defend.
IIRC Microsoft invested in Apple at their low point, and also agreed to continue to support their Office suite on Apple computers. I would call that a partnership.
Yeah, others mentioned this lower in the thread. I'm not so sure that this would be a good example of a partnership, because Microsoft didn't really get much from Apple.
Apple got back some legitimacy as a platform. I remember betting at the time that they'd be out of business before 2000 (this was before the return of Jobs). Microsoft gave them the ability to say, we're going to be around for a while, and our customers are going to be able to get work done.
What Microsoft gained (aside from a good return on investment) was something that they could point to when negotiating with the DOJ. A strong Apple was absolutely required for Microsoft to remain intact. So what Microsoft really got wasn't a partner, but a competitor.
> What Microsoft gained (aside from a good return on investment) was something that they could point to when negotiating with the DOJ. A strong Apple was absolutely required for Microsoft to remain intact. So what Microsoft really got wasn't a partner, but a competitor.
Yeah, it was a sort of cynical "partnership". I think your analysis is bang-on.
Microsoft also got a patent cross-licensing deal with Apple, IE shipping as the default browser on Macs (a blow against Netscape), and a settlement on some messy lawsuits.
(I imagine a lot of lawyers got paid, too... what a mess!)
I agree, though that this something that is only done by a desperate company with few choices.