So far, Windows hasn't really had much of an impact on publishers' lives. Windows Phone still has a minute share of the mobile market, and while many of your readers will be using a PC running Windowns - what browser they use makes more?difference these days.?
That however, looks like it is going to change. On?Friday October 26 Microsoft will launch the next version of Windows 8 - its latest operating system for desktops and tablets - and the following Monday it will launch Windows Phone 8.
The reason this is important is that all the signs are Windows 8 will give Microsoft the right product to begin making more of an impact on the tablet and mobile markets and in tablets and mobiles, operating system matters a lot more for publishers.
Here are?five things you need to know about what Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 mean for your business:
1. More Windows in the world:?Windows Phone hasn't made anything like the impact Microsoft has hoped. But there are signs Windows 8 might give it the momentum needed. Analysts Gartner and?IDC?have long been predicting Windows Phone will become a credible third ecosystem - they expect Windows Phone will either match or beat Apple's iOS to be in second place behind Google by 2016.?
-- Nokia is still relying entirely on Windows Phone 8, and?HTC has?recently?begun putting more effort?into the platform following the poor performance of its Android devices against Samsung.?There are also a?swathe of manufacturers?making Windows 8 tablets - including Microsoft itself with the?Surface.
Another, perhaps even more important reason why Windows Phone 8 will do well is that mobile operators?want a third ecosystem?to reduce their reliance on Apple especially, but also?Google. Microsoft will benefit from that desire.
That means there are likely to be?a lot?more Windows Phone devices out there over the next few months, and they won't be geared towards accessing your content through a browser, they will be looking for apps.
2. More apps, even on desktops:?Windows 8 comes with two choices of interface. The first is a traditional interface that works like an updated version of Windows 7 and is designed for use with a mouse. It has been widely?slated, but that isn't surprising. ?What Microsoft really wants is people to use the completely new Metro interface, which is optimised for tablets and looks a lot like the Windows Phone OS.?
Metro is app-oriented, and that means it will push users towards consuming your content on apps rather than through the browser?even while on a desktop.?That is good news if you've got a successful app you are making money out of, but not terrible news if you don't, because the browser will still be a core part of Windows 8.?
3. Windows Marketplace:?Microsoft's app store hasn't exactly made waves compared to Apple's App Store or Google Play, but that could be a good thing. There are 500,000 apps on Google Play, and more than 600,000 on the App Store, but?only 100,000 on Windows Marketplace. it's a?much less crowded market if you get in early, and if Windows 8 and its mobile counterpart takeoff, it could be a lucrative place to be hawking your wares.
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4. Better together??Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 are?built using?the same underlying OS structure. They are designed to work together well - making syncing across devices and sharing?information?over the cloud far simpler and more?efficient.
It's similar to Apple's attempts to tie users into its ecosystem through iCloud. The difference is that while Apple is leveraging the popularity of the iPhone to get users to love their iPad and Mac, Microsoft hopes to use its dominance of the PC market to boost mobile sales and build a tablet business.
It will be?far easier to build apps that work on both Windows 8 and?Windows?Phone 8?- or at least to adapt an app made for one for the other.
5. Business focus:?If you're a B2B publisher then Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 are even more likely to be a big deal. Microsoft knows where its strengths are, and it is pushing Windows 8 on tablets and Windows Phone 8 as the mobile OS most suited to business users. The stranglehold of Microsoft Office looks set to continue in the workplace.
Whether or not Microsoft actually manages to deliver a better enterprise product than the iPad remains to be seen, but with Microsoft's stranglehold on business?many companies are expected to embrace Windows 8 on tablets and mobiles.
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Source: http://www.themediabriefing.com/article/2012-10-19/what-does-windows-8-mean-for-publishers
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