No, really! Microsoft’s smartphones are indeed going nowhere. Neither will Microsoft now focus on chasing developers to build apps for its platform (that are now universal), nor will the company be shutting down its smartphone business entirely. For now its just tired of investing into a sector that has not led to any profits whatsoever.

Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella’s open letter to the company’s employees was not a threat, but simply made things crystal clear both for employees, fans and device manufacturers.

For employees its all about job cuts, one that follows the earlier 18,000; adding 7800 more to the mix. He did however confirm that those who have been laid off, will receive help from the company with their “transition”.

As for the company’s mobile business, the letter makes it pretty clear that Microsoft has given up, given up on fighting the uphill battle, for achieving its sizeable share of the worldwide, cross-platform, mobile sales pie.

Satya Nadella made it clear that its Nokia acquisition has been a complete failure:

“As a result, the company will take an impairment charge of approximately $7.6 billion related to assets associated with the acquisition of the Nokia Devices and Services business in addition to a restructuring charge of approximately $750 million to $850 million.”

And introduced a new strategy wherein mobile phones will take a back seat, while the focus now points to the ecosystem as whole.

No, its not the end of the world for Windows Phone fans because Microsoft is not culling the program. In fact, Satya confirmed that Microsoft would reduce the number of product releases per year, those that are targeted and will cater to three key areas: business users, value phone buyers and fans with the flagship range.

So yes, the flagships are not dead, Microsoft will continue to build them and add innovations, but these will be made, simply to please fans.

Think more on the lines of BlackBerry, a device that is locked to its own little ecosystem. But wait, isn't BlackBerry building an Android-powered smartphone?

Windows 10 Mobile will not be a Nokia X, but its chances with the whole app gap and its recent move to adopt Android and iOS apps (with some tweaking) won't take it places either but simply complicate the UI for users. Moreover, would you buy a flagship Windows 10 device with apps that offer less functionality that an Android device can deliver at half the price?

[Also Read: Why Microsoft's Flagship Smartphones Are Doomed]

Microsoft's new strategy also makes things obvious, now that its mobile division has been officially transformed into the new, broader, Windows and Devices Group. 

Microsoft is no longer competing for market share in the mobile space, and neither is it looking at Windows smartphone sales. All it now wants is a software ecosystem running on first-party devices (smartphones, tablets and desktops), which Windows 10 will hopefully deliver.

For some strange reason, we always felt that Nokia would have been better off with Google's Android than Windows. Sadly, Microsoft seems to have swallowed an innovative smartphone maker and killed the brand altogether. Moreover, thanks to the acquisition, Nokia is not even allowed to sell a smartphone until 2017; talk about throttling innovation.

Tags : Microsoft, Mobile Phones, Hardware, Software, Windows 10, Windows Phone