Android co-founder Rich Miner has reacted to Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ recent revelation, wherein Gates admitted that he deeply regrets losing out on the mobile phone business, describing it as “the greatest mistake of all time.” Miner responded to Gates’ admission, pointing out that he played a key role in the creation of Android to prevent Microsoft from dominating the mobile market in the same way it had controlled the PC industry. According to Miner, such control could have stifled innovation in the mobile space.
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Here’s What Rich Miner Said
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Miner said: “I literally helped create Android to prevent Microsoft from controlling the phone the way they did the PC – stifling innovation. So it’s always funny for me to hear Gates whine about losing mobile to Android”
Miner elaborated on his role, sharing that he had helped Microsoft launched its first Windows Mobile phone in 2002. He added:
“I helped Orange launch the first Windows Mobile phone in 2002, the SPV (Orange SPV—the first commercially available Microsoft Windows-powered phone). I worried MSFT might end up controlling mobile like they did the PC, I wanted something more open. So, sorry Bill, you’re more responsible for losing the $400B than you realize.”
Miner’s comments simply mean one thing: If Microsoft had succeeded in dominating the mobile market, it could have hampered innovation within the industry. His creation of Android offered an open platform, fundamentally reshaping the mobile landscape.
Consider the alternative: had it not been for Android, the mobile space might have been monopolised by Apple and Microsoft as the sole competitors, creating a vastly different ecosystem.
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Bill Gates’ Big Revelation During A Recent Interview
Miner’s comments come in the wake of Bill Gates’ interview with Julia Hartz. During the discussion, Gates said: “The greatest mistake of all time is the mismanagement I engaged in that caused Microsoft not to be what Android is.”
Microsoft was indeed late to the mobile market. While Apple launched its iOS platform in 2007 alongside the first iPhone, Android followed in 2008 after Google‘s acquisition. Microsoft, however, only launched its first version of Windows Phone OS, the Windows Phone 7 in 2010—by which time the market had already been largely captured by Apple and Google.
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