Despite new competition in the mobile operating system arena, Microsoft has no plans to stop to charge licensing fees for Windows Mobile. Google offers its new Android mobile operating system for free and Nokia also recently started to offer its Symbian platform for free. In an interview with Reuters, Steve Ballmer said, “We are doing well, we believe in the value of what we are doing.”
Ballmer went on to wonder about the motives behind Google and Nokia offering their operating systems for free. “Handset makers are skeptical of Nokia, operators are skeptical of Google, I think by actually charging money people know exactly what our motivations are,” Ballmer said.
According to Strategy Analytics, Microsoft charges up to USD$15 per mobile device.
Ballmer also reiterated that Microsoft has no plans to build its own mobile phone hardware.