Microsoft Corp. share price, launches its Windows software free of charge for small mobile devices

Microsoft Corp. made an official statement, saying that it has made the decision of making its Windows operating system licenses free of charge for mobile phones and tablets, whose screens are smaller than nine inches. This move of the company has been provoked by its attempt to work out a more successful strategy for the mobile market regions where the companys sales have decreased.

The company revealed that its operating system will be free for tablets and smartphones with screen size less than nine inches. This became clear when the Executive of the Windows and Windows Phone software – Terry Myerson explained what kinds of devices the price of “zero dollars” will apply to. He said, cited by the Wall Street Journal: “Its all about getting your apps out there.”

As reported by the Financial Times, one of the analysts, who work at Garner – Mr. Michael Silver described the companys decision as “steps in the right direction” Mr. Silver also said: “Developers are still looking at why they should write for Microsoft versus everywhere else. They [Microsoft] certainly have their work cut out for them.”

Microsoft Corp. is said to be falling behind in the competition over the smartphone market due to the fact there is not enough applications for mobile devices that work under the companys Windows operating system. In addition, Microsoft, which is currently considered as the biggest software company in the world, charged hardware manufacturers with a licensing fee for its Windows software, which was a considerable disadvantage in comparison to the policy of its main rival Google Inc. and its Android mobile operating system.

The announcement of Microsoft Corp. to eliminate the Windows licensing fee when it comes to small devices comes at a moment when it presented its new Windows Phone 8.1 mobile software featuring a voice-search service called Cortana at the Build developer conference.

Microsoft Corp. fell by 0.17% to $41.35 per share on Wednesday, marking a one-year change of +43.58% and a market value of $343.79 billion. According to CNN Money, the 28 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Microsoft Corp. have a median target of $39.90, with a high estimate of $47.00 and a low estimate of $29.00. The median estimate represents a -3.51% decrease from the last price of $41.35.