You Could Have Been Using Windows Mobile Instead Of Android

Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates thinks that people would have been using Windows Mobile today instead of Android had it not been for the antitrust investigation from the US Justice Department that distracted him and the company. The Microsoft founder made these statements while speaking at The New York Times’ DealBook conference (interview below).

Gates said that he has no “doubt the antitrust lawsuit was bad for Microsoft” as the company would have otherwise focused more on developing the mobile operating system. The lawsuit ended up distracting him away from Windows Mobile and he ultimately “screwed that up.”

He also said that Microsoft was “three months too late on a release” that would have been used by Motorola on a smartphone. While he did not provide the specifics, it is possible that Gates is referring to the Motorola Droid which launched with Android and made consumers in the US notice the Android OS.

Gates agrees that it is a “winner takes all game” and that now nobody has heard of Windows Mobile. He expressed his disappointment over the failure of the Windows Mobile OS and that it was painful for him since he was personally involved in the antitrust investigation. Here’s the full video of the interview:

Bill Gates had previously admitted that missing the mobile revolution was one of the “greatest mistakes of all time” and that it led Microsoft to lose around $400 billion. Despite his disappointment at Android beating Windows Mobile, Gates has moved on to using an Android smartphone as his daily driver.