Remember when there were three choices for mobile operating systems? Those were the days. We know that Windows Mobile was a disaster, but there are some people who revel in that, even in 2025. Android’s co-creator, Rich Miner, pokes fun at Bill Gates whenever he comments on losing to Android.
Honestly, Windows Mobile’s boxy interface has a charm that we still miss to this day. However, the software support was… let’s just say it puts the “Micro” in Microsoft. Imagine having to use poor third-party YouTube apps! That was a reality that we dealt with while iOS and Android were charting the path to the smartphone of today. However, we still have a soft spot in our hearts for the interface and its potential.
Android’s co-creator loves to poke fun at Bill Gates
While many of us have a soft spot for Windows Mobile, that’s not the case for one of Android’s creators. Rich Miner made a post on X.com pointing out his joy in seeing Bill Gates “whine about losing mobile to Android.”
“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.”
To catch you up, Gates recently spoke to Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz. Village Global held an event where the two sat down and talked about business. Gates then revealed (again) that his biggest mistake was losing the mobile game to Android. “There’s room for exactly one non-Apple operating system,” he said, and we all, know what that operating system is. At its highest point, Windows Mobile still struggled to capture a fraction of the mobile audience.
All in all, Windows Mobile cost Microsoft $400 billion. It’s tough to fathom a loss such as that. Very few companies can afford to take a financial hit like that and stay in business. In any case, Windows Mobile was like the Sega Saturn in a way. While not particularly successful, it doesn’t mean that it was bad in any way. There are people who still have fond memories of it.
