Microsoft stops paying for employee’s non-WinMo phones

Oh Microsoft, we know there is a recession on and belt-tightening is the order of the day but… well, this is just cruel.

In the good old days (e.g. the last financial year) Microsoft was in the habit of paying for the data tariffs racked up by its employees on their mobile phones. After all, they were probably using them for work and it was just a nice perk.

Now we are knee deep in moneygeddon, however, it is all change. If you work for Microsoft and want to have your mobile data allowance paid for there is a small catch – you have to use a Windows Mobile product.

Ouch.

Yes, if you own an iPhone, rock a Nokia or prefer a Pre you have to pay your own way. Only genuine Windows Mobile handsets need apply.

Now, given the state of Windows Mobile compared to the iPhone, better Nokia S60 phones, decent BlackBerries, Android, etc etc you can see that this is a pretty canny move by Microsoft. Worst way, a few dozen employees will grit their teeth and ditch their phone of choice for a Windows Mobile smartphone – and MS will at least get a bit of revenue from the software license. Meanwhile everybody else will pay their own bills – it’s win-win, really.

To be fair there are some decent-ish WinMo phones around and WinMo 6.5 should fix some of the issue which put people off, but this does seem a little mean spirited of Microsoft. After all, if your employees don’t want to use your OS maybe spending a little time figuring out why and then fixing it would be more financially beneficial than just dissuading them from switching by making it more expensive.

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