Which is the hottest smartphone in the town at the moment? Is it Apple’s iPhone4? Or HTC Evo 4G? How about Motorola Droid X? May be Blackberry Bold 9700?! All these smartphones that come from the leading manufacturers of the industry are undoubtedly selling just like hot cakes. Android as we may observe has already won the confidence of the consumers as well manufacturer’s heart. While Apple and Blackberry are doing great with their very own mobile OSs. So what are we missing here? I know it’s taking you a while to recall (sadly because it is a forgotten story now: pardon the pun) our very old and fading Windows Mobile OS.
Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS has long enjoyed its fame in one of the best smartphones produced with the worthy mentions of Samsung Omnia, HTC HD2 and many others. But as the innovation in the industry reaches highest pinnacles of glory boosting the consumer expectations from the new devices, Microsoft seems to be lagging behind in the race of this market dominance. Sadly we see more of Android and Apple buzzing around in the tinsel town and Windows Mobile left as a small fish with these sharks around.
However with the announcement of the very new and upcoming Windows Mobile 7, things are taking a new stride now. Having seen a preview of the new mobile OS, a lot of speculations, affirmative as well negative are hovering around in the web, with Microsoft fans and of course Ballmer keeping their fingers crossed for a positive response (much required to anchor the sinking Windows mobile ship.) So what has future in store for this mobile platform? Are things going to change in the Windows mobile department there at Microsoft office? Let us not take our stance so early and discuss a few aspects before reaching a consensus.
Windows Phone 7 steals the show in gaming segment:
Now that’s not where the discussion should have actually started from but one should always begin with a happy note. Windows Phone 7 series will be the first and the only mobile OS to officially deliver Xbox LIVE experience on a phone that includes Xbox LIVE games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer’s avatar, achievements and profile. The users will be able to play the same game on the PC, XBOX and their Windows Phone 7 Series, and pick up where they left off while shifting from one platform to another. Now that sure is a mouth watering deal for all the gamers out there but is that enough to attract the masses?
Will hub strategy work?
Now thats a little dicey factor to determine the future. Coming over to the positive aspect first, the hubs deliver an engaging social experience by bringing together relevant content based on user’s data and also make picture and photo sharing a one step process. Also the music+video hub leverages the media experience by bringing the best of Zune on the Windows Phone 7.And yes then there’s office and marketplace to add to the glory. But isn’t that limiting the 3rd party apps making a way into the new phones? We cannot deny how difficult it can be for developers to extend such integrated experience on the phone. So that brings Windows Phone 7 one point down.
The developers’ dilemma:
Luckily enough, the Windows Phone 7 series isn’t abandoning the developers and that will actually turn out more lucrative for the company itself. However Windows Phone 7 developers will need to download a suite of “comprehensive tools” in order to develop the mobile applications. $99 a year is what you need to pay to be part of the Windows Phone 7 development program, and before I forget to mention, developers will be currently limited to a maximum of 5 applications in the Marketplace. Also native applications will not be allowed on Windows 7 devices except those that run in the Silverlight runtime environment and games in the XNA Game Studio runtime. Finally the initial general release of Windows 7 will also not support Flash. Now if you’ve been quite active online in the recent past, Google has announced a free Google App Inventor for Android. Need I argue more on this issue? Microsoft, you are upsetting the developers big time.
Hey, they do pack a bunch of real useful Apps for you!
Taking a sigh of relief, I am happy to know that Microsoft is bringing some of the widely used mobile apps to its 7 series that include the Associated Press, Foursquare, Seesmic, Sling Media, Shazam and many more. (I am smiling.)
OEMs have concerns too:
Windows Phone 7 Series is a non-free operating system. Simply put, these original equipment manufacturers cannot make any customization to match the user needs. We won’t complain about the License fee as these manufacturers have been used to paying that since the beginning. But with open platforms of Android, Symbian, Bada and now MeeGo, Windows Phone 7 does not sound a fare deal. Also with its closed ecosystem, innovation is bound to stagnate.
Miscellaneous feel good features:
Capability to support Exchange accounts and major email providers, tiles replacing the icons, an exciting Windows Phone Marketplace, Windows Phone 7 Live to provide online storage for photos, calendar, contacts, ability to exchange Office OneNote files, Find My Phone service to find and manage a missing phone and so on, I guess that’s quite a big list of features that will help the Windows Phone 7 magnetize some customer base.
The Clash of Titans: Android vs iPhone OS vs Windows Mobile (Market Analysis):
According to a very recent report by Nielsen on the market share of these mobile OSs, RIM’s Blackberry can be seen as the triumphant king in the arena with 35% of share. Following the lead is Apple’s iPhone OS swiping 28% of it. Well here’s some still good but going bad news for Microsoft. It bags third place above Android by owning 19% (down 2%) of the smartphone market with Google’s open Mobile OS managing to obtain 9%. But Android has been a new kid on the block and yet can be seen growing swiftly. Also with more and more manufacturers now singing the Android tune, there lay bright prospects for it to surpass Windows Mobile OS in the very near future (avertable if Windows Mobile 7’s spell works on customers and manufacturers.) The trouble is, clock has already started ticking.
That said, we still remain at a dubious state of predicting the future of Windows Phone 7 series. The new iteration is definitely a giant leap from the initial not so impressive series of the Microsoft’s mobile OS. But mobile apps are the most significant factor that are penning down the success stories of the leading Smartphone manufacturers and for Microsoft, it more or less looks like a secondary element.(That’s not a good news.) Windows Phone 7 is superior but not the best and right now I only seem to remember of reading somewhere about the ‘survival of the fittest.’
