Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Learns From Apple iPhone
If you look at Microsoft's upcoming Windows Phone 7
, its features and the planned business model for it, you should notice how much Microsoft copied from Apple's iPhone.
Although Microsoft still doesn't manufacture the actual device itself, they have strictly specified the requirements for the hardware that will run Windows Phone 7. The specification is as good as having control on the hardware, similar to what Apple takes advantage of because they manufacture their own devices.
Windows Phone 7 is slated to be launched this October 2010. It is in many ways similar to the 1st generation of iPhone. Both "initially" uses GSM
. Both won't support Adobe Flash
. Both won't support tethering. There's no copy/paste. And there's no multi-tasking as well (although Windows Phone 7 inherently supports multi-tasking but it will have limited exposure to application
and game
developers). Similar to Apple's model, custom applications for the Windows Phone 7 are also expected to go through Microsoft for approval. Like with iTunes, Windows Phone 7 applications are also published via dedicated Marketplace.
The similarities are not surprising. Microsoft is known for benchmarking successful models and practices, and then adopting them into their products and services (thus, the popular notion that they often copy from their competitors instead of really innovating). Let's focus on Apple for examples: When Apple successfully sold the Mac
by packing it with lots of eye-candies, Microsoft launched Windows Aero in Vista (although Vista turned out to be the worst marketed iteration since Windows Me). When Apple successfully sold the iPod
, Microsoft launched Zune
(although Zune still failed to grab a significant slice of the market). When Apple redefined the mobile phone landscape, Microsoft decides it's time to rebuild their mobile phone efforts with Windows Phone 7.
Microsoft doesn't really "copy" as-is. Unlike Apple's app-centric philosophy, Microsoft's design philosophy is really task-centric (although they are marketing the Metro UI as content-centric). This differentiation is important and Microsoft does it consistently well in their products.
It is unfair and unfounded to say that Microsoft follows on the innovations of Apple. I think it can be said that Microsoft is playing safe by making sure something works before "copying" and re-branding it to their style. It may cost Microsoft for not being the first to market, but at least their version would be the "benchmarked" kind.
While Microsoft prepares Windows Phone 7 for launch like it's version "1", the iPhone continues to advance in the market along with Android
, Blackberry
and WebOS
. Trying to play catch up doesn't hurt, really, but it is interesting to know how quickly (or slowly) Microsoft can progress with Windows Phone 7. After all the opportunities missed and all the lessons learned, I still wonder if Microsoft is doing it right this time...
, its features and the planned business model for it, you should notice how much Microsoft copied from Apple's iPhone.Although Microsoft still doesn't manufacture the actual device itself, they have strictly specified the requirements for the hardware that will run Windows Phone 7. The specification is as good as having control on the hardware, similar to what Apple takes advantage of because they manufacture their own devices.
Windows Phone 7 is slated to be launched this October 2010. It is in many ways similar to the 1st generation of iPhone. Both "initially" uses GSM
. Both won't support Adobe Flash. Both won't support tethering. There's no copy/paste. And there's no multi-tasking as well (although Windows Phone 7 inherently supports multi-tasking but it will have limited exposure to application and game developers). Similar to Apple's model, custom applications for the Windows Phone 7 are also expected to go through Microsoft for approval. Like with iTunes, Windows Phone 7 applications are also published via dedicated Marketplace.The similarities are not surprising. Microsoft is known for benchmarking successful models and practices, and then adopting them into their products and services (thus, the popular notion that they often copy from their competitors instead of really innovating). Let's focus on Apple for examples: When Apple successfully sold the Mac
by packing it with lots of eye-candies, Microsoft launched Windows Aero in Vista (although Vista turned out to be the worst marketed iteration since Windows Me). When Apple successfully sold the iPod, Microsoft launched Zune (although Zune still failed to grab a significant slice of the market). When Apple redefined the mobile phone landscape, Microsoft decides it's time to rebuild their mobile phone efforts with Windows Phone 7.Microsoft doesn't really "copy" as-is. Unlike Apple's app-centric philosophy, Microsoft's design philosophy is really task-centric (although they are marketing the Metro UI as content-centric). This differentiation is important and Microsoft does it consistently well in their products.
It is unfair and unfounded to say that Microsoft follows on the innovations of Apple. I think it can be said that Microsoft is playing safe by making sure something works before "copying" and re-branding it to their style. It may cost Microsoft for not being the first to market, but at least their version would be the "benchmarked" kind.
While Microsoft prepares Windows Phone 7 for launch like it's version "1", the iPhone continues to advance in the market along with Android
, Blackberry and WebOS. Trying to play catch up doesn't hurt, really, but it is interesting to know how quickly (or slowly) Microsoft can progress with Windows Phone 7. After all the opportunities missed and all the lessons learned, I still wonder if Microsoft is doing it right this time...
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