Windows Phone 7 Early Hits and Misses
Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 hits the stores this October in Europe and Asia releasing with some of the most beautiful devices for the new mobile OS like the HTC 7 Mozart, Samsung Omnia 7 and LG Optimus 7. Unfortunately, these models won't be available in the US when Windows Phone 7 gets released this November.
Microsoft is hoping for Windows Phone 7 to grab a fresh fair share of the mobile market after failing with their mobile efforts through Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone 7 follows on the business model of Apple's iPhone but adds distinctive differentiation that could still make Windows Phone 7 stand out with relevance.
However, Windows Phone 7, a new product in a market reshaped by Apple when it released the iPhone 4 years ago, is still, considerably and noticeably, a version 1.0 product. Although, in general, they are not new in the mobile business, Microsoft enters this year as a newbie in the super smartphone business.
Windows Phone 7 comes in with the same shortcomings of Apple's 1st iPhone 4 years ago: no copy/paste, no video calling, limited multi-tasking and no Flash. Although the iPhone has since started to deliver these in trickles, Microsoft somehow decided to start from square one, a tad bit 4 years late in the game! There's a lack of aggressiveness from Microsoft in this area... but who knows what Microsoft's thinking?
Microsoft is probably planning something big just for the hype of it early next year. But now that Nokia, Apple, RIM and Google are already on the lead, hype should be the least that Microsoft should even plan for. People are getting smarter in making choices. People's demands are getting more advanced as well. Hype is no longer the key to success. It all falls down to what the product, and the services around it, can truly deliver. The real hype is that the mobile OS trend is changing worldwide.
Source: StatCounter Global Stats - Mobile OS Market Share
As it is now, there's nothing that can be done with the Windows Phone software... but, somehow, the hardware for it jumped in to the bandwagon of limitations as well! Not all models would be available everywhere on initial release dates -- some would be US exclusives and some would be non-US exclusives. Too bad, some of the better models would be available only outside of the US. It's probably not Microsoft's fault, but we can blame them anyway for being less in control. (We can also blame the business practices applied by the wireless telecommunication companies here in the US. Considering that the US is next to Canada in offering the most expensive mobile services in the world, there's got to be something wrong! But I digress...)
As Steve Jobs put it in his recent rant, one of the best advantage Apple has with their business model for iPhone is that they have full control: from the hardware down to the software parts. Compare that to Android, and now Windows Phone 7, where Google and Microsoft are dependent on what the device manufacturers could actually come up with. However, what Apple lacks in variety is exactly what Google and Microsoft can get. Meanwhile, Apple's white iPhone 4 is still delayed.
Windows Phone 7 was launched with 9 phone models targeting an aggressive worldwide release. Initially, 5 of these models would be released in the US this November through AT&T and T-Mobile.
General reviews on Windows Phone 7 hardware are positive; general reviews on Windows Phone 7 software are split to being positive and negative. The overall experience with the Metro UI is new, but the shortcomings are noticeable when compared against the latest super smartphones already out in the market. Fortunately, Microsoft promised a trickle of updates to Windows Phone by early next year. Meanwhile, Microsoft's marketplace with 1,000 apps in catalog needs to play catch up with iPhone and Android which are already boasting hundreds of thousands of apps in their catalogs.
Although it should be noted, that Windows Phone 7 is content-centric, not app-centric. Still, that would depend on the reception from developers and consumers alike. Also, it would depend on how Microsoft would truly push for the content-centric idea. It's, too, early to tell. We actually might have a winner here. Hopefully, Microsoft does it right this time.
Microsoft is hoping for Windows Phone 7 to grab a fresh fair share of the mobile market after failing with their mobile efforts through Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone 7 follows on the business model of Apple's iPhone but adds distinctive differentiation that could still make Windows Phone 7 stand out with relevance.
However, Windows Phone 7, a new product in a market reshaped by Apple when it released the iPhone 4 years ago, is still, considerably and noticeably, a version 1.0 product. Although, in general, they are not new in the mobile business, Microsoft enters this year as a newbie in the super smartphone business.
Windows Phone 7 comes in with the same shortcomings of Apple's 1st iPhone 4 years ago: no copy/paste, no video calling, limited multi-tasking and no Flash. Although the iPhone has since started to deliver these in trickles, Microsoft somehow decided to start from square one, a tad bit 4 years late in the game! There's a lack of aggressiveness from Microsoft in this area... but who knows what Microsoft's thinking?
Microsoft is probably planning something big just for the hype of it early next year. But now that Nokia, Apple, RIM and Google are already on the lead, hype should be the least that Microsoft should even plan for. People are getting smarter in making choices. People's demands are getting more advanced as well. Hype is no longer the key to success. It all falls down to what the product, and the services around it, can truly deliver. The real hype is that the mobile OS trend is changing worldwide.
Source: StatCounter Global Stats - Mobile OS Market Share
As it is now, there's nothing that can be done with the Windows Phone software... but, somehow, the hardware for it jumped in to the bandwagon of limitations as well! Not all models would be available everywhere on initial release dates -- some would be US exclusives and some would be non-US exclusives. Too bad, some of the better models would be available only outside of the US. It's probably not Microsoft's fault, but we can blame them anyway for being less in control. (We can also blame the business practices applied by the wireless telecommunication companies here in the US. Considering that the US is next to Canada in offering the most expensive mobile services in the world, there's got to be something wrong! But I digress...)
As Steve Jobs put it in his recent rant, one of the best advantage Apple has with their business model for iPhone is that they have full control: from the hardware down to the software parts. Compare that to Android, and now Windows Phone 7, where Google and Microsoft are dependent on what the device manufacturers could actually come up with. However, what Apple lacks in variety is exactly what Google and Microsoft can get. Meanwhile, Apple's white iPhone 4 is still delayed.
Windows Phone 7 was launched with 9 phone models targeting an aggressive worldwide release. Initially, 5 of these models would be released in the US this November through AT&T and T-Mobile.
General reviews on Windows Phone 7 hardware are positive; general reviews on Windows Phone 7 software are split to being positive and negative. The overall experience with the Metro UI is new, but the shortcomings are noticeable when compared against the latest super smartphones already out in the market. Fortunately, Microsoft promised a trickle of updates to Windows Phone by early next year. Meanwhile, Microsoft's marketplace with 1,000 apps in catalog needs to play catch up with iPhone and Android which are already boasting hundreds of thousands of apps in their catalogs.
Although it should be noted, that Windows Phone 7 is content-centric, not app-centric. Still, that would depend on the reception from developers and consumers alike. Also, it would depend on how Microsoft would truly push for the content-centric idea. It's, too, early to tell. We actually might have a winner here. Hopefully, Microsoft does it right this time.
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