What do you think the chance are for Windows Mobile 7?

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Permalink Reply by Charles Neville on October 1, 2010 at 9:20am

Right now how much of the total market for smartphones has one? It's far from saturated, so I'd say WinMo 7 definitely has a chance - if the pricepoints for the phone are competitive with the Android units from the same hardware companies (HTC for example) and on the same carriers. MS still have huge brand recognition and the middle of the market is yet to come (thinking in terms of the technology adoption lifecycle).

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Permalink Reply by Bob Knorpp on October 1, 2010 at 11:32am

Who would have thought we'd ever be talking about Microsoft as the underdog in this race. But I especially like the position with developers. This may be a whole new OS, but they have the resources to incent developers and will probably play much nicer than Apple, without being wild west like Google. The key to success here has to be dev adoption. Because w/o apps, the phone dies. We learned that from Palm.

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Permalink Reply by Charles Neville on October 1, 2010 at 12:38pm

Spot on Bob, it's all about the developers developers developers ;)

They need to buy into the platform (or be bought in). If Microsoft gives them a marketplace where they can make money (and developers making money is one unquestionable plus for Microsoft's existing platforms) then they have a fighting chance. As to playing much nicer than Apple, I've been impressed with Apple's latest developer terms changes. Quite how Microsoft are going to play it, who knows.

Look at the latest privacy issue to blow up on Android - apps sending your location data without your knowledge, to see why Apple's terms 'no using the user's location unless your app uses it to add value to the user experience' paints them in a better light on this. I think a certain amount of quality control is a good thing.

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Permalink Reply by Stuart Thursby on October 1, 2010 at 1:36pm

I think they stand a chance by default. There's more room for more platforms in the mobile world than the desktop computing world (which fundamentally come down to two practical choices; sorry, Linux, as nice as you are to use), similar as in the video gaming world. Once mobile settles a bit, it'll be like the auto industry, where (most of the time) the same big 3-4 companies fight for an extra 0.5% one way or the other, roughly splitting 90% of the pie between them.

May also come down to preference based on what the user or owner already has to. I own an iMac, a MacBook from work, an iPhone, and soon maybe Apple TV; getting a Windows or Android phone wouldn't make as much sense as I heavily rely on iCal, Address Book, Apple Mail, etc. For those tied to Google products more, hello Android; and for Microsoft, hello Windows 7.

One concern I just thought of is that the Windows platform has been attacked by viruses for, oh, I dunno, a decade or two. The Apple and Android platforms seem a bit tighter. While it sucks to lose a computer to a virus and have to start again, losing your phone's data too? I'm assuming it's tighter and safe than Windows on desktops, buuut...

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Permalink Reply by Bob Knorpp on October 1, 2010 at 1:45pm

I wonder if the worm problem is part of the reason they started from the ground up. The good thing on that front is that they are the "Apple" in this game, so they won't be the first target. This is where Apple and Android need to worry.

Bob

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Permalink Reply by Marcus Fox on October 1, 2010 at 5:54pm

I personally think there is already a strong sense that if you're not IPhone or Blackberry, maybe Android, you are not going to be mainstream. A little like the days of VHS and Betamax. Go the wrong route now and you might find that the latest apps aren't available, or your friends can do something you can't. For me it's more of a "want do you want it for" qestions and then look at the operating systems and features. But I fear for many it's Apple, because that's what they are seeing in college, the workplace, the bar and etc, etc.

So for me, the operating system is very much secondary to the brand of the handset. The average smartphone purchase isn't about operation, its about trend.

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