The rave reviews for the latest iteration of Microsoft’s Windows Phone aren’t the only reason Microsoft will do better in the smart phone industry than it did in the MP3 player market.
Whereas the Zune never really offered anything substantially different from the iPod and never pushed any real boundaries, Microsoft’s latest push into the mobile operating system business is much more bold. Microsoft isn’t rushing it this time – and it shows.
So far, tech pundits of all stripes are pretty impressed with the Windows Phone OS and its evolution. We can’t be certain whether it makes a dent in the market until a serious lineup of Windows-based phones is available to consumers. Still, there’s plenty to be optimistic about.
Here are five reasons why Microsoft is going to edge its way into the smartphone market in 2012.
1. Windows Phone Has A Totally Unique UI
Unlike iPhone and the many Android copycats out there, Windows Phone doesn’t look at all like any other smart phone on the market. Instead of a grid of icons, Microsoft chose a colorful, boxy design for its user interface. Microsoft calls these colorful boxes ‘live tiles.’ Each tile displays up-to-date live information – like how many Twitter responses you have or how many email messages are in your inbox.
As
you can see, the interface is completely unique from anything we’ve
seen from Apple or Android devices. Along with the home screen,
Microsoft groups its live tiles into various secondary screens called
Hubs - Marketplace, Office, People, Pictures, Xbox Live, and Zune –
where similar apps are clustered.
2. Originality Means Fewer Forays Into The Patent Wars
With Samsung, Google, Apple, and many other firms embroiled in various costly patent disputes, Microsoft may be able to coast through rough waters thanks to the originality of the Windows Phone operating system.
This is funny in a sense given the back and forth over the years between Apple and Microsoft over their desktop operating systems. Both Apple and Microsoft did their best to copy the other over the years, and this pattern has only continued in the Android/iOS war.
With Windows Phone, Microsoft takes an entirely new approach to mobile operating systems – and may dodge a few patent-war bullets in the process.
3. Uniformity Across All Devices and Carriers
This isn’t to say that Microsoft hasn’t learned from the competition. The Redmond-based company is taking a page or two from the Apple playbook when it comes to quality control.
Instead of allowing device manufacturers to design whatever phone they like with whatever hardware they like, Microsoft has issued very specific standards for any device running on Windows Phone 7 and 8. Likewise, Microsoft is taking the operating system update schedule out of the hands of individual carriers and requiring that all phones update on a schedule set by Microsoft.
This is a brilliant move, even if it does mean slower deployment of Windows 7. Microsoft is apparently in no hurry when it comes to mobile or the tablet market, choosing instead to release a solid, reliable product. Requiring manufacturers to follow spec guidelines, and keeping the operating system updated on a uniform basis will help make the Windows Phone experience better across the board.
4. Zune Is Baked Right Into the Operating System
In Nokia's new Windows Phones Zune comes standard. Photo: Reuters
Every Windows Phone will have the Zune app built in standard and users won’t be able to uninstall it. In other words, every Windows Phone will also be a Zune. The music player was never a huge hit for Microsoft, but it could gain a second life as an integral piece of the Windows Phone ecosystem.
Early reviews of the Zune integration are decidedly mixed – as a music player on a phone it’s great. But many diehard Zune fans think the phone version is too watered down. I suspect any grumblings over missing features will be fixed with updates and improvements as the operating system evolves.
5. Xbox Live Gaming Support
I wrote earlier that Microsoft may be releasing Xbox Live mobile gaming across all mobile platforms. I’m really torn over whether this is a smart business move, positioning Microsoft as a leader in mobile gaming, or whether they should hold out for Windows Phone exclusivity.
Judging by the uniform specs and update regime, Microsoft is leaning more toward the Apple model rather than the free-wheeling Google Android. It would make more sense, under this model, to make Xbox Live gaming exclusive to Windows Phone.
If it were up to me, I’d push in this direction. After all, how better to appeal to all those gamers and Xbox owners out there than by offering a platform that streamlines game play across all Microsoft platforms: Xbox, Windows Phone, and PC – and eventually the Windows Tablet. This would be a huge selling point in favor of Windows Phone.
So Then What’s The Verdict?
All told, Windows Phone 7 is poised to shake things up in the smartphone market. With Nokia unveiling its Lumia 900 smartphone at CES this coming week, and investors bullish on Nokia’s prospects thanks to its embrace of Microsoft’s mobile operating system, things are looking good for the third horse in this race (and for Nokia, too.)
Microsoft may have been a little late to the game, and their start may have been rocky, but the care they’re putting into this product will pay dividends.
The mobile wars are heating up. With iPhone 5 on the horizon, Android 4.0 starting to appear in devices, and Samsung offering some serious competition to the iPhone, Microsoft’s entrance into the marketplace may seem too late. If all they were offering was another iPhone look-alike, that would probably be true.
But Microsoft is offering consumers something new and different, and at this point consumers are ready for it.
2012 will be the beginning of a serious three-way race in the mobile operating system world. If nothing else makes waves at CES 2012 this year, this should mark the beginning of a new chapter in the story of mobile technology.
