We have nothing to fear from iPhone or Android: Microsoft
Microsoft has positioned Windows Mobile quite nicely in the enterprise but it seems these days that the buzz is in the consumer space. Apple’s recent revelations that they’ve sold 6.8 million iPhone 3Gs in a quarter and the release of the first Android phone have moved the attention squarely into the consumer space. In a recent interview by Techradar the business lead for Microsoft Windows in the UK, John Curran, stated that Microsoft isn’t worried about either competitor.
Placing Android and Apple in order in the remaining three rivals is "atough call", he continues. "One’s an emerging one, the other is a verylimited form factor. One has relatively limited hardware support andlimited distribution; the other is just one form factor from onecompany with limited choices of operators. So they both at this pointfeel fairly restrictive compared to all the great options consumerswould have with a Windows Mobile phone."
I see where Curran is coming from but there is no question that things are not quite as rosy, certainly not as clear-cut as they have been for Windows Mobile in the past. Apple has become the number 3 smartphone maker in a very short time, bumping long-time occupants off that list. Android, which has only just begun, is reportedly selling nicely for T-Mobile with the G1. Imagine when there are multiple products for consumers to choose from and the impact that will have on the consumer space. I think Microsoft is paying a lot closer attention to all of this than perhaps Curran is allowed to admit.
The smartphone market has demonstrated a marked shift in the players and the share they are getting of the pie currently. As GigaOM stated recently, Windows Mobile may very well be in trouble. Microsoft better be keeping a sharp eye on these competitors and making plans to deal with them. They had better change things up too, if they continue on the staid, boring path they have taken in the past they will lose not just the battle but the war.
What the iPhone did is really open the regular consumer market to the concept of having a true smartphone. Windows Mobile has been an effective and productive smartphone for the business market, however has not reached the regular day-to-day consumer. I admit, there’s many features of the iPhone that make it really attractive to a new smartphone owner. They’re consumer friendly apps that are easy to use. Windows Mobile? Not so much. But… if Microsoft could find a way to put their Windows Live services onto the Windows Mobile device that is nice, integrated and works well and update the OS to a more touch friendly interface then I’d have something more in line with the consumer market. It’s possible if Microsoft wanted to put their mind to it.
I like Chris’s idea of the consumer “Windows Live” phone to compete with Android. Also, MS is hardly has the business market to itself. RIM is still big there, and has made some successful consumer phones as well. And I just saw this on Gearlog: “Is Congress Going iPhone?”
http://www.gearlog.com/2008/10/is_congress_going_iphone.php
Lots of business are getting pressed to let Apple play in thier space.
I’m a week into having an iPhone in the house and I admit it’s fun and easy and a perfect fit for my husband. But it’s not mine because it still can’t do some applications that WinMo can and I’m wondering if it ever will. What, you ask?
(Disclaimer, I could be wrong about some of the following, so feel free to point me in the right direction.)
Without jailbreaking the phone, I can’t stream XM online, which I can do with a WinMo phone via web browser and Windows Media Player. I like the variety of XM radio and the fact that I don’t have to have transferred all that music on my own.
Slingplayer for the iPhone does not yet exist, legally. Some are concerned that it will only play when the phone is in Wi-Fi mode, and be restricted from using cellular data connections for streaming due to bandwidth concerns. While that’s only speculation, it does seem that the iTunes apps store is shy about putting up apps that are bandwidth hogs. I need Slingplayer Mobile!
I can’t tether the phone to my netbook for data sharing. I don’t do this often, which is why I don’t have a dedicated netbook celluar data device, but it’s nice to have the option once in awhile.
No external memory card capacity. Sometimes it’s just easier to carry around extra entertainment and files on a memory card than it is to hook up to iTunes.
Office documents are still awkward on the iPhone. My suspicion is that since this is a “consumer” product vs. a “business enterprise” oriented one, it’s more profitable to develop games. I’m sure it’ll evolve. Someday.
I’m watching two emerging WinMo phones with interest – the Samsung Omnia with it’s iPhone matching 16Gb of memory and the HTC Touch Pro (which will be released by AT&T as the Fuze) which reportedly has a phenomenal screen resolution. Interestingly, both have touch screen interfaces (much like the iPhone) laid over the traditional WinMo Pro 6.1 software. At least someone seems to be “benchmarking” the good stuff from Cupertino!
What does Microsoft need to do in order to sustain or revitalize the Windows Mobile platform?
1. Software-wise? Eliminate Handango and PocketGear. Either by creating their own distribution point like the App Store and offer 70-80% profit for developers. I know they have something in the cards, but here’s hoping they go in that direction, and rather quickly.
2. OS-wise? Make everything finger-friendly. The days of the stylus has come to an end. Although I originally liked the idea of two platforms – touchscreen and non, I think it all needs to go touchscreen capable, with or without a keyboard. And, Microsoft, clean up the quirks – why pop up a keyboard when the device has one built-in?
3. Hardware-wise? Tighten up the minimum requirements so that Joe Schmoe can’t keep coming out with crappy WinMo devices that aren’t up to standard. If you’re going to implement something to your device whether it’s an accelerometer or two cameras or different Bluetooth chipsets, make sure that the OS provides some standardized handshake support so that developers don’t have to keep making different versions for different devices. One build for all WinMo flavors with equal functionality has to be the goal. And, for heaven’s sake, quadband EDGE and triband HSDPA minimum. Stop dropping a band to save a couple bucks – you’re potentially preventing an entire country or hemisphere from buying into your product. No more proprietary connectors and new memory card formats. Let’s go back to a speedy SDHC card and a mini-USB cable. Kill the laggy OMAP processors and start with a 600MHz minimum ARM or better CPU, and hardware accelerated video to boot. 4MP camera minimum with high-res video capturing capability.
4. Carrier-wise? Stop killing features that should remain on non-branded versions. I want that front-facing camera! I need my WiFi and phone simultaneously.
5. Developer-wise? Once we get that front facing camera, let’s start developing videoconferencing or video calling over 3G and Wi-Fi. What’s the hold-up? Use the camera for face recognition and security, UPC code reading, and more. Create APIs, game development kits, and other rapid application development kits for others to use.
Microsoft dropped the ball so many times over the past several years, it’s embarrassing. Of course, they only paved the way for other manufacturers and developers to get it right with the iPhone and now Android.
@Raphael…
I agree with the points, but I would point out that some of the hardware/development criticism is the fault of the OEMs and the carriers, not of Microsoft.
Case in point, look at the HTC PPC6800. When it was released on Sprint as the Mogul it had 64MB of RAM but still had the GPS and EVDO Rev. A chip in it (even if initially disabled). A few updates later, that functionality was on. Meanwhile, Verizon released it with an ugly casing AND has crippled the Rev. A and GPS, and still has yet to enable the GPS in their latest update.
Another example… all of HTC’s devices lately have had front-facing cameras when sold in Europe and Asia, but the US carriers are the ones ripping it out here in the states. There are a lot of regulatory reasons why this is true too… the FCC and Congress haven’t been very responsive about deregulating the communication infrastructure here in the states so that the businesses, so it’s very cost prohibitive to expand the networks.
In most cases, however, the API’s already exist, and the software often exists in the public sector.
That said, the actual Windows Mobile points you raise are spot on… more finger friendly (not just covered up by HTC’s TouchFlo extensions!), integrate ALL of the Windows Live services (especially Hotmail and Calendar), and provide their own mStore service.
That bit about deregulation was supposed to read:
“the FCC and Congress haven’t been very responsive about deregulating the communication infrastructure here in the states so that the businesses *here are forced to grow and innovate*, so it’s very cost prohibitive to expand the networks.”
You said:
Microsoft has positioned Windows Mobile quite nicely in the enterprise
But I can’t find anyone at the 3 corps I contract to that can back that up, it’s all RIM in the bigger companies and seems to be more iPhone at the smaller one with most of the phones being just a mix of standard ‘plan’ phones or if you can believe it pagers. There are a few palm phones but not enough to make a dent.
I think that the “Windows Mobile Enterprise” experience is quite lacking. I’m hoping to see a change but my bucks are now betting between Apple (who did license ActiveSync) and Android which will push the envelope a bit more (IMHO).
As a long time Windows Mobile user, I’m trying an Ipod Touch and quite simply I’m blown away by how fabulous it is to use. Once the platform expands and data charges ease I will be a Iphone owner and bye bye Windows Mobile. Microsoft aren’t concerned that the long time publisher of Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine has abandoned the platform and is now publishing a magazine for Iphone and Ipod touch? Microsoft aren’t concerned that Phatware and DDH software, 2 great Windows Mobile app suppliers are both gearing up for the Iphone/Ipod Touch apps of their prime offerings? Hmmm I seem to recall Novell weren’t too concerned in the 90s on an upstart company Microsoft moving into networking software. Funny how time turns!
I agree with Raphael’s points, save one: Keep WinMo Standard. I want a small device that I can operate with one hand. That means hardware buttons, not just an on-screen keyboard. I shouldn’t have to drop everything just to make or answer a phone call; (or send a text, for that matter).
Windows Mobile is not just windows mobile.WINMOis built up on WINCE.NET and there are more than 30,000 hardware devices worlwide that use the underlying OS from phones to avionics!
WINMO 7 addressess a lot of the shortcomings of WINMO 6.1 for consumer market.
Trust me there is a lot things happening in the background on WINMO Platform. Do not for a moment think that MS is sleeping they are not!.