Computer Support Blog

Microsoft officially announced its Windows Phone 7 OS on Monday and, by doing so, put itself firmly back into the smartphone market.

Totally disconnected from Microsoft’s previous phone OS offerings, Windows Phone 7 continues the pattern first displayed in the Internet Explorer 9 Beta – a product more in line with the competition than the company’s previous work.

WP7 is designed to be smartphone and touch screen friendly and highly connected to other application, such as social networking, making it competitive in the social markets which are key in the smartphone races.  By featuring large, tile based menus – a far cry from the traditional Windows style formats – WP7 bridges some of the gap between itself, Apple’s iOS, and Google’s Android.

While there is some concern among industry experts that WP7 may be too little, too late to have any real chance of catching Apple or Google, Microsoft does have some Aces up its sleeve that could determine the platform’s ultimate success or failure.

Chief among these is integration.  Not surprisingly, WP7 offers heavy integration with other Microsoft products, including the Office suite.  For enterprise customers, who put a premium on easy integration with their current software, this could be a significant advantage over iOS or Android.

Integration with the Xbox, however, is Microsoft’s true ace-in-the-hole.  Xbox Live integration and gaming should be a major selling point for WP7 and is the most distinctive characteristic of the new OS.  It allows Microsoft to offer a much more robust gaming platform and title roster than either of its major competitors.  Playing to its strengths should be enough to give Microsoft some immediate entrance to the market.

The question remains, however – will gamers be enough of an audience/market to give Microsoft the time it needs to catch up?

Where Microsoft has always, and continues to lag behind Apple and Android is in the apps arena.  The total mobile experience provided by integrating a full fledged app ecosystem with the basic OS is a strength of Apple, in particular.

While Microsoft claims to have a significant number of apps in development, it will take time for it to even approach the array of apps offered by Apple or even Android.  With new versions of Android and, potentially, a new iPhone on the horizon, time is not a luxury Microsoft has.

Several years ago, senior Microsoft management seriously misjudged the iPhone and its potential.  Since then, the company has played second, third, or even fourth fiddle in the smartphone market, and remains well behind the curve.

WP7, which has received generally favorable reviews, is the company’s best – and most likely, last – shot at reclaiming some of the marketplace.  Microsoft needs a big win to remain a mobile player.

If WP7 can put any kind of dent into Apple or Android, it might stand a chance of hanging on.  The first wave of WP7 enabled devices should provide a clearer picture of whether Microsoft is back in the game or out, once and for all.

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Filed under: apple, Google, Internet Explorer, iPad, Microsoft, news, smartphone