My sense is MS success is dependent on who the marketing is focused on. MS makes its money and sales in the Windows OS and Office categories through mass sales to corporates, not individual purchasers. MS does not do well marketing to individuals, except as it bleeds from it corporate base. If they have any success with the MS phone it is likely to be at the expense of Blackberry customers.
Apple's success in the corporate market, such as it is, comes about by appealing to individual users.
That's what MS has been doing for the past twenty-five years or so and look where it got them. I wouldn't underestimate their advertizing power so much. I bet Windows mobile 7 has a very smooth integration with Exchange servers, which is a reason for buying for many, many companies out there. Plus the fact that Windows phones can be in a service contract together with all the other windows software many companies have.
It is called Windows Phone 7 now and it will not be business oriented. MS it trying to get into the consumer market with WP7 by focusing in integration with social services. Their advertising powers might have worked 25 years ago but they can't compete with Google anymore. They can't buy their way by advertising anymore. Unfortunately for MS, WP7 is the phone OS they should have release three years ago.
but just because the going is tough, I wouldn't make the mistake of counting them out entirely. They have large cash reserves and the chutzpah to pull this off, if:
...
Well, they certainly have the money and the chutzpah to attempt this, but I don't think they will pull it off.
If you own/like the iPhone, think about why you like it. Does iOS do everything better than everyone else? That can be debated. Is the HW better than everyone else? That can be debated, also. What differentiates the iPhone is that the HW and SW were designed to work together. Throw in the app store, and you have the best overall user experience. Some wish to debate this, but it's not so easy to back that argument up.
It seems to me that the iPhone is so successful because Apple has chosen to focus on its (the company's) own strengths and talents. Droids, Nexi, and Berries continue to flash and fade because they attempt to capitalize on the iPhone's perceived weaknesses while forgetting to actually do what they, themselves do well.
I'm not sure Microsoft understands this yet. I do agree that no one should count them out, though.
What differentiates the iPhone is that the HW and SW were designed to work together. Throw in the app store, and you have the best overall user experience. Some wish to debate this, but it's not so easy to back that argument up.
It seems to me that the iPhone is so successful because Apple has chosen to focus on its (the company's) own strengths and talents. Droids, Nexi, and Berries continue to flash and fade because they attempt to capitalize on the iPhone's perceived weaknesses while forgetting to actually do what they, themselves do well.
I'm not sure Microsoft understands this yet. I do agree that no one should count them out, though.
I think a lot depends on Apple's dance with Verizon this January. To the extent that Apple stays saddled to AT&T, I would question their commitment to the "best overall user experience." If this focus is expanded from not only the hardware/software of the device to the network - since we are talking about a phone after all - then a lot of iPhone competitors could be scrambling. If not, I see that has a gaping hole that WP7, as well as Android and BB can fill.
Depends on your definition of doing well. Sure the Xbox is a popular gaming system, but they've never made any money off it. Not a penny. If they could leverage the Xbox to make money in other ways that might okay, but they haven't done that yet either.
Maybe this will change with WM7 though since Xbox will have some integration with WM7. Maybe finally things will start to come together... maybe.
Well, they certainly have the money and the chutzpah to attempt this, but I don't think they will pull it off.
If you own/like the iPhone, think about why you like it. Does iOS do everything better than everyone else? That can be debated. Is the HW better than everyone else? That can be debated, also. What differentiates the iPhone is that the HW and SW were designed to work together. Throw in the app store, and you have the best overall user experience. Some wish to debate this, but it's not so easy to back that argument up.
It seems to me that the iPhone is so successful because Apple has chosen to focus on its (the company's) own strengths and talents. Droids, Nexi, and Berries continue to flash and fade because they attempt to capitalize on the iPhone's perceived weaknesses while forgetting to actually do what they, themselves do well.
I'm not sure Microsoft understands this yet. I do agree that no one should count them out, though.
MS does understand this, which is why they are pushing the integration of the entire package. You may deride MS, and they may not pull it off, but, like Apple, they have an ecosystem that "works" together.
1. Office integration
2. Exchange/Enterprise
3. Zune Marketplace to buy movies, music, and TV shows
4. Xbox Live for gaming, and supposedly full integration so one can manipulate the avatar, earn achievements and so forth.
5. App store. Supposedly the SDK was downloaded 300,000 times. So if only 10% write apps, that is 30,000 on opening day.
On top of it, the Metro interface is certainly different than apps in a grid, so there is something different there.
We shall see what happens, but the smartphone market is predicted to explode over the next few years, and there is a lot of room.
They might have a shot at this. Time will tell. It think it's interesting that with Windows Phone 7, Microsoft is willing to ditch backwards compatibility and start from scratch. That's not Microsoft's usual MO. This is a company that rode backwards compatibility for decades in their desktop products, and it held Windows back from competing with OS X, which was a clean start for Apple. And no, I don't like Windows, having used it for some 20+ years. Yes, I have owned Windows Phones too. They suck compared to iPhone.
If they have any success with the MS phone it is likely to be at the expense of Blackberry customers.
I've actually been thinking the same thing. Two things Microsoft has that others don't that are relevant in the mobile space are gaming and their enterprise stack. It would make sense that they would seek to exploit these areas.
This pits WP7 predominantly against Blackberry in the enterprise space and, well nobody at the moment in the gaming space.
To me, this makes sense. The WP7 platform is still too closed for the ultra-nerds and alternatives on Android, and there is no way Microsoft is going to pry 16 year-old girls and well-to-do soccer moms from iPhone... but the geeks, gamers and enterprise users are pretty much "swinging voters" and could be won over.
By "catch up" you mean "copy shamelessly By faceless suits" don't you?
I've read a lot of comments like this and it still doesn't quite sit right.
If GM released a hydrogen powered car you wouldn't say they shamelessly copied the Toyota Prius, but that they reacted in their own way to the fact that Toyota highlighted there is a market for alternatively fueled cars.
I think it's the same deal for phones. With the release of the iPhone Apple raised the expectations of the complete user experience one should expect from a phone.
From Microsoft's perspective it highlighted the fact that WinMo 6 simply wasn't good enough and I see WP7 as their answer.
Looking at the demos of WP7 what strikes me isn't the similarities between it and the iPhone, but how radically different it is - not just the look and feel but the entire paradigm of how a mobile is used.
If the stark difference between the two is for better or worse could be argued in many different ways, but one thing is for sure... WP7 is defiantly not another iPhone clone.
That's what MS has been doing for the past twenty-five years or so and look where it got them. I wouldn't underestimate their advertizing power so much. I bet Windows mobile 7 has a very smooth integration with Exchange servers, which is a reason for buying for many, many companies out there. Plus the fact that Windows phones can be in a service contract together with all the other windows software many companies have.
Apple has strong competition already. Android phones are sold more than iPhones world-wide. Here in Europe the iPhone crazyness is over already, and many people dump the iPhone for better phones.
Well it may be the case in the Netherlands people are buying "better" phones, but in many other European countries iPhone + iOS are on top, with bigger percentages than the US. No one carrier has had a buy one get one free offer for Android, unlike the States. Although they are pushing Android hard now with "smart" phones with anaemic processors, pathetic on board memory and tiny resolutions and small screens (so small you can't fit a soft qwerty on them, let alone run many of the apps in the marketplace) so in unit it may well catch up in territories.
I'm not sure why so many are wishing MS to fail. That wouldn't be good for the mobile phone business. Competition is needed.
I see this comment often. There already is competition in smart phones. I'd guess most here are negative about win phone mo 7 or whatever it's called is because there are two things that have brought ms success the last 30 years, office and eliminating competition.
Ahhh... gotta love the Microsoft way of thinking, throw hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars at the problem then get on your knees and pray it works.
Sounds like the way government works, if "works" is not too strong a word. Hey Microsoft, you need to think not spend. Think until your brain hurts.
Comments
Apple's success in the corporate market, such as it is, comes about by appealing to individual users.
I'm not sure why so many are wishing MS to fail. That wouldn't be good for the mobile phone business. Competition is needed.
Android is enough. Want one more? Anything other than M$.
That's what MS has been doing for the past twenty-five years or so and look where it got them. I wouldn't underestimate their advertizing power so much. I bet Windows mobile 7 has a very smooth integration with Exchange servers, which is a reason for buying for many, many companies out there. Plus the fact that Windows phones can be in a service contract together with all the other windows software many companies have.
It is called Windows Phone 7 now and it will not be business oriented. MS it trying to get into the consumer market with WP7 by focusing in integration with social services. Their advertising powers might have worked 25 years ago but they can't compete with Google anymore. They can't buy their way by advertising anymore. Unfortunately for MS, WP7 is the phone OS they should have release three years ago.
This what happens when the CEO of the company is a salesman. He thinks everything can be solved by dumping money into marketing.
Reminds me of this:
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pu.../Nixon_226.jpg
but just because the going is tough, I wouldn't make the mistake of counting them out entirely. They have large cash reserves and the chutzpah to pull this off, if:
...
Well, they certainly have the money and the chutzpah to attempt this, but I don't think they will pull it off.
If you own/like the iPhone, think about why you like it. Does iOS do everything better than everyone else? That can be debated. Is the HW better than everyone else? That can be debated, also. What differentiates the iPhone is that the HW and SW were designed to work together. Throw in the app store, and you have the best overall user experience. Some wish to debate this, but it's not so easy to back that argument up.
It seems to me that the iPhone is so successful because Apple has chosen to focus on its (the company's) own strengths and talents. Droids, Nexi, and Berries continue to flash and fade because they attempt to capitalize on the iPhone's perceived weaknesses while forgetting to actually do what they, themselves do well.
I'm not sure Microsoft understands this yet. I do agree that no one should count them out, though.
What differentiates the iPhone is that the HW and SW were designed to work together. Throw in the app store, and you have the best overall user experience. Some wish to debate this, but it's not so easy to back that argument up.
It seems to me that the iPhone is so successful because Apple has chosen to focus on its (the company's) own strengths and talents. Droids, Nexi, and Berries continue to flash and fade because they attempt to capitalize on the iPhone's perceived weaknesses while forgetting to actually do what they, themselves do well.
I'm not sure Microsoft understands this yet. I do agree that no one should count them out, though.
I think a lot depends on Apple's dance with Verizon this January. To the extent that Apple stays saddled to AT&T, I would question their commitment to the "best overall user experience." If this focus is expanded from not only the hardware/software of the device to the network - since we are talking about a phone after all - then a lot of iPhone competitors could be scrambling. If not, I see that has a gaping hole that WP7, as well as Android and BB can fill.
Wow, Half billion dollars right down the drain.
Microsoft is a joke.
I'm not sure why so many are wishing MS to fail. That wouldn't be good for the mobile phone business. Competition is needed.
It's not 'wishing'. It's called reading the writing on the wall. In this case, the letters are neon and twelve feet tall.
Depends on your definition of doing well. Sure the Xbox is a popular gaming system, but they've never made any money off it. Not a penny. If they could leverage the Xbox to make money in other ways that might okay, but they haven't done that yet either.
Maybe this will change with WM7 though since Xbox will have some integration with WM7. Maybe finally things will start to come together... maybe.
Xbox turned it's first profit in 2008.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/14898..._a_profit.html
Well, they certainly have the money and the chutzpah to attempt this, but I don't think they will pull it off.
If you own/like the iPhone, think about why you like it. Does iOS do everything better than everyone else? That can be debated. Is the HW better than everyone else? That can be debated, also. What differentiates the iPhone is that the HW and SW were designed to work together. Throw in the app store, and you have the best overall user experience. Some wish to debate this, but it's not so easy to back that argument up.
It seems to me that the iPhone is so successful because Apple has chosen to focus on its (the company's) own strengths and talents. Droids, Nexi, and Berries continue to flash and fade because they attempt to capitalize on the iPhone's perceived weaknesses while forgetting to actually do what they, themselves do well.
I'm not sure Microsoft understands this yet. I do agree that no one should count them out, though.
MS does understand this, which is why they are pushing the integration of the entire package. You may deride MS, and they may not pull it off, but, like Apple, they have an ecosystem that "works" together.
1. Office integration
2. Exchange/Enterprise
3. Zune Marketplace to buy movies, music, and TV shows
4. Xbox Live for gaming, and supposedly full integration so one can manipulate the avatar, earn achievements and so forth.
5. App store. Supposedly the SDK was downloaded 300,000 times. So if only 10% write apps, that is 30,000 on opening day.
On top of it, the Metro interface is certainly different than apps in a grid, so there is something different there.
We shall see what happens, but the smartphone market is predicted to explode over the next few years, and there is a lot of room.
If they have any success with the MS phone it is likely to be at the expense of Blackberry customers.
I've actually been thinking the same thing. Two things Microsoft has that others don't that are relevant in the mobile space are gaming and their enterprise stack. It would make sense that they would seek to exploit these areas.
This pits WP7 predominantly against Blackberry in the enterprise space and, well nobody at the moment in the gaming space.
To me, this makes sense. The WP7 platform is still too closed for the ultra-nerds and alternatives on Android, and there is no way Microsoft is going to pry 16 year-old girls and well-to-do soccer moms from iPhone... but the geeks, gamers and enterprise users are pretty much "swinging voters" and could be won over.
By faceless suits" don't you?
By "catch up" you mean "copy shamelessly
By faceless suits" don't you?
In this instance, one thing is for sure. WP7 is not an iPhone clone in any meaningful sense.
By "catch up" you mean "copy shamelessly By faceless suits" don't you?
I've read a lot of comments like this and it still doesn't quite sit right.
If GM released a hydrogen powered car you wouldn't say they shamelessly copied the Toyota Prius, but that they reacted in their own way to the fact that Toyota highlighted there is a market for alternatively fueled cars.
I think it's the same deal for phones. With the release of the iPhone Apple raised the expectations of the complete user experience one should expect from a phone.
From Microsoft's perspective it highlighted the fact that WinMo 6 simply wasn't good enough and I see WP7 as their answer.
Looking at the demos of WP7 what strikes me isn't the similarities between it and the iPhone, but how radically different it is - not just the look and feel but the entire paradigm of how a mobile is used.
If the stark difference between the two is for better or worse could be argued in many different ways, but one thing is for sure... WP7 is defiantly not another iPhone clone.
That's what MS has been doing for the past twenty-five years or so and look where it got them. I wouldn't underestimate their advertizing power so much. I bet Windows mobile 7 has a very smooth integration with Exchange servers, which is a reason for buying for many, many companies out there. Plus the fact that Windows phones can be in a service contract together with all the other windows software many companies have.
Apple has strong competition already. Android phones are sold more than iPhones world-wide. Here in Europe the iPhone crazyness is over already, and many people dump the iPhone for better phones.
Well it may be the case in the Netherlands people are buying "better" phones, but in many other European countries iPhone + iOS are on top, with bigger percentages than the US. No one carrier has had a buy one get one free offer for Android, unlike the States. Although they are pushing Android hard now with "smart" phones with anaemic processors, pathetic on board memory and tiny resolutions and small screens (so small you can't fit a soft qwerty on them, let alone run many of the apps in the marketplace) so in unit it may well catch up in territories.
I'm not sure why so many are wishing MS to fail. That wouldn't be good for the mobile phone business. Competition is needed.
I see this comment often. There already is competition in smart phones. I'd guess most here are negative about win phone mo 7 or whatever it's called is because there are two things that have brought ms success the last 30 years, office and eliminating competition.
win phone mo 7 or whatever it's called
Just Windows Phone 7 or WP7 for short.
Originally the release name was Windows Phone 7 Series. The "Series" was thankfully dropped.
I have a feeling the "7" will be dropped as well, maybe not officially but certainly colloquially.
Ahhh... gotta love the Microsoft way of thinking, throw hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars at the problem then get on your knees and pray it works.
Sounds like the way government works, if "works" is not too strong a word. Hey Microsoft, you need to think not spend. Think until your brain hurts.