Windows Phone 7 Series – Finally, Microsoft gets it!
There’s a Turkish proverb that says – “No matter how far you have gone down the wrong road – turn back!”
That’s Microsoft for you in the mobile device business. For several years, I have voiced my frustrations to my friends in Redmond (disclaimer – I spend quite a bit of time with Microsoft on marketing capability development) about how Windows Mobile was trying to be “Windows on a mobile device” and failing miserably at it. For a simple reason. A mobile device is NOT a smaller computer that you carry around. It is a very different user experience and so it logically demands a very different user interface. I vowed that, as long as Microsoft kept the “Start” button and the menu bars that went with it on WinMo, I would never use a Windows Mobile device. You can keep putting lipstick on a pig, but it will remain a pig. The concept of seamless integration with your desktop and enterprise (Outlook, Office, etc.) was a great idea and a good differentiator for Microsoft, but that does not mean that you need to make your mobile device look like, act like and feel like your desktop! Windows Mobile was annoying, klutzy and slow. But most importantly for me, it was just the wrong user interface because it was trying to carry the legacy of Windows on to a mobile device. This legacy was like a ball and chain attached to a ballet dancer’s foot.
And we have seen this before. I teach a classic case on the Apple Powerbook dating back to 1994. In that case, Apple was just coming off the failure of the Portable project. The Apple Portable was designed to be a “no compromise” smaller desktop – it had an 8-hour battery life, active matrix display, powerful processor and a big hard drive. The only problem – it weighed 17 lbs! Apple had fallen into the trap of extrapolating ther “mental model” it developed about the ideal user experience from the Macintosh to the Portable. The problem -laptops are NOT smaller desktops. They are used in a variety of different scenarios and the user experience you create has to be quite different from a desktop. Microsoft (in my opinion) was also carrying around the mental model of “make Windows mobile” as opposed to “make a delightful mobile device experience”. Success can be a lousy teacher and legacy can stifle your creativity and shackle you.
So I am pleasantly surprised to see that Microsoft has finally broken free from its chains and has started from scratch to build Windows Phone 7 Series (to my friends at Microsoft – please also break free from the lousy brand naming legacy and call this thing something less verbose!!). Finally, it is a user experience that is built ground up with the user in mind as opposed to the Windows legacy in mind. The Tiles, the gorgeous graphics, the seamless music and video integration and the social networking features all make this a truly worthy competitor to the granddaddy of user experience – the iPhone. And what I like most is that Windows Phone 7 does not try to copy Apple. It goes in a different direction and it goes beyond in many ways. And like Apple, Microsoft is finally taking more responsibility for the end-to-end user experience, by being a lot more presriptive to the ODMs and OEMs about the “reference specs” that will guarantee a minimum quality of user experience. For too long, Microsoft has taken a cop-out by saying that “we don’t control the end-to-end experience like Apple does”. But in fact, it DOES have the power to dictate the user experience to its partners. I’m glad to see this happen, at least from the early indications.
There’s still many unknowns here. Will it all work as promised? Will the apps be anywhere close to the Apple iPhone ecosystem? What will the devices look like and how many OEMs/ODMs will sign on? How will carriers respond? Is it too late for Microsoft in this game?
But I do give a lot of credit to the folks behind this new version for admitting that they were on the wrong road, and that sunk costs are just that – sunk. This is a fresh start for Microsoft. The mobile device game just got more interesting and more competitive. The only certain winner – you and I. I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these. Anybody in the Mobile business listening?
I think it might be too little too late in the hands of consumers. I remember my first windows mobile device on an HTC. It was garbage in every way. I don’t even want to think about the security vulnerabilities that i never knew about. I think security is one thing that could still save windows on mobile platforms. I can’t believe i’m even saying that. The iPhone still has issues and i hear from clients that Android is a little unsettling. Integration with Windows directories, access management, encryption, and lifecycle management could put it in a reasonable spot to compete with blackberry (though, not likely based on Microsoft’s trackrecord) for a manageable enterprise quality mobile solution.
Also, great post about the iPad. What a mess. It would have been interesting if they had simply called it the iReader and stripped it down to an Amazon/Sony competitive price point. They already have an amazing content delivery mechanism in iTunes, and the market for readers is pretty good size.
I agree that for the first time someone has made an OS and not tried to copy the iphone. Copies just never win!
I just hope Micrososft is able to attract app developers. Apps are definitely going to matter for this phone and could be the make or break deal. Microsoft, just don’t try something like the buzz app! Think over the app, ask your friends to use it – then launch a beta.. get feedback and then make it official. Don’t jump the gun! People have time.. but not money..! so take your time.
I am an iphone user and have used this iphone after using my stylus/ball pens over all sorts of phones – ipaq, treo and the balls of blackberry. With a broken stylus, tired finger and thirst for a new phone, I wish Microsoft – best of luck.
May the best device win! Bing!