Microsoft has now flung its hat firmly into the mobile ring, with a massive push to re-establish itself as a major player in the smartphone arena.
This week the company launched its much anticipated Windows Phone 7, which it says will deliver "a new user experience by integrating the things users really want to do, creating a balance between getting work done and having fun".
The phones will make their debut in some European markets on 21 October and in the U.S. on 8 Nov. The initial handsets running the OS are being produced by HTC, Samsung, LG and Dell, with the standard bells and whistles one would expect from a modern smartphone.
However, Microsoft is attempting to differentiate itself from the rest of the smartphone market by moving away from being entirely app focussed. Rather, it is using 'hubs' and 'tiles' as the mainstay of the interface. The tiles are 'active and configurable' panels that continuously update with real information, with photos, contacts and music, for example, distributed across those hubs.
It is really just a different take on the app model, and as Ashley Highfield, Microsoft's most senior UK executive, told the Telegraph, Windows Phone 7 was not revolutionary, but offered 'another way' for smartphone users. "We're not claiming revolution," he said. "We're claiming that this is a phone that enables you to get what you want done much more quickly and simply."
That being said, the OS has been described by research firm Ovum as the "most important watershed for the smartphone market since the first iPhone" as there is a "huge amount resting on the launch for Microsoft, its device and operator partners, and for the ecosystem market in general".
Principal analyst at the firm Tony Cripps said, "If Windows Phone 7 devices sell in large numbers, Microsoft will rightfully be able to congratulate itself for starting with a clean sheet of paper in its efforts to return to the smartphone top table – a strategy launched by CEO Steve Ballmer in early 2009.
"If it fails to claw back market share lost to iPhone and Android, then Windows Phone 7 may well mark the point at which Microsoft turns its back on smartphones forever: targeting its mobile resources at creating compelling services and attracting advertising may prove a better option than beginning again with another mobile operating system, in that instance."
Mr Cripps said that Microsoft appears to have positioned itself on the edge of a 'smartphone renaissance', as the user experience – i.e. that hub/tile interface – seems as if it has brought genuinely new thinking to a smartphone market where all of the operating systems feel similar in use. "That's not the case here and Microsoft should be thanked for taking a different road, especially given that its new operating system seems both intuitive and responsive in the limited time we've had to try it."
It's worth noting, of course, that the market has gone that way through demand, and Microsoft is certainly not going to abandon the app path. Indeed, one of its native hubs is an app marketplace, though it will be playing a massive game of catch-up with both iOS and Android. This is a game that it really can't afford to lose.
Mr Cripps says, "Microsoft has clearly also borrowed a lot from Apple's smartphone toolbox by tying the device and its user experience to some tempting content and application proposition, especially the long-awaited tie up with its impressive Xbox Live service. This should mark out Windows Phone 7 devices as favourites for committed gamers, although there's also plenty here for media hungry and web savvy users."
Indeed, the Xbox Live service will be a huge draw to the phone for many, and despite what Microsoft says about this being a 'business phone', or how resplendent it is in Office applications, it is clearly being aimed at social use.
Mr Cripps believes that if Microsoft fails to make the headway expected with its new OS, it may decide that it's not worth the time, expense and uncertainty of heading back to the drawing board again, hence marking the end of the road for MS in the mobile space. It's a bit early to judge of course, as the first phone hasn't been sold yet. It will certainly be interesting to see how the launch numbers compare to those of the last iPhone. Despite Microsoft's huge marketing budget for the project, it seems unlikely that it will capture the imagination in quite the same way as Apple can, but the numbers will speak for themselves.
This week the company launched its much anticipated Windows Phone 7, which it says will deliver "a new user experience by integrating the things users really want to do, creating a balance between getting work done and having fun".
The phones will make their debut in some European markets on 21 October and in the U.S. on 8 Nov. The initial handsets running the OS are being produced by HTC, Samsung, LG and Dell, with the standard bells and whistles one would expect from a modern smartphone.
However, Microsoft is attempting to differentiate itself from the rest of the smartphone market by moving away from being entirely app focussed. Rather, it is using 'hubs' and 'tiles' as the mainstay of the interface. The tiles are 'active and configurable' panels that continuously update with real information, with photos, contacts and music, for example, distributed across those hubs.
It is really just a different take on the app model, and as Ashley Highfield, Microsoft's most senior UK executive, told the Telegraph, Windows Phone 7 was not revolutionary, but offered 'another way' for smartphone users. "We're not claiming revolution," he said. "We're claiming that this is a phone that enables you to get what you want done much more quickly and simply."
That being said, the OS has been described by research firm Ovum as the "most important watershed for the smartphone market since the first iPhone" as there is a "huge amount resting on the launch for Microsoft, its device and operator partners, and for the ecosystem market in general".
Principal analyst at the firm Tony Cripps said, "If Windows Phone 7 devices sell in large numbers, Microsoft will rightfully be able to congratulate itself for starting with a clean sheet of paper in its efforts to return to the smartphone top table – a strategy launched by CEO Steve Ballmer in early 2009.
"If it fails to claw back market share lost to iPhone and Android, then Windows Phone 7 may well mark the point at which Microsoft turns its back on smartphones forever: targeting its mobile resources at creating compelling services and attracting advertising may prove a better option than beginning again with another mobile operating system, in that instance."
Mr Cripps said that Microsoft appears to have positioned itself on the edge of a 'smartphone renaissance', as the user experience – i.e. that hub/tile interface – seems as if it has brought genuinely new thinking to a smartphone market where all of the operating systems feel similar in use. "That's not the case here and Microsoft should be thanked for taking a different road, especially given that its new operating system seems both intuitive and responsive in the limited time we've had to try it."
It's worth noting, of course, that the market has gone that way through demand, and Microsoft is certainly not going to abandon the app path. Indeed, one of its native hubs is an app marketplace, though it will be playing a massive game of catch-up with both iOS and Android. This is a game that it really can't afford to lose.
Mr Cripps says, "Microsoft has clearly also borrowed a lot from Apple's smartphone toolbox by tying the device and its user experience to some tempting content and application proposition, especially the long-awaited tie up with its impressive Xbox Live service. This should mark out Windows Phone 7 devices as favourites for committed gamers, although there's also plenty here for media hungry and web savvy users."
Indeed, the Xbox Live service will be a huge draw to the phone for many, and despite what Microsoft says about this being a 'business phone', or how resplendent it is in Office applications, it is clearly being aimed at social use.
Mr Cripps believes that if Microsoft fails to make the headway expected with its new OS, it may decide that it's not worth the time, expense and uncertainty of heading back to the drawing board again, hence marking the end of the road for MS in the mobile space. It's a bit early to judge of course, as the first phone hasn't been sold yet. It will certainly be interesting to see how the launch numbers compare to those of the last iPhone. Despite Microsoft's huge marketing budget for the project, it seems unlikely that it will capture the imagination in quite the same way as Apple can, but the numbers will speak for themselves.