It has recently come to light that Microsoft’s latest attempt to achieve success in the smartphone market might be stumbling well short of the mark. Despite a multi-million dollar advertising campaign and one of the biggest launches in history for a mobile operating system (mobile OS), Windows Phone 7 devices just aren’t walking out the door.
“The Company [Mobile Please (UK)] said that Android based phones was outselling Windows based phones by 15 to 1 and that Symbian based phones from Nokia was outselling the Windows OS devices by 3 to 1.”
Apparently one of the major issues for consumers is WP7’s distinct lack of apps. Where Windows Phone 7 supports just 3 000 or so apps, Android supports an impressive 125 000 and the iPhone a whopping 300 000. This is most likely due to a lack of support from Microsoft to its third party developers.
“Electronista is reporting that Windows Phone 7 developers have reported mounting problems with a lack of proper tools while several developers have said that they have not been paid after Microsoft promised to pay developers for applications…"
“Justin James another developer said that Microsoft not only hasn't paid developers but won't give them their first payments until February, he said. He has accused Microsoft of rushing a product to market well before it was ready.”
It’s a shame that Microsoft left out such a key area of support for their new OS. From what we’ve seen, as far as day-to-day operation goes, WP7 devices are absolutely fantastic. Their alert system is second-to-none, social media integration is great (as is the camera and gallery integration) and we absolutely love Microsoft office compatibility. Not to mention that Microsoft’s strict hardware regulations mean that no matter which WP7 handset you look at you’ll be seeing a solid and quality device.
However, with such an apparent lack of support for third party developers Microsoft is going to develop a bad reputation for app programmers. The result? Not enough apps to compete with the competition.
In today's app-centric marketplace this could well be enough to cripple the Windows Phone 7 revolution before it even gets out the door. The days of the average smartphone consumer being content with a solid email service and web browser are over. Smartphone companies need to offer a myriad of options for personalisation and entertainment on their devices to keep customers happy.
In an interview with Joe Belfiore, the director of Microsoft's Windows Phone project management, Walt Mossberg asked some telling questions about WP7's market performance. After dancing around the issue for a while Belfiore finally gave a few informative, if somewhat cryptic answers.
Walt comes out swinging, suggesting the same thing many in the room were thinking: by not talking about numbers, it implies that Windows Phone 7 isn’t doing too hot.
“I don’t think that’s the case here. It’s too soon.”
MobileCrunch's report on the interview highlights the fact that within just 74 days of the iPhone's release, Apple was boasting about their 1 millionth sale. The same happened for Google with Android, although it took 6 months there. Sure, WP7 is not up against just one, but two mammoth market leaders. But with such a huge release with 10 devices across 60 carriers and 30 countries surely Microsoft should be bragging by now. Instead we're given a "no comment" equivalent with undertones of "please go away."
It's definitely looking bleak for Windows Phone 7 for the time being. If this trend of app starvation continues for Microsoft then who knows where it will lead to? Certainly not a shot at the iPhone’s touted throne, that much is for certain.
However, it's important to remember that it is still early in the game for the fledgling WP7 platform so don't write them off just yet. It's taken around 2 years for Android to get to a level where it can run neck and neck with the iPhone. If Microsoft picks up their support for its third party developers before it's too late then we'll keep holding on to high hopes for this promising mobile OS.
UPDATE:
We've pulled some stats of the popularity of phones compared by users on our collective comparison sites including our own site, combined with all the partner sites we run like mobile-phones.smh.com.au and mobile-phones.cnet.com.au. The results in this data shows phones that a user actively chooses to compare and to see plan combinations for, representing a lot about the marketing of the phone and awareness of the phone before a user is shopping for plans to get it on. Windows Phone 7 looks to be a great platform but is losing in the marketing race right now. Let's hope Microsoft can turn that around.
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