Why WindowsPhone can rule them all

In an earlier post, I wrote how iOS is better than Android and how it will be ruling the smartphone arena for some time to come. I regret to say that it is not the case anymore. Android has already overtaken iOS in terms of total market share around the world and has as many apps. However, still I believe that none of these two will rule the smartphone kingdom. For me, the winner in the long run would be WindowsPhone.

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Microsoft announced the WindowsPhone7 (WP7) in December 2009 and even arranged for a symbolic funeral for iOS and Android indicating it's intentions to kill. The first devices running WP7 were released in the Europe and USA in October-November last year, whereas in India the OS has been launched officially only very recently.

For starters, let me first tell you some background history around the WP7 development. Microsoft earlier had it's Windows Mobile platform in the market which was aimed more at enterprise users rather than the youth and the man in the street. When Apple introduced iPhone which was followed by Google launching Android, Microsoft decided to go back to the basics and start from scratch. After some time of hard work WP7 was born.

I have some reasons to believe why WindowsPhone can rule the OS arena just like it's desktop counterpart.

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Firstly, WP7 is one of the most beautiful OS around. It breaks away from the monotony of grids of application icons which sit there and do nothing other than launching the app. WP7 follows the design paradigm called "Metro UI". Metro UI has "live tiles" instead of app icons. The Live Tiles on Start show you what’s happening with your applications, your upcoming appointments, your social networks and more. You can get a quick weather update, find out when someone likes your Facebook post and see how many calls you missed during your afternoon nap. You can pin more things to Start to keep them handy: applications, contact groups, a mapped location, a song or album, your best pics, a webpage…endless possibilities! This provides user the ability to customise the phone to a degree that it becomes indistinguishable from any other phone running same OS. Other than the start screen WP7 has "Hubs". It has a People Hub with one-touch access to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can skim the latest posts and pictures from your friends. Dial, text, or IM your contacts, one at a time or in groups. Also, use the Me card to post your status, see who's writing on your Wall, or change your profile pictures, right from your phone. It also has Music+Videos Hub, Picture+Camera Hub and others.

WindowsPhone comes built in with the mobile versions of Word, Excel, OneNote, and PowerPoint for working on the go. With it, you can start a Word doc or Excel workbook on your phone, then sync it to SkyDrive so you can write or edit some more on your computer later. SharePoint Workspace Mobile makes it easier to collaborate with your coworkers when you're out and about.

The Windows Marketplace, which caters to the app needs of the users is currently fastest growing smartphone app market in the world. With a software giant like Microsoft behind the product, the Marketplace is bound to grow and I won't be surprised if the number of apps in it surpasses those in iOS App Store or Android Market in very near future. It already has most of the must-have apps that are available elsewhere and Microsoft is working very hard to lure developers (Search Youtube for "Developers Developers Developers").

Microsoft just licences the OS to different manufacturers who then build a phone around it. Still, Microsoft has imposed some "tough, but fair" restrictions on the products made. The restrictions allow for a consistent experience all over the ecosystem which is in stark contrast to Android. Android phones come dirt cheap and are made by every Tom Dick 'n Harry manufacturer around with low specifications which do more harm than good to the user experience. Such phones are generally not much good because of crappy hardware and step motherly treatment by the manufacturer itself as most apps are incompatible to them.

Also, because Android is open source, manufacturers are free to customize it to their heart's content. Samsung has TouchWiz, HTC has SenseUI, Motorola has Motoblur, Sony Ericsson has Timescape. Currently I can remember only these but there are many others. The point is that although so much customization allows for product differentiation in the market, it also leads to disintegration of the OS. This means that the experience won't be same on two Android phones running same hardware because of the customization layer that the OEM( Original Equipment manufacturer) has put in. Also, because of the customizations, the manufacturers find it very difficult to provide timely updates to the users. Most of the times, the phones is left alone to continue it's life running the same android version it was shipped with. For example, LG's flagship smartphone Optimus 2X was shipped with Android Froyo( 2.2) despite Gingerbread being available at that time and the device being capable to run that. Now after one full year that Gingerbread has been in the market, LG is planning to update it's phone when a new version ICS (v4.0 ) is available. Also, it is very likely that this particular phone won't receive any more updates inspite of it having the hardware to run it. This is the situation for a flagship device which is supposed to get the most attention. Meanwhile, all the WindowsPhone handsets in the world have now received the latest update WindowsPhone Mango after just one month of it being publicly available!!

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The partnership with Nokia has really brought WP7 to the forefront. Nokia in February this year announced that WindowsPhone will be primary OS for it's smartphones and it has already released two phones, Lumia 800 and Lumia 710. The Nokia Lumia 800 is THE most beautiful phone I've ever seen and I'm sure you will agree. Nokia has a huge market share in the world and has a reach to emerging markets like India, China, Africa who have the most potential for growth and penetration. Countries like USA and Europe are already near saturation and the market share in the emerging markets will eventually decide who the winner is.

You might already feel convinced but I'm yet to present the biggest reason for the success of WindowsPhone in the future. The Ecosystem.

Presently 9 out of 10 computers sold in the world run Windows OS made by Microsoft, the same company that makes WindowsPhone OS. Microsoft is working very hard to bring the next version of it's desktop OS, Windows 8. With it, Microsoft plans to bring the Metro UI to the computer. This will make the OS more touch-friendly than it currently is, opening the market for tablets which is currently dominated by Apple's iPad and to some extent, Android. The tablets that run iOS or Android are essentially enlarged versions of a smartphone and do little else than what a smartphone does. One might argue that the larger screen allows for better web browsing or media experience but that it it. They are content consumption devices instead of being devices which can actually create content. The Windows has the best software compatibility in the OS realm and I am forced to say that there is hardly any software incompatible to Windows.

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When a Windows tablet will arrive, it will already have the backup of all those software, giving it a head start. Now, a person with a Windows 8 computer will obviously want his smartphone to complement that UI and functionlity. And this is where WindowsPhone steps in and gets the advantage. People running a windows machine will automatically relate to it's mobile counterpart. Other than this, Microsoft is also trying hard to make using Windows devices a cohesive experience using cloud computing. It offers SkyDrive with 25GB of free storage that can sync your content across all your devices, be it a PC, tablet, or a mobile phone. In contrast Android has no such offering. In fact it doesn't even have a PC suite that connects the phone to the computer. Phone manufacturers are trying to fill that void but are hardly succeeding at it. I have used Samsung Kies and it is hardly of any use.

All is not rosy for WindowsPhone however. It hardly has any substantial market share at present and it's competitors Apple and Google won't be just sitting around. Google has already released Ice Cream Sandwich( Android 4.0) which tries to converge smartphones and tablets. At the same time Apple has released iOS 5 which (copies Android's notification system and) brings much awaited features to the iPhone and iPad. At the same time in the hardware department, Samsung has already released screen with size 4 and a half inches having as many as 1280X720 pixels. Both iPhone and the Android flagships now run dual-core processors whereas processor speed for WP7.5 device maxes out at single core 1.5 GHz for HTC Titan. Although WP7.5 hardly needs a dual core as it already is blazing fast and butter smooth. Android phones come dirt cheap and are already taking hold of the lower-end segment. Also, much of the success of WP7.5 will depend on the success of Windows 8, as it will tell how consumers around the world adopt screens with Metro UI and Live tiles as a whole.

But you need not worry. MS is already working on the next WP updates Tango and Apollo. Reportedly, Tango will allow phones with a little lower specifications to run WP and thus introduce it to the lower end segment. Apollo update will come around the same time as Windows 8 and will add many more features to it like dual-core support, higher screen resolution, better multitasking, et al.

I believe that WindowsPhone is here to stay and will be a major player in smart phone arena very soon.

Don't forget to add your opinions in the comments below.