Looking back at CES 2012, the pundits and critics have been charmed by Microsoft’s mobile OS, mostly due in part to Nokia’s Lumia 900 anouncement. Even before that, the success of the Mango roll-out in the later part of ’11 shifted a lot of the complaints cast at WP7 to something positive and buzz-worthy to end the year. Indeed, Microsoft has come out of Redmond with a sophisticated OS that many in the tech community embraced as a clear delineation from the iOS and Android’s design aspect.
Whoopee!
Except, there has been a fair amount of missteps that have done nothing to get Windows Phone out of the gutter in terms of marketshare. It’s no lie that Microsoft waited too long to get back into the mobile sphere. iOS and Android have become the defacto kings of the wireless space, all the while eating up some of the sectors held by Blackberry, Palm and Windows Mobile. All the more reason for Microsoft to come back strong and do what was necessary from the start to compete, yet it found itself handicapped by missing features when it debuted back in 2010.
Of course, it wasn’t all bad in 2011, for all the wrong things Microsoft did through most of the year, they did do some wonderful things that actually got them back into the game, at least with tech blogs and geeks. Here then are the 5 things that went wrong, and 5 that went right for Microsoft in 2011:
THE BAD
1. NoDo Update
Can we remember, no, should we remember the fiasco that happened with the first big update for our Windows Phones back in March, or June, or whenever the darn thing got to you? Not only was the NoDo a (in)significant update that added a simple copy & paste function that should have been there since launch, it was the first update that truly showed how weak Microsoft was when it came to carrier relations regarding updates. The roll-out was nothing short of a disaster, as many phones in the wild, at least the ones that were actually purchased, were left out in the cold as to when the update would materialize for the different carriers around the globe. What started out in March for some, didn’t end until June for others, or even later.
Add insult to injury, the bricks that some had after the update. Ouch.
2. Where are the Phones?
One thing was the lack of organization in part of Microsoft’s update roll-out. The other was the fact that most of us didn’t have anything terribly exciting to show that copy & paste off. The phones that we had at launch of the OS in 2010 were pretty much the same stuff that was offered for almost three-fourths of the year. AT&T was the top carrier with choice, although having three phones at launch with the LG Quantum, HTC Surround and the Samsung Focus wasn’t too bad, it wasn’t any better when they added the much maligned Dell Venue Pro, and an updated HTC HD7S around the start of the second quarter of the year.
On other carriers it wasn’t much better (and isn’t still) with Sprint and Verizon offering the very average, very standard HTC Trophy and Arrive. Nothing came to salivate anyone’s palette. No clear ‘hero’ phone to entice those Android and iPhone hipsters to switch over to WP…and you can’t blame them can you?
3. Multiplayer Games
We have Xbox on our phones. An extension of the vast community of gamers that utilize their Xbox Live accounts on the Xbox 360. Yet that community would be very isolated in the Windows Phone ecosystem. A key component that we thought we’d get with the Mango update would be the ability to play real time multiplayer games. Instead, the game selection on Xbox for Windows Phone is still devoid of any true multiplayer goodness.
Well there is that one chess game, right?
What should have been a key selling point for Windows Phone is becoming a paper tiger of sorts. Gammers want cool games, and especially when they have some sort of multiplayer element to it. So far, the games to take up that mantle have been from indie developers. Games like Alpha Jax, Wheel of Wealth and ARMED! have taken multiplayer seriously and actually made a name for themselves. At least in this regard, indie developers get a leg-up on the much touted and significantly more expensive Xbox Live titles.
4. Marketing
One part of the equation is building a great OS, the second part is promoting the heck out of it. Microsoft has gotten at least one of them right. The marketing arm has been a huge let down even though there have been stories that state Microsoft was to spend $500 million to promote the OS around the world. If they did, we haven’t seen any of it.
With incredibly lackluster advertising, or worse yet, non-existent, Ballmer & Co. have not gotten their money’s worth. Without the flashy advertising and frequency in delivering the message, Windows Phone has been hampered by a lack of mind share. It’s no surprise that people still aren’t educated at what Windows Phone really is.
5. The App Gulf
50,000 apps is nothing to sneeze at. Yet for those that look at numbers 500,000 is much bigger than 50,000 and that means that bigger is better. Well not quite, but one can’t overlook at the numbers and dismiss them either. A smartphone is only as smart as its apps. Windows Phone has some pretty cool and nifty apps, and it carries the big ones too, like Netflix, Spotify, Twitter and others. Yet, some are still missing like Pandora, Flipboard, and Chase Bank. In order for Microsoft to compete with fickle mobile users, it must bring most, if not all, of these apps into the umbrella to stand toe-to-toe with the competition.
Priority one in 2012 will be to do this asap.
And now…
THE GOOD
1. Nokia and Microsoft
The big one. The partnership that made headlines around tech blogs and sites was much ballyhooed by some as two sinking ships that couldn’t save themselves, much less each other. Well, after witnessing the brisk results of the Lumia 800 in Europe, and now the heavy emphasis of the Lumia 900 hitting shores shortly after a wonderful, positive CES 2012, the tide might be turning.
It will need the full force of a fine tuned marketing campaign to make a dent in the sales charts, but it might happen. After all, have you seen that fine piece of polycarbonate, unibody construction that is the Lumia 900? It’s drool worthy and just the sort of thing the OS needed to compliment its unique Metro styling.
2. OEMs Get Serious
It wasn’t just Nokia bringing out the guns. OEMs like Fujitsu, HTC and Samsung all brought devices to the table that were leaps and bounds more interesting than the offerings in 2010. A positive change was the differentiation that OEMs finally brought to the table, offering different specs and form factors that help create interest in the OS as a whole.
HCT brought out its massive 4.7-inch screen behemoth Titan in November with an improved f2.2, 8MP camera and metal body. The phone was considered the best phone to own under the Windows Phone library of devices, and introduced some nifty tricks of its own with the panoramic picture option embedded in the HTC hub.
Fujitsu brought out a phone for the Empire of the Rising Sun, as well as having the first water resistant device with a 12MP camera. Samsung brought out a variation of its Galaxy line of phones in the Samsung Focus S, and Nokia obviously started to ramp up its might by invading European shores with its N9 equivalent the Lumia 800.
3. The Mango Update
Aside from great hardware hitting shelves at the tail end of 2011, the major factor helping matters out was the Mango update. Not only was it getting major features that places it within equal footing with the other major competitors, it also brought out a change in its roll out process that obviously worked. This time around, the whole shebang was done in a month with all devices receiving the update by the time the first batch of second generation phones were coming out.
4. Marketplace Expands
Yes, it’s only 50,000 apps, but the good news isn’t that it hit that milestone, but rather the speed at which it took to get there. With the momentum that the marketplace is expanding, it is projected that the online app store will have 100,000 by the end of the year 2012. With such heavy developer support, one of the crutches of the OS will be less evident as the gamut of apps appearing for download will start to make those number meaningless.
Sometimes having too much isn’t enough.
5. Zune Marketplace Expands to Other Regions
One thing that ultimately doomed the Zune HD was the lack of a marketplace presence outside of U.S. Without the support of that marketplace, an ecosystem can’t gain enough cash flow to exist. Sure it’s Microsoft, they have the money to burn, but I’m sure they don’t like failed experiments and money thrown out the window.
With the expansion of the Zune services going world wide to other countries, it’s a welcomed addition that will surely help it gain traction globally. Having a cool device is one thing, but not having anything to use it with is something else. Having Nokia aboard with their high market reach in other parts of the world helps in the matters as their services can reach were Microsoft’s can’t.
With the roll-out of new devices in new countries, these services reaching those new customers are a key component of keeping customers happy, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone relevant.
Let us know what you feel are the key aspects of Microsoft’s failure or success with Windows Phone. Discuss in the comments section bellow us, and don’t forget to follow Zunited on Twitter and Facebook.
