Windows Phone 7 smartphones look great and integrate with Exchange and Xbox. Will that be enough?
The publicly announced Windows Phone handset makers so far include Dell, HTC, LG and Samsung, the latter three with strong commitments to Google Android handsets. These will be available from AT&T and, at some future point, T-Mobile.
Microsoft has a mere 6.8% of market share of the mobile phones. It hopes that Windows Phone 7 will win the hearts of the enterprise with its tight integration with Exchange and other MS Office apps. It hopes that it will win the hearts of the consumer by supporting Xbox Live. Support of Xbox Live is perhaps the smartest thing Microsoft could have done (though will access to it will be via the AT&T network? We know what iPhone users say about being forced to use AT&T.). I suggested 18 months ago (way before the failed Kin) that if Microsoft wanted to win this market it should make an Xbox phone. Given the rising popularity of Android, I’m not sure if Microsoft has missed the boat on this. But I’m glad to see Xbox support in Windows Phone 7 all the same.
The handsets shown in this video look great — about everything you would expect from a touch-enabled smartphone. (More photos of all the handsets announced Monday.)
On the other hand, third-party developers are taking a wait-and-see attitude before they start building apps for the new phone. If it sells, they’ll come onboard, if it doesn’t, they won’t squander resources. While the world’s largest software maker can go it alone for a while with its Windows 7 phone, eventually it will need a rich ecosystem of applications to make consumers want to abandon their Blackberries and iPhones for it.
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