Microsoft’s recent announcement of Windows Mobile 6.5 continues the firm’s problematic approach to mobility and, indeed, to their overall product strategy. I won’t call this mess gross incompetence; after all, designing, building, and supporting complex technology products are indeed, just that, complex, and no one gets it right all the time. And given the Vista debacle, Microsoft might argue that once you’re Number One there’s no need to get it right ever again. But unlike the desktop OS space, Microsoft is but a bit player in mobile operating systems, and it’s a little hard to see how they intend to get to Number One here doing what they’re doing now.
As I see it, MS has three key problems. The first is their penchant for changing UIs just to change them. They tried this in Vista and the result was yet another mess – don’t they understand that UIs are key to practicality, and that they cost money, in terms of training and support? Simply changing the UI (once that UI is a GUI, anyway) isn’t going to have much of a positive effect on productivity. This is one of the key reasons I rejected Vista and decided to move to the Mac – Vista is a cost center with little if any ROI. That Microsoft had to bring back XP for the booming NetBook/MID/whatever market, and pre-announce and rush-develop Windows 7 just avoid mass defections is clear evidence of a company that doesn’t know how to build products or perhaps is simply just arrogant. Anyway, Windows Mobile 6.5 appears to be little more than UI changes – whoopee, more cost.
Next, handsets running Windows Mobile are seldom upgradeable to new software releases, and it appears such will be the case here once again. Most users are sadly locked into their choice of handset for two years, and can’t take advantage of new developments even if they want to. Microsoft loses revenue, customers are unhappy, and the carriers, while locking in a customer to their service and amortizing their subsidy of the handset, also see less inventory turnover and fewer opportunities for incremental revenue than they’d like. Lose/lose/lose. Oh, and Windows Mobile 7 is on the horizon for next year – the cycle of despair continues. Buy 6.5 in the Fall? Wait for 7.0 in 2010? Stick with 6.0/6.1? Like I said, what a mess.
And, finally, there’s the cost issue. I still don’t see how Windows Mobile will compete with LINUX, which is cheap-to-free, albeit perhaps not entirely ready for prime time on handsets just yet and thus necessitating other choices. As I noted earlier, I recently bought a Windows Mobile 6.1 handset, a Samsung Omnia. More on that later, but this will likely be the last Windows Mobile (and perhaps Microsoft) product I ever buy. Perhaps AT&T will decide that Ashland, MA, is worthy of 3G service, and I can finally get an iPhone. My cutover to the Mac continues; I’m now entirely operational on a shiny new Mac Mini, the first stationary computer here at Farpoint Group to go entirely wireless – keyboard, mouse, and .11n WLAN. And while it’s got quirks (mouse freezes, and a Finder that’s – gulp – no where near as good as Windows Explorer), it’s overall a far better experience than dealing with Windows.
I still contend that Microsoft should stop with the wholesale releases and simply build a product called the OS (or Mobile OS). Do what Apple does; announce new features and bundle them into charged-for upgrades. But don’t build point products that must be abandoned if one wants new features – mandate upgradeability. I had to live with Windows Mobile 5.0 on my Q for two years, and that was indeed painful.
But I have little faith that Microsoft will ever get a clue. I’ve got a bottle of Bollinger ready for when Microsoft goes into Chapter 11 or is acquired. I seriously don’t expect it will be too many years before that cork gets popped.
