Smartphones are currently the up and coming trend in mobile technology. This sentence by itself is an understatement, as smartphones are even starting to dominate Internet traffic. Both Apple and Google have a big piece of the smartphone pie and are reluctant to give it up.
This is the same pie that Microsoft seemed to have locked up in a fridge in Redmond for years. It is now long lost, and with ‘Windows Phone 7’ (not to be confused with a ‘Windows 7 Phone’) they are trying to get it back. But will they prevail?
What is Windows Phone 7 and How Will It Be Different?
The Windows Phone 7 platform is Microsofts’ attempt to compete in the smartphone market. For a completely new platform to acquire a profitable market share, it has to be extremely innovative. By the looks of it, with Windows Phone 7 Microsoft seems to at least get the message.
Microsoft is releasing quite a few products lately that involve the number ‘7’, most notably the ‘Windows 7’ operating system. While it may seem so, it does not indicate that all these products are interlinked. It would be easy to assume that the new phone platform will be a mobile version of Windows 7, and would therefore be the ‘windows 7 phone’. This is however not the case with Windows Phone 7, as it is best compared with another on of Microsofts’ maybe more obscure products, the ‘Zune’.
Both the software that runs on the Zune and that of Windows Phone 7 present a similar interface, an aspect where Microsoft wants to make a considerable impact in terms of user experience. Even though officially an upgrade from Windows Mobile 6.5, it does not resemble the companies’ previous mobile operating system by any means. This also means that the system is not backwards compatible at all with existing applications for the windows mobile platform.
Backwards compatibility could have jump-started the platform and given it a user-base. However, Microsoft is choosing to start with a clean slate. Needless to say the new Windows Phone 7 platform is in dire need of third party developers. For them to become active, the platform has to become popular. For the platform to become popular it needs a lot of (good!) apps. If Microsoft doesn’t take good care of their marketing strategy it might turn into the chicken or the egg story.
One Home Screen Full of Tiles
The innovative features of the newly designed platform already start at the home screen. Whereas it has now become an industry standard to scroll horizontally through a variety of home screens, regardless of the platform the phone is running on, Windows Phone 7 is doing things a little different. Instead of several, there is only one home screen available that is scrollable vertically.
This screen is filled with what Microsoft calls ‘tiles’. These tiles are direct links to the most used features within the phone, such as contacts, calendar, Internet, music, email, etc. Better even, these tiles are ‘live’, meaning that updates in any of the applications will directly be presented ‘live’ on the home screen. In a way, this is Microsofts’ take on the androids’ widgets principle, without actually providing them.
So Where Does Windows Phone 7 Stand in the Smartphone Landscape?
While seemingly innovative at first sight the underlying user experience should at least match, and ideally exceed, that of the available smartphone platforms. In order to do so all the classic smartphone functions should at least be available and of decent quality. Although no judgment on quality can be given until the platform is indeed released, the platform does sport the classic smartphone functions and as such in combination with its tile principle seems to provide for a rich and refreshing mobile user experience.
In order to guarantee a good user experience, Microsoft is implementing a philosophy that can somewhat be compared to both that of Apple with its iPhone and Googles’ Android. Where Microsoft pretty much chooses to follow an android-like notification system and multitasking system (but only for native apps), it tries to stay clear of the notorious fragmentation of the platform.
Whereas Android gets of customized heavily by manufacturers (such as Motoblur by Motorola, Touchwiz by Samsung and Sense by HTC), Microsoft wants none of it on its Windows Phone 7 platform. Even in terms of hardware it applies a strict standardization protocol, with a set of functions a handset will be restricted to. A good example of this would for instance be only allowing a back, home and search button as hardware keys. Only time will tell if this strategy will pay off.
On the software side, the accounts that plugin to the phone are basically a mirrored version of Googles’ Android system, with Bing search, Windows Live Mail and Bing maps replacing Google search, Gmail and Google maps respectively. An obvious choice, as they are Microsofts’ native services, countering those of Google. Facebook is also supported, unlike twitter, which is still mysteriously missing. All in all, any handset running Windows Phone 7 should provide for a solid user experience right out of the box, comparable to what is already on the market.
At Last, Is Windows Phone 7 Something to Look Forward To?
If Windows Phone 7 is able to deliver what it promises, the platform is certainly something to look forward to. As its release is just around the corner it is also worth holding off on buying a phone of another platform for the time being to see how the platform develops. As with all smartphones, the popularity will be determined on how much applications will be developed for it. The concept and hardware support seem to be in order for the time being, with major manufacturers like HTC and Samsung backing the platform.
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