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The Day The Earth Stood Still

A funny thing happened at 1:00pm EST.  Apple announced their new iPhone 4 and there was no stampeding to write how the iPhone had reinvented the wheel.  Android and its Froyo upgrade seem to be safe for now.  WP7’s death nail should also be promptly removed.

I firmly believe in the aftermath of Apple’s iPhone/iOS 4 debut that WP7 indeed has a chance to carve out a significant slice of the market.  Surely I must be mistaken, even mad to suggest such a thing but I think not.

Take a look at the difference between iPhone 4’s AP Mobile app and then look at the breathtaking (yes I used such a strong word to describe a news app) WP7 app.  Pixel density be darned the WP7 app is flat out on another aesthetic level.  The iPhone app looks so old and dated by comparison; after 4 years they are still producing the exact same looking apps.  That makes me question whether it is a fatal limitation to the SDK.  Yes I went there!

Notice the lack of mentioning of the gaming platform, I sure did.  That’s because Steve Jobs knows he has his work cut out for him as he attempts to go up against Microsoft’s Xbox Live ecosystem.  He’s aiming to gain mind and market share through games such as Farmville.  Microsoft demos Harvest and Jobs demos Farmville while he lauds pixel density is flat out laughable.

ITunes still has a superior marketplace but guess what, Zune will be coming hard and fast especially with millions quickly becoming familiar with the software and using it on a daily basis.  This is one of the few reasons why I believe; truly believe WP7 is positioned to strike at the heart of the Smartphone world.  Zune has a much more pleasing interface and it’s a delight to use compared to iTunes.  Did I mention Zune Pass?  Microsoft is considering lowering the price to boot!

Here is a quick list of the assets WP7 has as its day in the sun approaches:

  • Advanced enterprise support
  • Rich Apps that are integrated into Hubs
  • Gaming platform with built in ecosystem of million+ users.
  • Zune (first viable alternative to iTunes for mobile phones)
  • Metro UI
  • Choice of hardware that includes a faster introduction of improved features to market. (OEMs competing in hardware)
  • Cloud based services.  They have ad
  • Social Networking integration.  They have gone even further than Apple and Android has to include it in the user experience.
  • Intrigue (the public will be intrigued to the point they will definitely want to at least try out the WP7 device).
  • Multiple Carriers.  Just like Android used multiple carriers to drive their growth so shall Microsoft.  Microsoft comes with a bigger name recognition which should help.

So again, Apple debuted and everyone took notice.  Gone are the days where the iPhone causes hysteria, maybe just maybe Ballmer and Microsoft will push out a finished enough OS to fill in the gap.  Just maybe….

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