Can new Windows Phones compete with the Apple iPhone?
October is shaping up to be a busy month for Microsoft. Oct. 22 will see Windows 7 released to General Availability, while the new range of Windows Mobile-enabled Windows Phones will be available after Oct. 6. The question is whether Microsoft can gain the foothold in the smartphone market it has so far failed to grab and provide competition for the Apple iPhone.
Microsoft started this month by revealing a new range of mobile phones sporting the new Windows Mobile 6.5 would be release on Oct. 6. While Windows Mobile 6.5 isn’t the huge change to the OS that many people were hoping for, it is still significantly different to be worth taking a look at. In a very similar way that Windows 7 is worth looking at, even if you hate Vista.
A variety of operators and manufacturers have positioned themselves in support of Microsoft and a host of new phones under the Windows Phone banner will be released over the next few months. Microsoft has sought to change the perception that Windows phones are really only for work, and is pushing the new range as being suitable for all aspects of life.
New features include a newly redesigned Web browser, updates to Microsoft Office Mobile, the new Windows Marketplace for Mobile, and a free My Phone service which syncs, backs up, and traces your phone.
Microsoft is setting its stall out to compete and (some would say) copy the iPhone OS with its refreshed Windows Mobile operating system. The iPhone has done phenomenally well since its release but it’s Symbian that actually leads in terms of smartphone market share. RIM’s Blackberry, Palm OS, and Google Android are also rivals building sizable market shares.
Windows Mobile 6.5 looks to be a good update, and the new range of Windows Phones are likely to prove popular. But I’m still not convinced Windows Mobile 6.5 will be enough of a pull to enable Microsoft to compete with the iPhone, which generates more buzz than most other smartphones combined. VentureBeat lists three reasons why the new Windows Phones are doomed, and even if they are overly harsh I still feel Microsoft will struggle in this market.
Maybe we’ll have to wait for Windows Mobile 7, currently being worked on and due out next year, for a real sea change in the market.
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September 6th, 2009
The ability to flash custom ROMs and the registry system that sucks and is horrible on PCs is a plus on 6.5. I blew off Windows Mobile after an experience with an Apache 6800 and version 5. It seriously sucked and was buggy as hell.
I was trying to hold out for Android to mature but when a friend sold me a HTC Touch Pro for basically nothing I wasn’t expecting much. I figured I could use it as a very nice mp3 player.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised. The iPhone is a very nice piece of tech and deserves all the accolades, but Apple is a bit too much of a dictator. Google Voice works great.