Lately I have been reading about Windows Phone and Nokia trying to emerge from the grave. Microsoft strategically weakened the position of Nokia in market as well as in the company’s management, to an extent that it has no choice but be run as a Division of Microsoft. Here are some of my views on the issues Windows Phone has.
- The Web is high with many reviews that Windows Phone is easy to use and nicely differentiated. However, it lacks the application ecosystem of Apple and Android, has limited multi-tasking.
- Windows Phone will definitely see enhancements but don’t expect to see a major refresh until Q4 this year, when the Apollo update is apparently due for release. Meanwhile, Android 4 is launching in the next few months, Samsung is set to launch innovative plastic / thin / flexible screens, and we expect Apple to launch a new iPhone. Now won’t you agree that Windows Phone’s technical capabilities will decline in relative competitiveness ?
- Windows Phone still has a low profile among consumers, who have good established and well-known alternatives with Apple and Android. The much talked social features of Windows Phone seem best suited for the teens and 20+ year-old folks but they neither consider Nokia nor Windows as cool brands and overthrowing these perceptions will take some time.
- Windows Phone Pricing– It was designed as a mid- to high-end device. This means that it is struggling to get to price points of less than $350 at the low end, missing much of the expanding market opportunity there. I seriously doubt that these phones will come in below $200 to $250, so much essential to cash in on the emerging market opportunity
To conclude, Microsoft still has an uphill task to get consumers to use Windows Mobiles which it has been trying ever since Windows CE 😉 Good Luck and thanks for F**king Nokia, I’m really glad you did it.
Windows Phone 7 has some must-have specs, which makes the price high. In India Windows phone from Nokia and Samsung is priced between 18K -30K.
The OS itself is a buggy one, glitches with battery and no support for external memory card will keep most users away from these phones. And those are on Android never like to leave Android. And Microsoft’s social features on WP7 is not that cool, people are using BBM and so many similar app on Android and iOS.
There is another factor called Google, which also owns Motorola’s handset division, so tasks for Microsfot is huge and I do not believe they can make it in next 2 years.