MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS — Despite the aspirations of other OS providers, the iPhone continues to dominate the smartphone conversation, with Google Inc. Android providing some important color commentary along the way. But with the launch of Windows Mobile 7 this week, Microsoft Corp. is aiming to be a voice in the market that people listen to. The move comes none too soon for the software giant, which runs the risk of losing out on the smartphone opportunity entirely.
The launch, made by CEO Steve Ballmer at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, was met with “oohs” and “ahs” from reviewers, journalists and Twitterers alike. The new operating system has a focus on multitasking and intuitive application integration (including new “live” widgets, Zune audio/video and Xbox 360 functionality). Fortunately, that marks a significant departure from the lackluster WinMo OS experience of the past.
As well it should. The launch is critical to Microsoft, representing the last chance for it to gain a significant foothold in wireless, an area of computing that promises to be not only the future of communications but the future of software distribution as well. Ironically, the same software giant that has been famously maligned as a monopolist has been sitting on the smartphone sidelines, largely irrelevant, while it’s archenemy – Apple Inc. – rides the wireless opportunity to new highs in revenue and consumer loyalty (and not to mention to new stock price highs).
But even with Windows Mobile 7 officially unveiled, it might still be too late for Ballmer’s baby to grow into anything remotely resembling dominance. Partners have already started building phones and all four national U.S. carriers have promised to carry WinMo 7-series phones. However – and it’s a big however – customers won’t be able to purchase the first phones in stores until the holiday season. “We were impressed with Windows 7, but here’s the rub. It is still work in progress and the first Windows 7 devices (LG?) will not come out until early 2011,” noted analysts at Informa. “How far will the likes of Apple, Android, RIM and even potentially Nokia have pushed ahead by then?”
One of the main noteworthy attributes of WinMo 7 is a new approach to widgets and applications. The end game is, after all, software and content distribution, and Microsoft has clearly spent time considering how to leverage WinMo to drive just that.
For most smartphones, including the iPhone, the widget tiles on the home screens are simply links to the cloud that don’t offer any functionality themselves. Users push them to connect to the data service and then link up to the application, which then updates and provides users access to whatever information they’re looking for. Microsoft is instead making a departure into “live tiles.”
On the Start screen, these tiles are active, and constantly updating in a live feed, showing users real-time content directly. For instance, a weather widget will show the current temperature, even if a user hasn’t opened it in days.
There’s also a strong social media aspect: Create a tile of a friend, and the user gains a readable, up-to-date view of a friend’s latest pictures and posts. Facebook and Windows Live integration are built in, with other networks to follow.
Search is a big part of the package: The aforementioned dedicated Bing button takes users to a special implementation of Bing search provides intent-specific results, delivering the most relevant Web or local results, depending on the type of query. Users can also search from within apps.
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