Microsoft is still living in the happiness driven by Windows 7 launch. Call it Marketing Pioneer or the Product Miracle, they are no longer worried of Windows products. They know that they are going to sell them well, like never before. But there are still two things underneath that bites Microsoft: 1. Bing – Overhyped search engine. 2. Windows Mobile.
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Unluckily, both fights go with Google, and one of them with Apple. The Phone market driven by Apple’s iPhone is almost impossible to capture in the current situation. However, Android could be a difficult competitor but with Android gaining popularity, it gets harder each day.
All this have come to picture because Windows Mobile is starting to resemble a disaster driven by Windows Vista-style proportions.
Here are few points on Why Windows Mobile Resembles Vista:
1. Delays: Like Vista, repeated Windows Mobile 7 delays are frustrating Microsoft’s longtime industry partners. Windows Mobile 7, originally planned for release last year, isn’t expected to arrive until spring of 2010.
What is the impact? Motorola, earlier this year, shifted its business away from Windows Mobile and favored Google Android devices. Verizon, which has been tied to Microsoft’s Pink smartphone project, recently kicked off a huge marketing push for Droid, Motorola’s new Android powered handset. What makes it worst, for Microsoft, is they will continue to push the same vendor.
2. Lack of Worthy Innovation: Every product that comes into market is full of innovation. But how much of it is worthy? This decides the market.
Microsoft’s channel partners are seeing decreasing demand for Windows Mobile-related business. Stuart Crawford from Bulletproof Infotech quoted:
“We’ve stopped working with Windows Mobile because our client base isn’t asking for it. We’ve gone to Blackberry internally, and we’re seeing a lot of clients asking for iPhone. I’m a strong Microsoft advocate, but there are too many challenges with Windows Mobile.”
3. Mobile 6.5 = Vista; Mobile 7 = Windows 7: Windows 7, which shows what great things can happen when Microsoft and its partner ecosystem are collaborating. The pressure is on Microsoft to hit jackpot with Windows Mobile 7, but that could conceivably lead to the kind of bloated, complex feature set that helped doom Vista. Microsoft is so far behind in the mobile game at this point that it needs to at least get a couple rockets on base before it starts catching up with Apple, Google.
Tim Huckaby, CEO at InterKnowlogy, said “When Windows Mobile ships, it’s got to be a winner, it cannot be another Vista, and Microsoft knows it.”
4. Wrong Claims
In April 2008, CEO Steve Ballmer described Windows Mobile 7 to MVP partners as “as an area of major excitement and innovation.” But in a meeting with Silicon Valley venture capitalists last month, Ballmer spoke of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile missteps in frank terms and said Microsoft has taken steps to correct them.
This is the exact they they did with Windows Vista. They claimed, it’s innovation and blah blah But we all know Vista is now Dead.
What is yet to be seen
Microsoft partners aren’t happy with the way things are moving in the Windows Mobile group. On the positive side, they’re still expecting Microsoft to make a comeback to make up the lost battle.
“Windows Mobile has troubles that are out of our control, and it’s now a matter of how quickly they can bring Windows Mobile 7 to market before the clock runs out.”
We would like to know what do you think? Can Microsoft come back with a bang? Will Mobile 7 be lucky for them like Windows 7, so far, did?
