The heat is on Microsoft to make a splash with Windows Phone 7, its brand new smartphone operating system. Apple and Google have seduced the masses with attractive iPhones and Androids, while Microsoft until now has gotten creamed with its snooze-worthy devices that ran the creaky, complicated and uber-corporate Windows Mobile operating system.
And if you blinked, you missed Microsoft’s most recent attempt to bring out something more hip in mobile: In late June, Microsoft pulled the plug on the oddly timed, youth-oriented Kin handsets. That’s less than two months after they first went on sale, and several months ahead of the anticipated Windows Phone 7 launch.
The first Windows Phone 7 handsets go on sale in the U.S. on Monday. Microsoft basically built the new mobile platform from the ground up, ditching most of what came before. It’s a bold strategy that keeps Microsoft alive, even as it plays catch-up.
While there’s a lot to admire in Windows Phone 7, starting with a spanking new and intuitive screen design, some missing features will leave you wanting, and leave Microsoft swimming upstream.
I’ve been testing the new software on three upcoming touch-screen devices, each $200 with the customary two-year service plan: the HTC HD7 from T-Mobile, and the HTC Surround and Samsung Focus, both from AT&T. Nine phones, including some scheduled for international markets, are promised as part of the initial wave. But the real story here is the software.
Microsoft has 3 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, trailing Android (about 44 percent), iPhone (26 percent) and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry (24 percent), according to third-quarter data by the Canalys research firm.
The pressure is on to get it right, and with its fresh approach, Microsoft darn near pulls it off.
The emphasis is on “darn near.”
Fortunately, some of the glaring omissions can be addressed in…