06-04-2009, 07:00 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Windows Mobile Mindshare...It Has Almost None
Over on the private Mobius discussion list, Ed Hansberry pointed to this article by Walt Mossberg where Mossberg talks about the forthcoming Palm Pre. Mossberg talks about the smartphones he considers to be competitors in this space: the iPhone, the Blackberry Storm, and the Android-based G1. Windows Mobile isn't part of the discussion, even though there are phones running Windows Mobile that compare quite well with those other phones. I thought I'd share my reaction to that article here, in no particular order: 1) If Walt had one wish, it would probably be that Microsoft as a company be destroyed by nuclear attack. Expecting him to be fair toward Microsoft is like asking a cat to not eat a plate of tuna. It's just not going to happen. 2) People understand single-device models. It's easy to talk about the iPhone vs. Pre vs. vs. G1 vs. Blackberry (people use it as a catch-all term for all Blackberry phones). It's much harder to talk about a single phone vs. an ecosystem of phones. Once there are more Android phones on the market Google will have a similar problem. It's cumbersome to try and weave the platform narrative together. With HTC releasing their new phones in Europe/Asia first, most North American press don't register the fact that there are legitimate competitors out there running Windows Mobile. There's also the reality that even though there have been some great-selling Windows Mobile phones (the million+ club) there isn't really a "hero" phone that stands out from the rest and is a poster-child for Windows Mobile. That needs to change. 3) I thought it was hilarious that an app nuked Walt's Pre, took out all his data, and he just sort of shrugged it off as being not a big deal. This is the phone that's launching in a few days? And the applications aren't sandboxed in a way that prevents massive data loss? Imagine if a Windows Mobile phone did that to him - he'd have a fit. 4) Despite less-than-stellar sales, notice how the Zune has tremendous mindshare against the iPod? Other competitors rarely get mentioned, even though I'm sure Sandisk sells more MP3 players than Microsoft does. Windows Mobile has the same problem it's always had: selling an operating system or a platform is hard; selling a shiny piece of hardware is easy in comparison. It's easy to hold up a device and say "Here's our new thing". Holding up a platform and saying "Here are our 20 new things" - that's hard. That's my take on Mossberg's article - what's yours?
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06-04-2009, 07:58 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
1) If Walt had one wish, it would probably be that Microsoft as a company be destroyed by nuclear attack.
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Actually that would be too kind. I find it entertaining watching this slow motion train wreck that started a few years ago.
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2) People understand single-device models. It's easy to talk about the iPhone vs. Pre vs. vs. G1 vs. Blackberry (people use it as a catch-all term for all Blackberry phones). It's much harder to talk about a single phone vs. an ecosystem of phones. Once there are more Android phones on the market Google will have a similar problem.
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I don't think you can have it both ways here - it's fine for Blackberry but not for Android? Android and WM share one thing however and that's HTC, who makes some of the most uninspired, inconsistent handsets out of anybody.
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With HTC releasing their new phones in Europe/Asia first, most North American press don't register the fact that there are legitimate competitors out there running Windows Mobile.
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The same could be said of Android.
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I thought it was hilarious that an app nuked Walt's Pre, took out all his data, and he just sort of shrugged it off as being not a big deal.
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He's probably used to it from WM. I know I am.
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Despite less-than-stellar sales, notice how the Zune has tremendous mindshare against the iPod?
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It does?
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Other competitors rarely get mentioned, even though I'm sure Sandisk sells more MP3 players than Microsoft does.
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I'll take the higher sales over higher "mindshare." At least the former can be documented with empirical data, while the latter reminds me of someone wanting to be seen with an iPhone because it's "cool".
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Windows Mobile has the same problem it's always had: selling an operating system or a platform is hard; selling a shiny piece of hardware is easy in comparison.
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And Microsoft has indirectly introduced dozens of new shiny things over 15 years compared to two iPhones over two years. WM's problem is that it is inextricably tied to Windows. "Works with" and "only works with" are two different things. Over the last few years I've saved well into the six figures by going from MS Office to OOo, from Exchange to Zimbra, and cutting my Windows Server presence to a mere two domain controllers (everything else is CentOS now). Well WM doesn't work with anything really other than MS Office and Exchange. They have completely disqualified themselves from even being considered.
In the enterprise everybody is looking to cut costs wherever possible. In the consumer market more and more people are unemployed and worried about things like mortgage payments and buying groceries. Microsoft has painted themselves into a little bit of a corner. If money is of no concern they can offer some decent solutions. If money is a priority then you will be let down and frustrated. Money grabs are fine during the boom times, but don't carry over so well times are tough.
I was a Microsoft supporter for a long long time, followed by a brief period of a sort of Microsoft apologist. These days I'm not an anti-Microsoft person who's life mission is to take down the man, but rather I just don't really care. When I do care it's when they get in my way. That right there is the "mindshare" that I've been seeing in all corners.
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06-04-2009, 08:35 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 123
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I'm a longtime user of Windows Mobile. It might be my preference, but for the average user, it's way to fussy. To much thought and effort has to go into just using your device -- it should be more or less transparent. Seems to be something they're working towards, but others are way ahead in the race...
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06-04-2009, 08:38 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,097
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RogueSpear
In the enterprise everybody is looking to cut costs wherever possible. In the consumer market more and more people are unemployed and worried about things like mortgage payments and buying groceries. Microsoft has painted themselves into a little bit of a corner. If money is of no concern they can offer some decent solutions. If money is a priority then you will be let down and frustrated. Money grabs are fine during the boom times, but don't carry over so well times are tough.
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OK, seriously, you're saying that a MS-based device is too expensive and that's why people don't want it? And how much will it run you to buy an iPhone?
Here's how much it would cost me:
Iphone itself: $200
Added AT&T charge (I currently pay $100/mo for 3 phones and unlimited internet on my device): $30/mo
Total length of iPhone contract: 2 years
So 2 years x $30/mo = $720
Plus iPhone itself = $920
So, for me to simply own an iPhone (not including any downloaded apps or media) would cost me upwards of a thousand freaking dollars! Over and above what I currently pay AT&T for unlimited internet on my HTC Fuze.
So please enlighten us as to how an MS-based device is not economical... 
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06-04-2009, 09:18 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 340
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I'm guessing Walt forgave the catastrophic crash because the over-the-air backup restored him quickly enough 
I've always liked getting new tech and live through the bumps and the Pre seems to have that feel. My biggest problem is the storage is fixed. Even a microsd slot under the battery would have been useful.
With such limited storage I'm still going to need to carry my iPod on the train to/from work (and try to save the battery life as well!?!)
Steve 
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06-04-2009, 10:30 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 68
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Quote:
Originally Posted by benjimen
I'm a longtime user of Windows Mobile. It might be my preference, but for the average user, it's way to fussy. To much thought and effort has to go into just using your device -- it should be more or less transparent. Seems to be something they're working towards, but others are way ahead in the race...
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I couldn't have said it better myself.
Everyone I know bailed on Windows Mobile with version 5. I really like 6.1. The best new feature as far as usability is threaded sms but even 6.0 added filtering of messages and shortcut keys which are great. Unfortunately overall it's a fuss to use. Last.fm, Sirius, Pandora, Evernote, all look better on other phones. Also, I had to install a custom ROM from XDA to get some good use out of it and a decent dial pad. Even with that said and as fussy as Windows Mobile is I think it is way underrated. I will be jumping ship though if hardware and software keeps going into the iPhoney direction.
I just went last week with a client to replace her stolen iPhone. She was debating between the Curve 8900, Nokia E71, and another iPhone. I tried to convince her to try the Samsung Jack. The salesrep told her because Windows has background apps, battery life sucks and pushed the iPhone hard, but besides that, a person who obviously did some research to come up with the E71 on her shortlist had no idea what Windows Mobile even was.
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06-04-2009, 11:05 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RogueSpear
These days I'm not an anti-Microsoft person who's life mission is to take down the man, but rather I just don't really care. When I do care it's when they get in my way. That right there is the "mindshare" that I've been seeing in all corners.
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Erm...are you sure about that?
You micro-quoted my post to death, seemingly missing the entire point: I was talking about mindshare, not the technical aspects of the OS or anything else. The point was that in talking about various smartphones on the market today, Google with their couple of phones models running the OS and couple of million handsets sold world-wide (if that?) was mentioned, while Microsoft with, what, 17 million licenses sold last year and easily 20+ models on the market didn't even get mentioned. That's a mindshare problem - Windows Mobile outsells Andriod phones by a huge margin, yet Android gets mentioned. Android, and Google, have big mindshare.
You'll notice that in every article about MP3 players, the iPod gets mentioned - and typically so does that Zune. That's mindshare. Mindshare and marketshare are vastly different, but you need both to be successful. When the media starts writing your product/platform off as being non-relavent to the discussion, that's a very bad place to be, because sooner or later that lack of mindshare will start to hurt your marketshare.
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06-04-2009, 11:18 PM
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06-04-2009, 11:37 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarxMarvelous
As for #1... I thought this was true until I read Walt's fairly positive review of Bing...
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Walt didn't write that; Katherine Boehret did.
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06-05-2009, 12:53 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Damion Chaplin
OK, seriously, you're saying that a MS-based device is too expensive and that's why people don't want it? And how much will it run you to buy an iPhone?
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The cost of the phone is completely irrelevent. It's the cost of licensing Windows, Exchange, Office, etc.
@Jason Dunn, sorry about that. In some corners when someone's words aren't directly quoted you get accused of misquoting them. Also I did deviate from the main topic at hand. I had been a PPC/WM user for so many years and after constantly seeing promises dashed, there's a little bit of pent up frustration.
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