Filed under: Odds and ends, Surveys and Polls, iPhone
New York Times: Windows Mobile sinking, Android and Apple benefit
This morning, the New York Times had an interesting piece about the shift in cellphone momentum away from Microsoft to Android and the iPhone. The story refers to Windows Mobile as 'foundering,' which won't bring much happiness to Redmond. Of course, Microsoft already knows that they're quickly becoming a non-player in the smartphone market.What's of interest beyond the basics is just how far the Windows based phones have slipped in terms of customer satisfaction. Quoting the story: "Indeed, a J. D. Power & Associates survey found that Windows Mobile had the lowest satisfaction rating among customers of any smartphone operating system. The iPhone has by far the most satisfying software, the study found. Android is a distant second, followed closely by BlackBerry's operating system."
"Windows Mobile scored below average on every attribute, said Kirk Parsons, director of the study, especially in ease of operation, speed and stability."
That was my experience -- I had two Motorola Q phones fail. They tended to lock up frequently, and one had to be replaced. I was on the Verizon network, which was very good, but when the iPhone came out the thought of having something designed to work well with a Mac, and something that had a certain well-thought-out elegance was just too much of a lure.
Microsoft owned the smartphone market for years, so it is a mystery to me why they fell so far behind. The entry of Android, and especially the new models, is welcome competition. Most cell phone makers are migrating to the Android platform, which doesn't require licensing fees. The iPhone design isn't for sale to anyone, and seems to be doing just fine. Apple could fall into the same somnambulant stupor that Microsoft seems to be in with smartphones, but the Android offerings should keep them scrambling. We'll all benefit from that competition.
What phone did you drop to get the iPhone? Do you think Apple will stay ahead? Leave a comment below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
driver1969 said 1:41PM on 10-26-2009
My wife and I both had HP iPAQ 510's for about 2 years and were actually quite happy with our units despite its shortcomings (Edge only, small screen, tiny keyboard). We loved the reception and clarity of the voice calls (actually miss it now vs iPhone) also on the At&t network. But the design and flexibility of the 3GS iPhone won us over. We're very happy with the units. As I mentioned previously, just about the only thing we miss is the call clarity and overal reception of the HP, oh! and the teeny, tiny size of the handset and the BATTERY LIFE was ridiculously long.
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Rob said 2:45PM on 10-26-2009
It's somewhat suprising that the actual dominant OS, Symbian, was left out. IMO it's the most developed option right now. I think Windows Mobile 7 might surpass it, as MS is working on touch stuff more than Nokia, but the iPhone is too restrictive without unlocking (no multitasking, non-apple approved apps) to be directly compared to the others, although it has obvious appeal and merits; but has stagnated since the app store's inception and Apple's retail dominance. As for Android, it feels similar to Windows in several ways, although it's quickly distinguishing itself and innovating.
Jordan said 7:41PM on 10-26-2009
Just more proof that many of the network problems with AT&T and the iPhone are at the fault of Apple and not AT&T.
Curly Eric said 1:46PM on 10-26-2009
"Most cell phone makers are migrating to the Android platform, which doesn't require licensing fees."
Um, the "google experience" applications do require a license, I don't know if they require a fee as well.
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Curly Eric said 1:54PM on 10-26-2009
Clarification... Android is free. The Google developed applications like Marketplace and GMail are closed and require licensing. I'm not sure what the license requirements are for those apps.
w park said 1:56PM on 10-26-2009
met a Microsoft software engineer team leader (for Windows Vista). I showed him my Treo running WinMo and complained how the interface was poor, that it crashed and locked up, and how the browser was the pits.
His response was, "Oh, the user interface thing...." and stopped talking. Not long after, I switched the day Iphone 3G came to market and haven't looked back.
With Microsoft, it has always been about the nerd stuff first, and "oh, the user interface thing..."
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Rob said 2:48PM on 10-26-2009
It's worse than that, Windows Mobile has been stagnating for a very long time. 7 looks to fix many of the problems, but it sorta sucks compared to anything else right now (aside from S40). It does have a few features that might make it more appealing than the iPhone for a few (multitasking, any apps, keyboards), although S60 or android are far better alternatives than WinMo right now.
Connie said 3:25PM on 10-26-2009
And remember, these are the same folks that were led by a guy who said years ago that the Internet wasn't a big thing. Guess they poured their resources into other products instead of the Internet and mobile, and now they're trying to catch up.....
Dragonfly said 2:00PM on 10-26-2009
The iPhone (I've owned every model since) was actually the first smart phone I've ever owned, I had a Nokia 8800 Sirocco before that. I work in the mobile phone industry now so I get to play with most of the smart phones before they hit the market (the G1, HTC Hero, Palm Pre, etc) and from my experience the iPhone is still head of the pack. It simply has too many tricks up its sleeve when compared to the competition, easier to use than the rest, the App Store, iTunes, list goes on. Judging by the way Apple has handled the iPod (the level of investment, time and effort given to it) I can't see Apple resting on their laurels and allowing the iPhone to end up like Windows Mobile.
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PienaZupa said 1:59PM on 10-26-2009
I used a Nokia 5700 (S60v3 FP1 based on Symbian 9.2 if I remember right) for two years, switched to iPhone 3GS - never been happier and more satisfied about a phone :D
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Jimbot said 1:59PM on 10-26-2009
I used a Palm Treo for years. When I first got it, I thought it was pretty cool. But more and more it crashed on me, the browser was horrible, and I saw so many shortcomings. When I bought my first iPhone, I was amazed! Even though I've been a Mac user since 1984, I didn't believe Apple could actually pull off what they did. I've now got the 3GS and can't imagine living with a non-iPhone phone now.
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sonola777 said 2:05PM on 10-26-2009
The iPhone (I've owned every model since) was actually the first smart phone I've ever owned, I had a Nokia 8800 Sirocco before that. I work in the mobile phone industry now so I get to play with most of the smart phones before they hit the market (the G1, HTC Hero, Palm Pre, etc) and from my experience the iPhone is still head of the pack.
It simply has too many tricks up its sleeve when compared to the competition, easier to use than the rest, the App Store, iTunes, the list goes on. Judging by the way Apple has handled the iPod (the level of investment, time and effort given to it) I can't see Apple resting on their laurels and allowing the iPhone to end up like Windows Mobile.
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sonola777 said 2:07PM on 10-26-2009
Oops, looks like my aim account actually works, comment didn't show up first time I posted.
David Emery said 2:21PM on 10-26-2009
A big reason Windows got a foothold in smartphones was the -failure- of Palm to capture this market, which they should have sewn up tightly. Palm's failure to invest in PalmOS and transition to Windows handed Microsoft a market that Redmond was unable to exploit.
Palm, it appears, has learned its lesson. Microsoft has not...
dave
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CVScience said 2:22PM on 10-26-2009
My iPhone 3G was the first smartphone I've ever owned as well. I can assure that it was an IMMENSE step up from the POS LG Chocolate I owned prior. I had to replace it 4 times, and Verizon's limitations on its abilities stunk as well.
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michaelbushnell said 2:24PM on 10-26-2009
Winmo 7 better be something special or Microsoft might want to consider getting out of the mobile operating system arena.
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Ken said 2:26PM on 10-26-2009
Interesting article. I would not count Microsoft out just yet. HTC is a leader in mobile phones and has continued to innovate (Check out the HTC TouchPro2 or HTC HD)- I remember sitting in meeting at Microsoft when the iphone first launched and pleading with the Mobile developer team to hurry up and deliver a game changing platform. First they talked about Zune (loser) now they promise WinMo7- until MS realizes that the device has to serve three masters- User Experience and Ease of Use, Telephone/Voice, and large Data capacity, the OS will not take off. The iphone is horrible at calls and is not available on CDMA networks. Therefore, MS needs to provide a solid performer with clean interface and quickly. android is nice, but still a geeky science project, especially with open source and the security it lacks from an enterprise perspective.
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iPhone user said 2:32PM on 10-26-2009
I had a Treo 650 before the iPhone, and I just got fed up with Palm's total resistance to improving Palm OS. It was locked in maintenance mode over 10 years. The only improvements were the phone app, slightly higher resolution, and color. Otherwise, Palm OS was a mid-90s nostalgia trip.
I couldn't stand my old beat-up Treo 600 any more, so I got the 650 just two months before the original iPhone was announced. Oops. So I didn't get an iPhone until the 3G was announced in '08.
It was like a time traveler from 2020 had come back in time and dropped off the iPhone. I had been effectively stuck in the '90s with the creaky old Palm OS, so the 21st century Mac OS X iPhone felt like it had been brought back from more than 10 years in the future.
I have seen my friends using Win CE, or whatever it's called now, and it looked even worse than Palm OS (requiring the use of the stylus to make a phone call). Good riddance to it and to the old Palm OS.
I give Palm less than a year before either 1. Nokia buys them or 2. they finally, mercifully, go bankrupt. If the new mobile Windows OS breaks backward compatibility with existing apps, they'll fall down the same staircase as Palm. Nobody will want to upgrade all their apps just to use a device with the MS logo on it. Except the most hard-core Apple haters.
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daktaris said 2:32PM on 10-26-2009
"Microsoft owned the smartphone market for years, so it is a mystery to me why they fell so far behind."
they fell behind because they owned the smartphone market for years. mystery solved. it was right in front of your nose.
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alahmnat said 4:45PM on 10-26-2009
I was coming here to post this exact retort. The same thing happened when Microsoft took over the browser market with IE in the late 90's. Innovation simply stopped because they had total market dominance. Once they took the threat of Firefox seriously, they were already *way* behind the competition, and they seem to be doing a less than exceptional job of closing the gap between them and Mozilla / WebKit's various incarnations.