With all the recent excitement and hype surrounding such smartphone giants as the iPhone 4, HTC EVO 4G and the Motorola Droid X, it’s been easy to forget that a new contender in the smartphone game is close to making it’s debut; Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.
Steve Ballmer and co are not new to the mobile industry, with Windows Mobile having graced many smartphones in the past, albeit with clunky and awkward usability. However, since the introduction of the original iPhone, and the emergence of Google’s Android mobile operating system, Microsoft has increasingly found itself on the outside looking in, struggling to compete.
With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft could finally have something to genuinely challenge Apple, Google and BlackBerry with. Sporting a fresh, slick and unique user interface, and tight integration with Facebook and Xbox Live, Windows on a mobile device is looking pretty appealing. However, it’s unlikely to be all plain-sailing for the Redmond giant. Many have criticised the Zune-inspired “Metro” user interface for being too simple and bland in appearance, while others have lamented the exclusion of copy and paste (at least for launch). In any case, it’s going to be tough to convince those iPhone and Android users to switch over to the new platform.
Personally, I think Windows Phone 7 is the most interesting mobile OS out there right now. The interface dares to be different, it’s clean, simple, straightforward, and having Xbox Live Arcade titles (a mobile Halo anyone?) on your phone is pretty damn cool! I take my hat off to Microsoft for trying something a little different, and not following the herd and trying to mimmick Google and Apple. WP7 shows promise and a lot of potential, and now Microsoft need to ensure that it’s hardware partners roll out some slick and sexy smartphones for their baby to run on. Samsung, HTC and LG already have WP7 devices in the pipeline, so it’s looking certain to be an interesting Christmas season for the mobile phone industry.
All we need now is a mobile Halo game...
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