Is Windows Mobile Still Relevant?

Posted by: dgoldring on Mar 08 2008

I woke up this morning, and I felt like the sky was a slightly different color than it was at this time yesterday.  You see, yesterday, I was pretty clear that Windows Mobile ruled my world.  I mean, it was far from perfect (OK, yes, I did call it broken), but it does the job and does it well.  Then, the unthinkable (which we all knew was coming) struck.  In case you missed it, yesterday, Steve Jobs announced his plans for the iPhone 2.0, to be released in June.  These plans included ActiveSync licensing, as well as the much anticipated iPhone software developers’ kit (SDK).  I could almost hear my Windows Mobile phone screaming in agony at these revelations.  You see, Windows Mobile had always maintained its edge with two arguments: first that it was the better operating system for business users, and second that it was open to third party software development.  With Apple’s announcements, however, they essentially slammed the door on Windows Mobile, sealing off the two major complaints about the iPhone in one quick blow.  I could just about hear Patrick’s and Brandon’s iPhones singing in the wind to my Mogul, "Anything you can do, we can do better…"  But, is that true?  Was yesterday’s announcement the final death knell for Windows Mobile?  In short, is Windows Mobile still relevant?

 

To answer this question, let’s take a look at how we got where we are today (in a somewhat oversimplified narrative).  We’ll start in the 1980’s when Microsoft asserted its dominance by realizing Bill Gates’ dream of a personal computer on every desktop.  Back in the early days, you either bought an Apple (pre-Macintosh) or an IBM.  Then, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum.  IBM opened itself to cloning, and soon dozens of computer companies were sprouting up, manufacturing computers based upon the same IBM chipset.  All of these computers needed an operating system, and Microsoft was more than happy to oblige.  Before long, Windows 3.1 (did you ever think JAMM would mention Windows 3.1 twice in a week?) was sweeping across the country, preinstalled on every new computer in this new open market blitz.  Every new computer, that is, except Apple, which would continue to rely on its closed system.  Fast forward a few years to the late 1980’s / early 1990’s and Microsoft is the King of the World (still in the pre-Windows 95 days) while Apple is in a virtual free fall.

Fast forward again to the early 2000’s.  The personal computer is evolving.  No longer is it a computer in every desktop.  People are now starting to find the beginnings of what would become mobility…the ability to do anything, anywhere (at least in theory).  Microsoft was ready to change the paradigm, just as it had with Windows 3.1,  But,which paradigm should they attack?  There was the gaming box, media players, internet applications, and handheld computers (then dominated by Palm).  Which would Microsoft choose?  Which direction would Microsoft steer the computer industry?  The answer:  well, none of them.  Or, to be more clear, all of them.  Over the course of the coming years, Microsoft would put a foot in all of these areas with the X-Box, Windows Portable Media Center, Zune, Internet Applications, Windows Mobile and more.  By failing to choose just one direction, Microsoft also missed a critical opportunity to provide much needed leadership, direction, and focus to the fledgling industry.  Instead, while Microsoft dabbled, without really mastering, any of these different technologies, they were quietly and slowly out innovated in every area.  Before long, the PlayStation, Wii, iPod, Google, Blackberry iPhone, and others, had overtaken them in virtually every major area of development.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Microsoft remained number one only in the increasingly less relevant operating system industry.

Because Microsoft seemed to be pulled in so many directions at once, it really was not able to give any one  — including Windows Mobile — the attention it deserved.  I still remember the fanfare with which Windows Mobile was launched.  At the time, it was revolutionary.  It was cutting edge.  It was the future.  Since then, it seems like the attention it has received from Microsoft has been in a perpetual state of decline.  Although there have been numerous updates to the operating system, most recently with Windows Mobile 6.0 and the upcoming 6.1, there has been no true innovation.  Many of the improvements amounted to the same old thing in a new package.  Many complaints relating to the original Windows Mobile devices (such as the terrible web browsing) are still relevant today.

At the same time, Microsoft further confused the Windows Mobile market by creating three different Windows Mobile devices (touch screen or Classic, touch screen phone or Professional, and non-touch screen or Standard).  Additionally, because there were so many different devices, even within the same class, the hardware varied greatly.  Nonetheless, Microsoft continued to use the same brute force marketing strategy which it had employed with its desktop operating system.  Put Windows Mobile on every device possible.  Of course, this led to a complete lack of marriage between the hardware and the software.  Every device has different controls and requirements, and the operating system had to be tweaked, and even drastically overhauled to meet the specifications of each device and carrier.  The result was that even though two devices both ran Windows Mobile, they would look, feel and behave very differently.  This lack of consistency made technical support almost impossible, with carriers, Microsoft, and device manufacturers all pointing fingers at each other when something goes wrong (not to mention third party developers).

Apple, on the other hand, also took the same developmental approach with the iPhone that it had taken with all of its other computers.  Namely, the hardware and operating system were all developed together, under the same roof.  While this means you have far fewer choices — the iPhone only comes in one flavor — it also means that there is a universal marriage between the hardware and software.  Every iPhone will look and act exactly the same.  If there is a problem, troubleshooting will follow the same steps every time.

Which brings us back to my original question: is Windows Mobile still relevant?  Or has the appraoch of RIM and Apple, both of which develop the operating system and hardware together, rendered Windows Mobile a non-player in the mobile community? Well, I think Windows Mobile does still have a solid foundation and a clear place in the market…for now.  It is absolutely relevant today, and will continue to be so in the short term.  However, it does face significant danger in the long term if it does not make some serious strategic changes.

First, Microsoft needs to take advantage of the current state of the market to bring Windows Mobile up to date.  Five to ten year old ideas simply will not work anymore.  This means, throwing Pocket Internet Explorer (shown above, which has been described as about as much fun as a wet fart in a space suit) and many other components out the window, and implementing features like: an easy, desktop-like web browsing experience, true HTML email, word processing, file exploration, and much more.  Essentially, every aspect of the operating system must be lean, mean and completely updated from the ground up.

Once Microsoft has designed this new operating system, it must develop guidelines for handset manufacturers, so that certain minimally acceptable features and specifications will be met.  This might mean, for example, at least 128 MB of available program memory, at least one GB of storage memory, true VGA screens, and minimum configurations for the controls.  It could also include Bluetooth, Wifi, GPS, and more.  The hardware must also be required to meet certain specifications which could ensure that a single version of the operating system would work on all phones within the same class (in other words, Standard, Professional, and Classic).  Microsoft also needs to make it absolutely clear to both the carriers and the device manufacturers that no changes may be made to the operating system.  They can add software to the device, but the operating system must be hardwired onto the device as it is delivered from Microsoft, no changes or substitutions allowed.

Once Microsoft has established these criteria.  Then the true innovation can begin on the parts of both Microsoft and the handset manufacturers.  This has already started to happen a bit.  Just look at the HTC Touch.  HTC innovated way outside the box with this one, making a sleek and comfortable Windows Mobile phone, which was nothing like any of its predecessors…In fact, the HTC Touch resembled nothing we had ever seen before…except the iPhone.

When I was talking with the JAMM staff about this issue of innovation, Lauren jumped right in stating, "I’ll give MS credit for at least trying to innovate, kind of like I give Tilda Swinton credit for taking a fashion risk at the Oscars. She still looked like she was wearing a trash bag."  Which is one of the reasons I love having Lauren on the team.  But really, she is right.  Innovation means taking calculated risks, but it does not have to mean that you end up wearing a trash bag.

When I think of innovation, I am always reminded of a company called BASF.  BASF is a chemical company, which was popular in the 1980s and 1990s for their work in plastics and plastic coatings.  Their slogan was, "At BASF, we don’t make a lot of the products you like, we make a lot of the products you like better."  This is exactly the lesson Microsoft needs to learn.  Find out what people want and make it better.

Back in the 1990s, when Apple released the iPod, digital media players had been around for some time.  Apple did not invent them by any means.  But they certainly innovated them.  Until the iPod, downloading music from a CD to your computer and then to your media player could be a grueling task, which often ended in frustration.  Digital music would probably never have replaced the CD if we had been left in that pre-iPod world of digital media.  Then, along came the iPod with its easy to use interface and syncing.  Apple did not invent digital music or the digital music player, but, like BASF, Apple made it better.

[image of the Phillips Expanium (l) and iPod Nano (3G)(r) courtesy of Wikipedia]

From this point forward, Microsoft needs to take the approach of BASF and the iPod, constantly asking how can we improve upon the features which are currently available.  If the best web browser is Safari on the iPhone, how can we make a better browser?  Likewise, , the handset manufacturers needs to conduct a similar self-analysis.  Only through such introspection can Microsoft and the handset manufacturers hope to move past the pit of stale ideas in which Windows Mobile currently lies.  Only then can true innovation occur, and hopefully a true marriage between Windows Mobile devices and the operating system.  This does not mean anyone needs to reinvent the wheel.  Only that they need to take a good, hard look at the wheel and make a significantly better wheel.

Finally, Microsoft has to address one of its weakest points to date.  Marketing.  Regardless of whether you love Apple or hate it, love Steve Jobs or hate him, the point must be made that he is a true marketing genius.  His advertising campaigns, such as the 1984 Macintosh ad, above, are some of the best I have ever seen. 

These ads are all incredibly effective.  Most of them take one of two approaches: they either make the Apple product look cool and hip while making the competition look fat, bloated, and ugly; or they simply show the Apple product being used.  Some of the most effective ads I have seen lately show a close up of the iPhone being used, while a voice-over discusses his daily needs.  Simple, effective, and it clearly displays what the iPhone can do.

Contrast this with the only advertising campaign I have seen coming out of Microsoft in decades: the Zune ads.  These ads depict…well, I have no idea what they depict.  They range from the surreal to the simply bizarre, and leave you scratching your head.  Here is another one.

They certainly do not leave you with the impression that the Zune is cool, hip, or even easy to use.  In fact, the only impression they leave is "what the heck did I just see."  This, more than anything is Microsoft’s biggest failing.

In fact, I would argue that the two most important things a technology company can do is make an attractive package, and market the heck out of it.  Put those two things together, and most non-technical people don’t care about what the thing can actually do or not do.

Just look at the MacBook Air.  It is missing what some people feel are critical features.  But most people don’t care.  The reason is that Apple created an extremely attractive package for it, and a brilliant marketing campaign, in which they essentially told you that the only important feature is the package.  Really, Microsoft needs to tear a page out of the New England Patriots’ playbook and start videotaping Apple’s marketing strategy sessions.  I bet they could learn a thing or two.

So, is Windows still relevant?  You bet.  And it can continue to be competitive and relevant for years to come.  There is a clear future in which Windows Mobile and Apple can coexist as competitors, just as Blackberry has coexisted with Windows Mobile (and to a lesser extent, Palm, Symbian, and others).  Yesterday’s news did not make me rush out and drop my Windows Mobile device in favor of an iPhone.  For starters, I think Apple made a critical mistake by locking the iPhone into a single carrier.  This leaves a lot of users without any chance of owning an iPhone.  For me, switching to AT&T would be a dealbreaker right off the bat.  I am also concerned about the lack of a keyboard and the need for an onscreen input device, although Dan assures me that that is much less of a concern than I seem to think.  So, no.  I do not think that yesterday’s news has irreparably shattered Windows Mobile’s relevance…at least not yet.  I will say, however, that where I used to look at the iPhone and see a dead end; with the advent of the SDK, I can now look at it and see a long road into the future.  And that is a very treacherous road for Windows Mobile.

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