With all the talk of iPads and Androids, it’s easy to forget to forget that Microsoft has been in the mobile business for some time now, which is something that the company is eager to remedy with a new version of its Windows Mobile platform.
Built with ease of use in mind, Windows Phone 7 pulls together many of Microsoft’s existing products and services such as Xbox Live, Zune and the Bing search engine, and arranges them into ‘hubs’ of related content. “We wanted the software experience to fundamentally focus on what is most important to each individual user,” said Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore at the launch.
According to research firm Canalys, Microsoft currently commands around 9% if the current smartphone market, putting it in fourth place behind Symbian, Rim and Apple. “This is obviously a huge step forward,” said Canalys’s Pete Cunningham. “Microsoft have really struggled with windows mobile 6 and 6.5 and have been losing market share off the back of it.”
However, he said, the firm could not “rest on its laurels”.
“Although it looks good today and competitive today, the other firms haven’t revealed their hand. It doesn’t launch for another eight or nine months and that’s a long time in the mobile world.”
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