Microsoft Makes The Case For Mobile With A Comprehensive OS Update In ...
The recent release of Windows Phone 8.1 to developers and the media this week has shown Microsoft at its iterative best, but the underlying story is a simple one. Microsoft have managed to establish themselves as one of the main players in the mobile and smartphone place, and Windows Phone 8.1 will lead the battle on multiple fronts throughout 2014 and beyond.
One thing that has clearly changed since the first launch of Windows Phone 7 is the story behind the operating system. Windows Phone is now clearly established as the third operating system. Through all the noise and love in the room for BlackBerry, the BB10 OS has had no appreciable impact in the consumer space during 2013. The story is no longer about establishing Microsoft's mobile OS as the alternative to Android - it is the alternative to Android.
Discounting iOS (because Apple will not be offering it to third-parties), Windows Phone can stand up and proclaim that if a manufacturer is looking for an alternative to Android, then the only logical choice in 2014 is Windows Phone. Microsoft is 'last man standing', has pulled up the ladder for the alternatives, and can start to attack the soft underbelly of Android in the low-price high-volume market.
The Windows Phone offering to manufacturers has been much improved over the last few weeks. New CEO Satya Nadella has implemented a number of strategy changes that have reduced Microsoft's reliance on the traditional lock-in, pushing a vision of a Microsoft Cloud that can be accessed from iOS, OSX, and Android, alongside Windows and Windows Phone.
The biggest saving for manufactures is in the licensing costs. Following an announcement at the recent Build Conference, devices running any of the Windows 8 family with screens under nine inches will not pay a licence fee for the OS to Microsoft. At a stroke that puts Windows Phone on a rough par with Android. The small print might bring along some variants (such as testing, certification, and patent licensing) but in the market where handsets can have a bill of materials on the order of $40-$50, removing the Microsoft licence fee has a huge impact on the profitability of a design.
Microsoft will help lower those costs even more, through the Windows Phone reference designs announced at this year's Mobile World Congress, and the use of similar hardware and chipsets to the leading Android designs.
All of these were delivered without Windows Phone 8.1, which should really be seen as the final part of the first puzzle. Windows Phone as a platform has always been seen as lacking a number of features that are regarded as ' requirements ' by many consumers.
That is no longer the case. Windows Phone 8.1 can legitimately be regarded as ' feature complete ' and ready to offer the full package to consumers, which includes a notification center, improved live tiles, Swype-like functionality in the keyboard, and voice recognition.
Interest has zeroed in on the voice recognition and 'personal assistant' technology. Named ' Cortana ' after the AI in Microsoft's 'Halo' franchise (smart marketing), it's going to be compared to Siri (and to a lesser extend Google's voice search). That might seem a hindrance, but Windows Phone can now be compared in a fair fight.
Many of the changes take the shine off the unique features of Windows Phone and bring them closer to the 'default' that Android provides, which is a better deal for the consumer. The inclusion of a third 'column' of Live Tiles means you have more information on the start screen, but now the start screen feels more like a grid of icons than on any other handset. I'm sure the long-term Windows Phone users will stay with the larger tiles, but I would expect many new users to treat the Live Tiles as capable app icons and start building up a basic grid of apps and use the start screen as a launcher.
All of these changes, and many more under the hood, will make Windows Phone a friendlier device to consumers on the High Street.
It's the changes for the Enterprise that will deliver true value. The inclusion of IPSec VPN and SSL VPN support has been long-awaited, and S/MIME encryption of emails is also provided. IT managers will also welcome the wide-ranging mobile device management tools which will give them far better control over Windows Phone 8.1 than any of the previous versions.
There is still an app gap for third-party support - the inability to work with many peripherals (such as the recent rush to smartwatches) is going to be an issue for some users. Applications and games rarely make the jump to Windows Phone (not even Flappy Bird's original developer could bring himself to port the successful game to the platform). Web services also suffer the same issues when you look for a smartphone client - iOS is almost always found, and Android options are mostly present.
While Android has many web services and apps it is still the 'second choice' mobile platform for many developers to consider, with iOS getting the priority in the majority of Silicon Valley projects. While the gap to Android is there, Android has its own app gap to deal with as well. Then you have to consider the impact that the universal application will have, allowing developers to code for Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1, and Xbox, all in the same installation file with heavy code reuse.
Microsoft finally has a mobile operating system that is fit for purpose. There is still a long way to go to match Android's market share, mind share, developer acceptance, and ubiquity across manufacturers, but Redmond should be proud to have found a stable position in the modern mobile marketplace. That position was not a guarantee when they started out on the Windows Phone project.
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