Saturday, February 26, 2011

Nokia Microsoft Windows Phone Preview

Nokia Microsoft Windows Phone Preview ; Microsoft has finally stepped up to the plate and delivered a new smartphone operating system, called Windows Phone 7. It's shiny and distinct, and very different from both the iPhone's iOS and Android. But while Samsung and HTC have already built Windows phones using it, they haven't caught on so well, leaving Microsoft in a tight spot ... sort of like Nokia, who've seen their fortunes decline markedly since the rise of the iPhone and Android.

Rather than build modern phones with Google's open-source Android operating system, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop -- former head of Microsoft's business division -- predictably chose to partner with Microsoft, and build Windows phones with them. So far all we've seen is the concept artwork, and it does look very shiny. But if we look at the people involved, we can make a few guesses about what those shiny phones will be like.

Hardware by Nokia

Nokia makes cell phone hardware, dozens and dozens of different models of it. Aside from their cameras, which are reportedly outstanding, the biggest thing they have going for them is the supply and distribution network that lets them make so many phones for so cheap. Indeed, one of the big benefits being touted about the partnership is that they'll "bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points."

The downside is that those CGI models probably only represent the upper range of what they'll be making. There will probably be tons of cheaper Nokia phones that don't look as nice, plus competing Windows Phone models from Samsung and HTC. Besides that, most of the cost of a smartphone is absorbed by the cost of the data plan, which is why you can get a new Android phone for a single cent on a typical two-year contract. It'd be hard for Nokia to beat that.

Software by Microsoft

Nokia's blog gives "Five reasons to get excited about a Microsoft partnership," including Microsoft Office, Zune Marketplace music, and games from XBox Live. Whatever you may think of Windows and Microsoft Office, XBox Live is a popular service, and the Zune experience is streamlined and polished.

The downside is obvious, from Microsoft's history. Their older Windows Mobile operating system was so outdated you had to use a stylus on most of its phones, Palm Pilot-style. And Windows Mobile phones were still being sold in 2010. Windows Phone 7 has arguably caught up to Android and iOS, but for how long? Will Microsoft fall behind again, the next time something big happens?

Putting it all together

So far, things look fairly predictable. Nokia is using hardware components they already know how to make, and Microsoft's shipping an OS they already wrote. Down the road, though, things may fragment a bit. Nokia's been given the power to make unpredictable changes to the Windows Phone operating system; and since their previous efforts at writing software have been a mixed bag, there's no telling if this will improve or destroy the platform.

In the end, though, they may be losing this race. Microsoft has only delivered one update to the Windows Phone software since it shipped four months ago, and it's run into technical problems in the process. If this is the rate they can move at, not only will it be awhile before we see any Nokia Windows phones, they may not be worth using by that time.

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