Has Windows Phone 7 made Android and Google the new bad guys of mobile phones?

October 12, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka

The always interesting story of modern smartphones had a plot turn yesterday. As Microsoft announced a stable of new devices to launch its re-focused mobile strategy, something funny happened: columnists first compared Windows Phone 7 to Android – not the iPhone.

Since Apple shook-up the smartphone market in 2007, the iPhone has been the standard “How will X affect Y” benchmark for analysis. And while columnists have foolishly asked if Device X would be the mythical “iPhone Killer,” some have opted to wonder if Windows Phone 7 would disrupt Android’s momentum and appeal.

Wired.com was just one of many outlets to quickly bring up Android in its analysis of the Windows Phone 7 launch. A common theme was that the consistency of WinPhone, enabled by Microsoft’s stringent control over the platform, would make Android seem “chaotic.” I’ll let someone else counter or validate the merits of that argument. I’m more interested in the fact that someone is even comparing the two at all. Apple’s iPhone – and now iOS – has been the benchmark of mobile phones. We’re now about 36 hours into an era in which Android is the bellwether that indicates upcoming trends and warrants comparison. You can still count on plenty of Platform X vs. iPhone analysis, but Android is just as likely to garner the comparisons.

Android is no longer the clunky but promising operating system built by engineers competing against the big names that dominate the mobile phone market. Now, it’s the platform built by a mega-company on-track to dominate the global market. The old narrative of Google disrupting the phone industry has peaked. Now, they are an established player that is more Goliath than David. Mighty Microsoft has become the underdog, and Microsoft has brought plenty of rocks to the battle.

I’m anxious to see how much more interesting Android becomes now that it has another competitor. As I argued in a previous article, Android would not be as compelling were it not for Apple and Palm delivering products with arguably superior features. Microsoft’s reinvigorated platform could earn back some of the market share that Windows Mobile surrendered to Android, so Google has to be that much better in order to continue its colossal growth over the past two years.

Google and Android are now Kings of the Hill in the U.S. market. Now they’ll have to figure out how to resist being knocked down it.

Android, commentary, Microsoft, opinion, smartphones, Windows Phone 7

6 Comments

Alatar says:

October 13, 2010 at 7:57 am

Wrong choice of words in the title. Maybe Google and Andy are the new kings of the hill, but surely not the "bad guys". Let me compare : "Totally locked-up platform that gives no choice to users" : WM7 : 1. IOS : 1. Android : 0. "Even Carriers and phone vendors can't customize the phone and the UI" WM7 : 1. IOS : 1. Android : 0. "To create applications for our phones, you MUST use OUR system, OUR tool, OUR language, which are all proprietary patented crap" WM7 : 1. IOS : 1. Android : 0. "We're suing our competitors for infringing on our retarded overly broad patents instead of fighting them in the marketplace" WM7 : 1. IOS : 1. Android : 0. That makes the final score on my "bad-guy-ness scale" WM7 : 4. IOS : 4. Android : 0. So don't say Android is the bad guy
De'Ounte Davis says:

October 13, 2010 at 9:58 am

I do agree, Windows Mobile has burnt some bridges, but I will admit the new does have a lot of eye candy, we will have to wait and se what ginger bread brings to the table
wraith404 says:

October 13, 2010 at 11:23 am

I LOLed. WP7 is a piss in the pond, so to speak. Lets see, it is as locked up as the iPhone, but it has fewer features (like, about the same set the first iPhone came with years ago), and an infant app selection. So against the iPhone, it is an instant failure. Compared to Android, well it is as locked as the iPhone. Fail. The only market this thing hopes to take is people who are both xbox owners and Zune subscribers. I'm sure it will be a nice link for some people, and I'm not against it, but it's not going to bust any charts. Gingerbread is likely being released to developers next week. I can tell you one thing, it's not getting the "3.0" moniker for no reason. For anyone to expect WP7 to make any headway against they should probably wait to see the initial consumer response to WP7 as well as the details of Gingerbread.
t1jordan says:

October 15, 2010 at 11:24 am

The Windows Mobile devices look nice. The problem with windows is nothing is simple. In my opinion the Android platform gives us simplicity and customization. Touch Pro was my first smart phone and I loved it. Once I switched to Android I was sold. I'm never going back. I would purchase a Iphone before going back to Windows Mobile.
Welly Septanto says:

October 15, 2010 at 1:25 pm

I liked Windows Mobile s a lot before… I think it's the best Mobile device. But now, Android looks the best Mobile. In order WP7 is still lacking of features.
Blowfish says:

October 18, 2010 at 1:51 am

I think it hinges a bit on the part "People want to chooes the device they can afford". So far, all WP7 phones are high-end. The hardware demands from MS are very high, culminating in all phones using the /same/ processor. (Honestly, they look pretty similar too, but maybe that's just me.) Even if WP7 is a success in the high-end smartphone market (and I think Google will give them a run for their money there), Android will meanwhile eat up most of the mid-range smartphone market.

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