Photo: Apple

With the app store, Apple all but introduced an entirely new marketplace for developers to sell their wares. An early gold rush set in with some developers raking in millions of dollars from single apps that often cost a mere $2 and even $0.99 in the most extreme cases.

These developers helped fortify the iPhone’s dominance in the high-end smartphone category and every other mobile OS has now realised they need a similar bustling industry.

The developer’s conundrum

The developer’s conundrum is quite simple: devs want a platform with mass scale to build for that is not saturated by other developers, so as to ‘guarantee’ the mega returns that were experienced in the early days of the iPhone. But the paradox is this – consumers are becoming savvy to the need for a bustling app developer community around a mobile OS platform, but app developers want consumers to be there before they commit – a classic chicken and egg scenario.

The incentive

As such, the onus falls on the platform provider to entice developers to jump onto the bandwagon if they want to stand a chance of even competing in the smartphone market. Here we’re talking specifically Nokia, webOS and Windows Phone 7 Series, since iOS (Apple’s mobile OS) and Google Android are now proven entities.

Photo: Nokia

Microsoft has tried this recently by waving money in mobile games developers’ faces so that they port their popular iPhone games over to Windows Phone 7 Series. This, from early reports, has seen moderate success, since the incentive doesn’t necessarily exceed the effort to do this porting. And Windows Phone 7 Series is still unproven.

Our recommended solution

Another solution, one we haven’t seen practiced but could work, is a riff on Microsoft’s solution. Instead of getting developers to port their games for money, give an incentive to developers to develop original content by having a competition of sorts wherein each device shipped ships with those apps already on it. Bake the price of the game into the wholesale price of Windows Phone 7 Series device so that each game shipped earns each developer a dollar. The prospect of 10-50 million dollars from one remarkable game will incentivise the very best the industry has to offer. And the green lining? Well, those mobile apps and mobile games that don’t ship stock standard with the phone will be available on your market place day one, too.

How’s that for some early momentum? Think about it: team Windows Phone 7 Series, webOS and Nokia Ovi. It could work. 100,000 plus apps on Apple’s app store is a lot to compete with, but a small fraction are any good. If you had a bunch of very good apps early on for your mobile OS platform, perhaps people will take note.

Photo: Microsoft

Someone needs to walk the hallways of Microsoft’s sprawling compound and start asking questions. Starting with: ‘How are we going to solve this Apple problem?’, followed by, ‘How exactly do we plan on selling 30 million Windows Phone 7 Series in less than 18 months?’

Chart-busting numbers (in dream land)

During a presentation at reMIX, Mobile Tech World snapped a pic of a Microsoft chart with the IDC research estimate that come the end of next year, 30 million Windows Phone 7 Series handsets will be in users’ hands. That, in case you want some back of the napkin arithmetic, is 2 million units per month (assuming Windows Phone 7 Series comes out at the end of Q3). And that’s around 65,000 units per day, a figure Android is only now approaching.

What we’re getting at, if you haven’t gleaned it already, is that that is a very high, likely improbable, borderline impossible number of phones for a new OS to sell in so short a time frame.

Photo: Android

Sure, MS bases much of this research on the assumption that smartphones will account for 40 per cent of all mobile phones sales in 2011, compared to the 14 per cent they currently account for in 2010, but still, 30 million in just over a year? While the iPhone and Google Android stand around twiddling their thumbs? Come on, Microsoft!

Crazy or just brilliant?

Whether it’s Microsoft or it’s IDC, one of the parties is either on far too much Kool-Aid or they know something the rest of us do not. It took the iPhone 3 full years to reach the 50 million units milestone – that’s just over 16.5 million units per year. Frankly, someone at Windows Phone 7 Series needs to let the team know that something isn’t right with those numbers, if, indeed, those are the legitimate ‘we’re-sticking-to-this-and-not-just-talking-about-it’ internal estimations or, at the very least, let us non-believers in on their secret formula.

Photo: Microsoft

With Apple’s market cap overtaking Microsoft’s for the first time ever, it stands to reason that many are scratching their heads over at Redmond wondering what happened. Here we look at what Microsoft’s done wrong the last five years as we search for clues on what they can do to remedy their situation. In fairness, between Windows 7, Office 2010 and, yes, the Xbox 360, Microsoft’s already on its way – but problems first.

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is possibly Microsoft’s biggest mistake of the last half decade. The uninspiring, incomplete, bloated operating system undersold, giving Windows 7 a heavy burden. Windows Vista was so bad in fact, many users stuck with the more familiar Windows XP. And, with the Windows group coupled with the Office group contributing the bulk of Microsoft’s revenue, to have one half of your one-two underperforming will depress any company’s share price.

Windows mobile

Windows mobile was an underdeveloped, highly fragmented, underperforming misstep, too. Apple and Google Android have since stolen Microsoft’s thunder in the mobile OS category, but Microsoft under-innovated in a space it had the jump on everybody. With the iPhone OS platform and the App store generating the obscene revenues it currently is, therein lies evidence of the opportunity Windows mobile left behind.

In both product instances, Microsoft had become lazy, and it took the market not responding and competitors taking Microsoft money for the company to realise this.

The silver lining

Photo: Microsoft

This is not all doom and gloom, though. Microsoft is still a massive company, larger than many global economies. Furthermore, the company’s recent product set has us believing Steve Ballmer and co. have turned the corner in resuming normal, awe-inspiring activities. Windows 7 and Office 2010 bring the stability only core products can offer such a massive company. But, in the Windows Phone 7 Series, the Xbox 360 and Microsoft’s cloud computing initiatives, the company has three nascent product sets that could be game changing. They have strong competitors in each category, but Microsoft has financial resources and engineering talent the envy of companies (and governments) worldwide. It just takes perfect execution.

Remember, Steve Ballmer, ‘Developers, developers, developers’!

Photo: Microsoft

Windows Mobile, one of the first true mobile operating systems, has languished in the smartphone wars against Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone OS. Microsoft is set to pull the curtains back on its latest – and possibly final – mobile operating system soon.

Shrinking support

Photo: HTC

Windows Mobile is severely underpowered compared to Google and Apple’s offerings. With highly unresponsive touch interfaces that, for the most part, still require the outdated use of a stylus to operate effectively, users and manufacturers alike have jumped platforms. HTC, for the first time in its history, shipped more Android smartphones than they did Windows Mobile. This bears significance for Microsoft, since HTC is the biggest manufacturer of Windows Mobile. In addition, HTC has stated (and indicated) that it intends to support Android more in future, so much so that the search giant approached them to build the first ever Google-branded phone, the Nexus One.

Turnaround strategy

Photo: Android

Microsoft attempted to stem the tide by releasing an update of its mobile operating system in the form of Windows Mobile 6.5 back in October 2009. While praised for its much-needed visual upgrade, the operating system was criticised for lacking contemporary touch responsiveness, still being visually bland compared to competitors, and for running slowly.

To this effect, Windows Mobile 7 could very well be Microsoft’s final roll of the dice in a smartphone market that is consolidating at a rapid pace. Nokia’s abandonment of Symbian for an alternate operating system is indicative that the mobile operating systems environment has changed significantly since Microsoft and Nokia were the only players in the game.

Desperate measures

So, come next week, Microsoft had better unveil technology more in line with contemporary expectations if it hopes to not get shut out of this lucrative market.

The Palm Treo Pro 850 is a mobile phone which features QWERTY and is also quite high on style. It has some very attractive features which has made it popular in many markets across the world. The operating system used in it is the Windows Mobile 6.1 professional edition which provides the users with a beautiful and engaging interface. The processor used in it is the 400 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201 dual core which provides an exceptional processing speed. The in-built memory is 256MB, sufficient for storing considerable data. The visual department is enlightened by the 2.5 inch TFT monitor that exudes trans-reflective colour and produces a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels. The radio facility in the Palm Treo Pro 850 is HSDPA and supports all types of modulation like GPRS, GSM and UMTS. The wireless internet facility installed is Wi Fi 802.11b/g.

Additional features include a Bluetooth connection of 2.0. The camera used in it is 2.0 Mega Pixels with 8x digital zoom. This helps in capturing images from close quarters. Video capturing is flawless with supreme clarity and processing. The Micro SDHC feature provides extra leverage for extendable memory which will help the user store multimedia files of his/her choice. The 3.5mm audio jack will help the user listen to all favourite songs in secrecy. The battery used in the Palm Treo Pro 850 is the 1500mAh lithium ion battery which is removable and runs the mobile for a long time. Buy the mobile phone for the variety of features in it and its user friendliness. You will get complete value for money.

The iMate PDAL has been placed quite well in the league of successes. Company would include the SP range and the Jam/Kjam. The design is so spectacular that mobile operators like Orange have started buttoning up designs for themselves. The PDAL excels in following steps set by the SP5 which was tested a year back. It is a quad band smartphone that runs on Windows Mobile 5.0 and has a 200Mhz processor. It does not support 3G technology but is capable of handling GPRS apart from housing a 802.11b/g wireless LAN. The build quality is fantastic and the RF performance deserves applause. The MP3 player rocks especially with stereo sound. The Micro SD card attached in it is a bonus.

It also has the potential to handle WEP as well as WPA2 courtesy its small screen that looks perfectly fitted. The 2.4” touch screen and stylus module gives it a corporate look. The battery is pretty strong and will make the phone survive for long hours. The information that comes in the manual will help the user understand the phone in a much uncomplicated manner. The PIM functionality when combined with the WiFi helps in opening multiple applications at a time. The in-built memory is 64MB and the battery life is touted to go on for 4 days at a stretch. It is as high end as the BlackBerry 8100 Pearl and just as user friendly as Nokia smartphones like the E71. So just in case you end up buying it, you will get full value for money.

No matter what the rumours say, Microsoft’s chief executive Steve Ballmer recently announced that the company has no plans to develop its own smartphones. Instead, Microsoft will continue focusing on the development of software that run on different mobile computing platforms. The company is known for its expertise in software code development and not for building any sort of hardware; other than maybe the Xbox 360. Thus, Ballmer believes that hardware vendors can concentrate on making up the building and the Microsoft will fuel it with cutting edge applications.

Ballmer also said that the company has intentions to develop its own smartphone in order to directly compete with major smartphone vendors like Apple with its iPhone and BlackBerry. He said, “The consumer market mojo is with Apple and to a lesser extent with BlackBerry. It is not our strategy to build our own phone. It’s our strategy to build software that can stretch across many devices.”

Microsoft believes that it can make more money by offering Windows Mobile Operating System on existing low-end smartphones, like the Samsung SGH-i600, as well on forthcoming feature-rich models. The sale of smartphones is likely to increase in future and the Microsoft is stringently focusing on the further enhancement of its Windows Mobile OS. The new Windows Mobile will offer better user interface, new applications and content backup services and will prove itself a better competitor of Symbian and Android.

Scalado, the company known for its sophisticated imaging software solutions, has recently revealed about the optimisation of its image technology that is to be used with the Texas Instruments’ OMAP 3 processor based devices; including all the leading mobile phones running on the Windows Mobile platform, like the HTC Touch Pro Raphael, as well. Scalado has worked closely with Texas Instruments for enhancing its imaging solutions and offer unprecedented imaging capabilities to the mobile professionals.

The imaging software product from Scadalo will enhance the productivity and performance in every aspect. Right from image management to image browsing, zooming and panning, all the functions have been optimised for better integration with the device and high quality. After the launch of its Zero Shutter Lag technology Scalado started working with Texas Instruments to optimise its SDK and related modules so that it can be used with the TI’s OMAP 3 platform. The optimised version of imaging softwares promises further growth and development of both Scalado and TI.

Fadi Abbas, Co-Founder and VP Business Development and Partnerships at Scalado commented, “Our work with TI is further proof that Scalado has earned its reputation as one of the leading players in the mobile imaging space. Customers of both TI and Scalado are increasingly aware of the benefits made possible when imaging software and hardware are optimized for best performance. As a result, both of our companies are completely dedicated to pursuing further cooperation in this area.”

Tags for this article: mobile, smartphones

Microsoft is currently creating lots of buzz about its new Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. The company claims that the new incarnation of Windows Mobile platform will bring an intuitive user interface with feature rich web browsing experience. The new mobile platform also boasts of its new My Phone service that is expected to offer the users an easy way to backup and sync their mobile data to the web. That’s quite impressive but the main issue is that the mobile phones based on the Windows Mobile 6.5 will take another few months to hit the consumer market.

But is it really necessary to wait for such a long time? It’s not, especially when you are ready to sacrifice a good looking hexagonal type navigation dashboard. If you are only concerned with the back up services and multimedia rich web browsing experience then you have excellent alternatives for that. You can simply choose Dashwire, the popular free data backup service for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 phones like the HTC S740. The Dashwire application can sync your call log, texts, contacts, photos, videos and ring tones to an online dashboard.

For multimedia rich web browsing experience it’s better to download Opera Mobile or Skyfire instead of waiting for the revamped Microsoft Internet Explorer. The latest version of Skyfire has got built-in Flash 10, Silverlight 2.0 and Quicktime to play media directly from the browser. On the other hand, the Opera Mobile has got the same icon based navigation system that is incorporated in the new IE and works fine with the current version of Windows Mobile.

Microsoft has confirmed that next generation smartphones will be based on the new iteration of Windows Mobile platform called Windows Mobile 6.5. The new version mobile operating system will bring a whole new intuitive user interface to the consumers. There is no room left for navigational difficulties and ambiguity. Now you don’t have to search for frequently used applications in the drop down menus. All of them can be pinned separately on a dashboard for instant access. The Microsoft Corporation also claims that the Windows Mobile 6.5 will offer richer web browsing experience on the move.

Two new services are included in the new version of Windows Mobile, i.e. My Phone and Windows Marketplace for Mobile. The My Phone can be used to sync text messages, photos, video, contacts and other items to the web. It will be offered free of cost and will allow the users to backup their data and store it online. In case the user changes his phone or looses the data, he can then easily restore all the stuff in no time. The Windows Marketplace for Mobile is intended to offer direct-to-phone mobile applications that will be accessible via phone and the web. This Windows Marketplace application offers an integrated marketplace for searching and purchasing mobile applications, either through the phone itself or through a PC using Windows Live ID. Microsoft hopes this will make its Windows Mobile phones, like the HTC Touch 3G, just as appealing to consumers as Apple’s iPhone with its large selection of apps. The consumers will be able to download the applications of their choice and then customise the mobile as per their taste. This way, the Windows Mobile 6.5 offers a truly personal space as compared to its previous incarnations.

The Windows Mobile 6.5 has got an improved touch screen interface too (may be multi-touch functionality is still not there). It will bridge the existing gap among people, interactivity and applications.