The Big Winner of CES 2012 Is… Microsoft?
By Ed Oswald | Friday, January 13, 2012 at 11:35 pm
For a company whose CES swan song is this year, and whose CEO gave a pretty boring keynote address, Microsoft seems to have had an uncommonly successful CES. Windows Phone went into the show a struggling also-ran mobile operating system, and very well may have come out of it a contender.
Why’s that? Two phones made their debut at the show, the Nokia Lumia 900 and the HTC Titan II. Both have been getting glowing reviews from the press for their form and function. Finally it appears Microsoft has devices that look compelling. It couldn’t do much worse: there’s only one way and that’s up!
I think a lot of people expected this to happen once the Nokia deal was announced last year. Nokia making such a commitment to Windows Phone was bound to pay off. The designs coming out of the company are just visually striking and beautiful, and complement an already visually stunning user interface.
The Lumia and Titan II’s feature sets are also competitive, another major selling point that Windows Phone devices have been falling behind on.
Picking up my first Windows Phone device last year, I was shocked at how far Microsoft has come — and apparently so are a lot of other journalisst. I’m willing to bet with such positive coverage coming out of CES, combined with what is expected to be a marketing push valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Windows Phone will make progress in the market place.
I don’t think Windows Phone is set to become the new Android, but I do believe this is now a legitimate three-horse race.
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8 Comments For This Post
January 14th, 2012 at 12:15 am
Would you say that Windows Phone could be recommended for someone who finds Android too complex?
January 14th, 2012 at 1:05 am
Windows Phone is a wonderful operating system. I would recommend it to anyone, from first time smartphone users to pros.
January 14th, 2012 at 6:19 am
I have a few colleagues who have a Windows Phone.
I've had an iPhone for years and I love it, but I'll tell you my impression if their phones, for what that's worth.
They don't seem to be particularly easier to use than an iPhone; in fact, they can be confusing at first. They are less fiddly than Androids, though.
Like Androids, they tend to be more sluggish than an iPhone, but not as bad as an equivalent Android.
Myself, I find the UI bland and uninspired, but a lot of people like it because it's so plain. It can be difficult to figure out what you can tap, swipe or pinch, though.
Personally I *really* don't like the parallax views with the text and controls perpetually cut off or just off screen. Reminds me of those awful list views in Windows that never seem to size themselves correctly and either waste horizontal space with truncating columns or are just too wide for the window and have to be scrolled left & right.
The people that have them like them well enough. But that's true of the Android users I know which is an enigma to me. Android always seemed like the phone for the "I want an iPhone, but I hate Apple" crowd.
January 15th, 2012 at 8:26 pm
1. Windows Phone is the "Mac" of smartphones. It has the fanciest looking OS but it is severely lacking in quality software.
2. iPhone is the "Windows" of smart phones. It has everything and it will do everything. But for the most part, it's pretty generic looking.
3. Android is the "Linux" of smart phones (it actually is). It has a lot of software but doesn't hold up to iPhone, and the only reason you have one is because you either didn't want to look like a hipster, couldn't afford an iPhone, or you're a linux geek.
I love my Windows Phone but it just doesn't have enough Apps or Xbox Live games. If you think Android is too complicated, Windows Phone is worth a shot. But if you know the lack of apps and games is going to get on your nerves, iPhone is the sure fire way to happiness.
Source: I am a Linux (and Windows) Geek, iPhone Lover, and Xbox Gamer. =]
January 18th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
I have an iPhone and bought a WP7 phone as an emergency backup. Having used the WP7 phone on wifi only for the time being, I will say it has some perks, and some weaknesses.
The WP7 marketplace is the worst of the 3 systems. Half of the apps I encounter in the market aren't even in English. And some applications, such as those by Comixology, don't function as smoothly as they do on an iPhone.
Where WP7 really shines is the original declaration to "save us from our phones". There's a Facebook app. Why, I don't know. It's redundant. If you connect your Facebook account you get status updates under "People", new photos in "Pictures" and messages in — you guessed it — "Messages". Notification is prompt and it is very evident. The tile system let's you see what's new, let's you get to it quick, and let's you put the phone away.
If you know someone who is looking for a phone to do nothing more than check Facebook and e-mail, this is a good choice. If they have to do anything else, recommend Android or iOS.
January 14th, 2012 at 6:08 am
If I had a dollar for every "glowingly reviewed" product by an effusive tech press that ended up doing absolutely nothing …
January 16th, 2012 at 8:48 pm
Hopefully MSFT smartphones don’t become the next Android
Android’s a malware magnet, says McAfee
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57328575-83/andr…
January 19th, 2012 at 3:15 am
Microsoft is one of the best company in this world right now !!
There is no doubt in it 😉 If you need more microsoft information then they are planning to open branches in all world then you can take the information. 😉