As news is pouring in from GSMA, I really reacted on this quote from Microsoft of the success of Apple as quoted by Moconews in an interview:
Apple’s success with the iPhone: Why has Apple been able to move the market so rapidly and Microsoft hasn’t? Lees: “What Apple was able to do was integrate hardware and software very closely. It benefited from having the first-mover advantage. Our fundamental strategy and our choice is to drive innovation by having different form factors vs. having one phone out at the same time. This approach takes slightly longer to move an industry. You saw it in the early days of the PC, too. The same thing happened where Apple had 35 percent share of all the PCs sold, but they weren’t able to compete over the long-term.”
Are you kidding me? First mover advantage? What has Apple possibly done that could not have been done by Microsoft 10 years ago? Nice admittance of sitting on your ….. for so long and blaming Apple’s success on your short comings. The term falling asleep at the wheel is probably more appropriate. Too bad as well, because I personally think Windows Mobile is the best OS around – at least from a business user’s perspective.
Great post JT. It is a pretty squirmy answer, though I’m not sure I would agree that MS were ever really capable of making a phone as good as the iPhone. With the benefit of hindsight they possibly could, but Apple’s whole business is oriented towards killer experience design, whereas MS is more about services and utility. It’s a different strategy that of course will produce different results. IMHO, Apple’s process will make a better mobile every time.