After a mediocre performance in the mobile landscape for years, Microsoft has finally made a come back with a bang. Years while being the fast follower to now becoming the followed can better explain this massive transformation, seeing this mighty software giant finally coming to play with the top dogs in the mobile space.
Under the stewardship of Satya Nadella with the “Mobile first, cloud first” approach, Microsoft is now on its way of eating a sizable chunk since it’s rebounding. Traveling through time, I reveal to you that my first real smartphone was a Windows Mobile powered Samsung Omnia Pro B7320, besides the Nokia N70 (An underdog compared to the B7320) that came before it. With that said, I can affirm to you that Microsoft has come a long way to where it stands now on mobile.
From the desktop-esque experience on my Samsung Omnia Pro plagued with an app problem in the Windows Market Place, to the not so stellar Windows Phone 7 and the complete revamping in Windows Phone 8, I can say I have seen it all. Microsoft was fighting so hard to cram the desktop experience on the small screen with Windows Mobile but learned things the hard way with Windows Phone 7 which culminated into a sudden U-turn to come up with a finer Windows Phone 8, it’s later iteration, 8.1 with numericals set to change to Windows 10 for mobile which reviewed recently.
All this mischief happened while the iPhone was playing cool and Google was perfecting it’s game with Android. Experience being the best teacher, Microsoft has a lot to thank the competition for having it enjoy a hot seat that we’re now seeing its brighter side.
Right now I play with a wide array of Microsoft apps and products, previously exclusives to its Windows Phone platform. Be it with my droid or when I head over to the iPhone. This new version of Microsoft has won over many critics, I inclusive since we set off on the wrong foot.
Microsoft everywhere
Starting with the traditional productivity office suite apps, the appraised Sunrise calendar app, the inbox experience with Outlook, One Drive and the list is endless. All these have proven that Microsoft is a force to reckon with when it comes to mobile and the same story is awaiting it’s telling with Windows 10 nearing it’s launch. That latter version of Windows promises us universal apps which I bet will solve Redmond’s longstanding issue on mobile, that being the app gap.
The increased churning out of cheap hardware on the Windows Phone platform should also be watched with concern. The $7 billion fortune spent to revive Redmond’s mobile efforts was a sizable investment which investors will demand to produce results, the results will be Microsoft getting aggressive with its mobile unit which we’re already witnessing.
