Making Windows Phone 7 a Success
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5. Stay true to usability
Although some have taken issue with Windows
Phone 7's unique design, most folks who have gotten their hands on the
software say that the fluid-grid style makes a lot of sense. They say it's nice
to not have the basic layout available on iOS or Android. If that's the case
with consumers all over the world, Microsoft should try to champion that
usability. After all, the company with the best experience will likely win out.
And if Microsoft can prove it has the best user experience, it can go a long
way in reasserting itself in the mobile market.
6. Try not to be Microsoft
The last thing Microsoft should try to do right now is follow
its typical strategy of releasing software to vendors and hoping that it
sticks. Windows 7 is a much different product from Windows Phone 7. The company's
desktop operating system is heavily entrenched and a perennial favorite with
customers. Windows Phone 7 needs to prove its worth in the mobile market.
Microsoft can't expect a Windows 7-like strategy to work with its mobile OS.
7. Play the Vista game-again
Windows Vista and Windows Mobile are extremely similar. They
both failed to deliver the experience that consumers wanted. In many cases,
customers either opted for the operating system they were working with or went
with something other than a Microsoft product. However, with Windows 7's
success, Microsoft has proved that it knows how to overcome that adversity. It
must do the same with Windows Mobile. It can acknowledge it wasn't what it was
supposed to be and then start focusing all of its efforts on Windows Phone 7.
After all, if it worked with Windows 7, why can't it work with Microsoft's
mobile OS?
8. Support the decisions
The last thing Microsoft should do right now is lose its
strong support for what it created. Yes, Windows Phone 7 might have some flaws
that should be addressed, but now is not the time to call attention to those.
Microsoft should simply send its design team to their offices to improve the
OS, while trying to prove to customers why Windows Phone 7 is such a viable
option. Maintaining support for Windows Phone 7 is extremely important.
9. Don't try to be Apple
Although Apple is wildly successful in the mobile market, it
wouldn't make much sense for Microsoft to try to be like Steve Jobs and
Company. Apple delivers its products to customers in a specific way, and it
nearly always succeeds at what it does. Microsoft delivers its products in its own
specific way, and
the company has been successful doing that. Now is not the time to lose
focus on what Microsoft is all about. It has worked this far, and there is no
reason to change that now.
10. Double down on third-party development
One of the first issues Microsoft will run into as it gets
past worldwide launches and digs into growing Windows Phone 7 is the
availability of third-party applications. Currently, Apple has hundreds of
thousands of programs available in its App Store. There are more than 100,000
apps available in the Android Market. Microsoft's store has a fraction of that.
The sooner the software giant can close that gap and deliver hundreds of
thousands of apps to customers, the better. It's a matter of success or failure
in the mobile market. It's something that Microsoft can't afford to overlook.
