Monday, November 21, 2011

The sea of opportunity called Mobile

Recent ComScore data has shown that of the 250million US mobile users, only around 70 million have smartphones. Of that market, Android currently has the highest share (about half the market) followed by Apple (at 26%). However, a Mashable article thinks that the windows platform is actually the best kept secret out there, and here is why.

The mobile interface allows for one tap access that brings out a well thought out ecosystem that is largely driven by your Windows live or Hotmail account. It then brings in all contacts from your account and weaves it into other phone services like Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn. Office files saved on the phone are saved to your SkyDrive (cloud). Simplicity is the name of the game and all phones have a Windows Phone home button, Bing search button, and the ability to bring the camera simply by holding the physical camera button for a second or so. Tapping each picture allows you to automatically share it on Facebook, Twitter, or both. The user experience is smooth and rivals that of the iPhone.

As I look to upgrade my smartphone to the latest and greatest, a few dilemmas come to mind. The iPhone currently has the largest and most current applications. Developers tend to develop the application for the iPhone first followed by Android as a close second. The user interface is sleek and the brand identity that comes with Apple is undeniable. The Siri application is an added plus. However, in terms of user interface and processing, the iPhone 4S does not compare to some of its competitors. It is behind Samsung in some of the latest technology and is on the Apple iOS platform that is not open sourced like the Android. In my decision I also ponder the fact that I will always be a laggard when it comes to mobile as the landscape changes so quickly. In the fight between the Android and Apple platform, perhaps the Windows platform will emerge the winner in two years. If that is the case, I will once again be out of date.

For more information on the Windows phone platform go here:
http://mashable.com/2011/11/19/windows-phone-best-platform/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29#


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