Windows Offers "A New Way to App"

This morning, Windows officially introduced its Windows 8 Phone (winning the prize for most original name).  Unlike Apple, Windows will be unveiling its features slowly, so we are presently only privy to a few of its newest features - including a new "tiled" screen and more apps than one user could possibly use.  The interactive "live tiles" are meant to make the Windows 8 Phone entirely customizable, allowing users to adjust the size of each tile based on the apps or functions they use the most.  It's an eye-catching idea, but I suspect the larger draw is the Windows 8 operating system, which is based off of Windows 8 technology. Among other features, the new OS offers multi-core processor support, higher resolution screens, flexible file storage and internet explorer 10.

Although it sometimes feels like everyone has an iphone, we are still in a stage where consumers are switching over to their first smart phones and testing which ones they prefer.  I have many friends who refuse to switch to Apple computers because they are unfamiliar with its OS and unwilling to navigate their way through new short cuts or foreign mouse pads.  I wonder if, when consumers land on their preferred smart-phones, the cost of switching will be as high as it is for their laptops.  For Windows users, it may now be even more difficult to extract oneself from a Windows-saturated life.  Now that their phone mimics their tablet technology so closely, Windows may have helped themselves secure an additional slice of the market solely because of the easy compatibility from one to the other.  It seems as if the contrast between self-proclaimed "Apple people" and "Windows people" will only become more stark.