Nik Rawlinson
It’s mere coincidence that I was advising a friend about which phone to buy on the day Microsoft was showing off Windows Phone 7, its new operating system for mobile handsets. My friend had been offered the HTC Desire handset, which beat the iPhone in almost every category in tests by MacUser’s online sister publication, knowyourmobile.com.
Despite that, he was still lusting after an Apple handset purely on account of the fact that one single application he wanted to run was only available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. (He did end up taking the Desire in the end, as it was free on his chosen contract where the iPhone wasn’t.)
His dilemma, though, made me wonder why I’m such a fervent supporter of the iPhone when by all accounts there are plenty of rival handsets that are at least as good and in many cases better, and I think it comes down to two things: familiarity and choice.
On the first count, I know the iPhone works flawlessly with a very familiar piece of software – iTunes – and works in a way that I already understand, taking its cues from the iPod.
The second count, choice, is more telling. Without producing a software development kit in time for the release of the iPhone 3G, Apple wouldn’t be enjoying the success it now does. Sure the iPhone 4 would still be a best-seller, but to this degree? I think not.
If you don’t believe me, consider this: when Microsoft was pumping the benefits of Windows Phone 7 on its website, it posted a range of app icons, including eBay, Pulse, Tap Tap Revenge and Angry Birds, the latter of which is spreading its wings – already a huge hit on the iPhone (it has sold 6.5 million copies), it’s now available on the Palm Pre and is soon to appear on Android devices.
But not Windows Phone 7.
When developer Rovio pointed this out, it left Microsoft somewhat red-faced and the icon duly disappeared. Of course, there’s nothing to say Angry Birds won’t ever appear on the platform, and I’d be surprised if it didn’t. Rovio’s stated aim is to sell 100,000,000 copies of the game. To do that, it’s going to have to roll it out on the widest range of handsets it can.
However, the slip-up on Microsoft’s part shows that the Redmond-based software giant understands full well that success in this market is no longer determined by your handset’s native features as it was just five years ago. Now its success or failure is determined at least as much by the efforts of your disconnected third-party developer community.
Apple, Microsoft and their rivals had better not forget that.
