Although its share is slowly increasing, Microsoft’s Windows Phone has not achieved the level of success the company likely expected by now.
That’s unfortunate, because while Android — the market leader — can be seen as an extension of ideas popularized by iOS, and iOS itself is often criticized as being conservative in terms of new features, Windows Phone brought genuinely fresh design and interface innovations to the market.
Microsoft is now partnering with Telefónica in an effort to strengthen Windows Phone’s position against its two main rivals. Over the coming year, the influential carrier will ramp up advertising campaigns for Windows Phone in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Chile, aiming to challenge what it calls the current Android–iOS duopoly.
This move should benefit Nokia, whose smartphone business depends heavily on Windows Phone’s success. There were recent reports of Microsoft exploring an acquisition of the Finnish manufacturer, but those discussions reportedly did not lead to a deal.
It’s notable that Telefónica, which has previously supported emerging mobile platforms such as Mozilla’s Firefox OS, has not extended the same level of backing to BlackBerry 10.
According to an IDC report released last month, Windows Phone has overtaken BlackBerry to claim third place in global smartphone market share, signaling steady progress for Microsoft.
One ongoing challenge for Windows Phone and the wider Windows 8 ecosystem is how different the platform is compared with previous versions of the popular desktop OS and with competing mobile systems. This difference extends beyond aesthetics to overall interaction paradigms and app behavior.
Porting apps between Android and iOS used to pose a major challenge, but it has become easier thanks to powerful cross-platform development tools and the shared design conventions the two platforms employ. By contrast, Windows Phone’s distinctive design language and interaction model require developers to adapt apps more substantially to deliver a natural user experience on Microsoft’s platform.
Windows Phone may receive an indirect boost from changes at Apple. With iOS 7 adopting a much flatter visual style, some observers have noted a resemblance to the kind of forward-thinking design Microsoft introduced with Windows Phone.
What are your thoughts on Windows Phone and the Microsoft–Telefónica partnership?