Having used WP7, it is clear that Microsoft have come up with a very strong product, but with many missing feature and the same could have been said in 2008 of Apple's iOS. Having realised this, I compiled the following table to illustrate the shortcomings of early iOS (2.0) and the current version of WP7.
Feature | Microsoft Windows Phone 7 | Apple iOS 2.0 | Apple iOS 4.0 |
Number of apps | 8154 (16/02/2011) | 15,000 (16/01/2009) | 400,000+ (16/01/2011) |
Cut/Copy/Paste | No | No | Yes |
True Multitasking | No | No | Yes |
Apps “freeze” when phone locked | No – app must be reloaded | Yes | Yes |
Universal Search | No | No | Yes |
Threaded email | No | No | Yes |
Universal email inbox | No | No | Yes |
Application sorting | Alphabetical only | User defined | User defined with folders |
Home screens | 1 | 9 | 11 |
Battery % indicator | No | No | Yes |
OSX Syncing | Beta only | Yes | Yes |
Public transport map directions | No | No (added in 2.2) | Yes |
The first and biggest problem with WP7 that will likely keep it behind the competition is the lack of third party apps available for the device. It does not seem unreasonable to suggest that no matter how many adopters the platform gains, it seems realistic to expect there to be less than 100,000 apps available for the platform by the end of 2011 (I will enjoy looking back at this prediction at the end of the year!)
For a supposedly "business orientated" system, the lack of threaded email, unified email inbox and universal search seem to be a major oversight on the part of Microsoft. These features were all missing from iOS 2.0, but were added one year later with the release of i0S 3.0. Personally, I have rarely required the service of any of these three features, but considering the number of complaints about iOS whilst these features were not present, it seems these features must be important to a number of individuals.
The way Microsoft promotes the supposed "customisation" of it's software also seems to differ from what is offered in reality. Whilst it is a nice option to have widgets (a feature which iOS still lacks) in WP7 this feature comes at the expense of the ability to put the application on a phone into a chosen order, standard practice on iOS and Google Android, and the applications can only be viewed in alphabetical order. Also, WP7 offers only ONE customisable screen, when even iOS 2.0 offered NINE customisable screens.
I would class the "battery percentage indicator" as a minor annoyance rather than a missing feature really, but to me, it would be an inconvenience with the lack of battery time modern phones have. This should be a very simple update for WP7.
Another missing feature, OSX syncing is obviously only relevant for those using OSX which, by most estimation is around 10% of the market. This feature isn't really missing, but beta support could be buggy.
The lack of public transport directions on maps could be an annoyance to those wishing to use their phone as a transport timetable and was a great addition to iOS back in 2008. I feel that Microsofts insistence to using Bing maps rather than (in my opinion) the far superior Goolgle maps could be at fault here.
Although this post may come across as being non-objective, I feel it does highlight the fact that WP7 is not yet a mature operating system and the purpose of the post is also to highlight the development iOS has experienced since its inception. Personally I think that WP7 is a much better start for Microsoft than iOS 1.0 was for apple, but when they released iOS, Apple set the benchmark for future mobile operating systems and it seems unlikely that WP7 would be anything like it is if iOS had not come into existence.
It will be interesting to see what happens to WP7 as it develops. Personally I am hoping it will mature into a great OS, as the more competition iOS has, the better it will need to become.
If you enjoyed this post or have any suggestions for future posts please leave a comment below!
- @nkbish0p
2 comments:
Great post once again. Very well put together and researched. And, contrary to your last paragraph, I think you remained perfectly objective in your analysis, resisting the temptation to talk about the inherent usability on iOS being (in my opinion) far superior to any other OS and focused instead on features etc.
I think you hit the nail on the head with , if not for iOS, WM7 wouldn't be what it was today and that is where Android, WM and all the rest really disappoint me. If someone came up with a revolutionary mobile OS it would force Apple ( and the rest of the field) to raise their standards to a whole new level, but instead Apple remains unchallenged in the ingenuity stakes and the rest are in a perpetuated state of catch up. In all honesty I think Apple themselves are the most likely to renovate and innovate the mobile operating system (once again) themselves which is a shame because it probably means less progress than if they were forced to do so.
Arya
I think the single best thing iOS did was totally changed what people expected from the usability of a smartphone, iOS is so easy to use compared to the old dominant smartphone OS Symbian. It is remarkable that it has taken Microsoft the best part of four years to realise they needed to start again and I wonder when Blackberry will get the message. Symbian never did and it will shortly be retired as a consequence.
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