Windows Phone 7 - A Real Threat

The ever changing world of technology surprises no one by -- well -- changing.

The amazingly-absent-from-mobile folks at Microsoft have just announced that Windows Phone 7 Beta development tools are now available for download, along with some supporting material and promises to help get people going.  So why should someone like me -- knee deep in iOS and big fan of the Apple techno-culture -- care?

Because I'm not some care-free 21-year-old college grad who loves Apple because they make cool stuff. Technology is my career, not my hobby. I have a mortgage.  I have a son I'd like to put through college.  I want to take my wife on a nice and well-deserved vacation.  Naturally, I worry about the decisions I make and the sustainability of the direction those decisions take me.  And while I've written Android off as an annoying garbage dump (and I'm not quite ready to change my mind on that -- yet),  Windows Phone 7 may very well be a real threat. Here's why:

Ever wonder why when you step onto an airplane, everyone in a suit has their head buried in a Blackberry.  Where iPhone got it right for the general consumer, Blackberry got it right for the businessman (and woman -- no offense ladies).  On a recent trip to California I sat next to two guys traveling for business, one a Hoover vacuum cleaner salesman (he was almost embarrassed to say that, and I don't blame him) and the other one did something in the world of food-chain supply.  I annoyed the hell out of these two poor guys trying to understand why they had -- and liked -- their Blackberries.

The reasons were simple enough.  Carrier cost was a big one.  Carrier costs for a traveling business person are not the same as data-plan costs for the rest of us.  We're actually talking about roaming charges in this case. The wider the network, the less you pay when on a conference call while driving through a population 1,019 town.  Which brings us to the second reason: Verizon has a more widely available network, hence these guys could get more out of their Blackberries, in more places, cheaper.  They also brought up use outside of the US.  Have to fly to Prague for the week? -- buy a SIM card when you land and pop it in.  You can do that with a Blackberry.

Now, I'm trying to think long-term, here.  So the above aren't that big a deal once the AT&T and Apple exclusivity contract runs out (the latest rumor, which is more credible than previous rumors, is that this will happen in January of next year).  So from my perspective, the most important reason these guys gave me was something that I don't see Apple doing anything about -- relatively seamless synchronization with Windows (Contacts, Outlook, Exchange Server, SharePoint, etc).

As much as I enjoy the I'm A Mac ads, the enterprise runs on Windows. They are so deeply entangled in Microsoft technology that, even today, 74% of businesses still use Windows XP.  So forget about switching, they can't even upgrade out of fear of breaking something.

Now if you think RIM did a good job of sync-ing with Windows, image how easily you'll be able to sync Windows with Windows.  Add to that the fact the Windows Phone 7 has a slick user interface -- it looks nice -- and has a different take on advertising than Apple or Google -- which I don't have time to get into -- Windows Phone 7 devices may very well become the new hot toys.  A phone that's ten time better for work and just as good for work-avoidance.

I don't know -- maybe I'll start watching those training courses.  If your phone is as much a tool as it is a toy, I'd love some feedback.  Comment below.