Microsoft's Windows Mobile
First of all, I'm not an Apple nor a Windows Mobile fanboy. I use a BlackBerry as my everyday communication tool, an HP Voice Messenger as a back-up phone and bring an iPod Touch with me for my music (and video) needs. I've been a Windows Mobile device user for more than 8 years now and have been developing for this platform since its infancy stage. Though the Windows Mobile is a powerful platform, its been overshadowed for the past year by Apple's iPhone. In fact, the internet was once again plagued by Apple--various news about the release of the iPhone 3G S and the highly anticipated iPhone 3.0 OS. The AppStore have become popular after only over a year of existence because of tons of apps and games that was released through it. Huge companies like EA, Gameloft and Ubisoft have already jumped in, releasing wave after wave of their popular titles for the small screen. I admit, even our efforts are more focused on creating iPhone games now, not because this is where the money comes from but its fun to develop for a device who cares about the gaming audience. I know the competition doesn't stop here. I still believe that Windows Mobile can gain an even larger market share if only the major factors were addressed. Below are some thoughts I would like to share.
1. Reach out to a wider audience. Windows Mobile should get its act together by finding a more effective way of getting its apps into WM users hands. Currently, there are dozens of online sites that sell WM apps and almost each of these sites have their own version of "Windows Mobile AppStore". If there was a single WM AppStore where users can grab and purchase apps, it would be more advantageous for the developers, publishers and the consumers.
2. Quality versus cost. As a developer, the only way to get your product sold on Microsoft's Official Windows Mobile Store is to get certified. Certification is not a bad idea because it ensures quality and favors the consumers but charging roughly around US$ 600 for each application you wish to get certified, is. Bummer.
3. Standardize on a specific screensize. I understand the demand for technological advancement among mobile devices but releasing a device for every screensize you can imagine is just absurd. Windows Mobile currently supports around 7 different screen resolutions (AFAIK) with each new resolution requiring the developers to "re-update" their applications for it to run properly. Windows Mobile boasts thousands of applications available for their platform but the real question is--how many of these apps will run on your current-generation device's resolution?
4. Standard pricing scheme. After first hearing about the AppStore's $0.99 priced apps, I thought it was a ridiculous idea but when I released my first $0.99 game, I realized the value of mass market selling. I remember selling my first Windows Mobile game for $4.99 about 7 years ago and I'm now wondering if I sold more copies had I priced it at $0.99? Apple has indeed proved to most developers that this "ridiculous" pricing scheme "may" work given the correct factors--one of which is having a centralized store where consumers can purchase apps. While I'm not sure if this will work for WM, I believe its something worth looking at.
5. Create a single device versatile enough for any purpose. While windows Mobile isn't popular for its games, there are dozens of games out there that proves it can be but without proper backing by Microsoft, the direction stops there. IMHO, Windows Mobile should not only target corporate users, yuppies and users who can afford, they should also reach out to mass market consumers and gamers alike and design mobile devices that can cater to all these needs as much as possible. I believe WM should work closely with hardware manufacturers in order to achieve this.
6. Listen to what consumers and developers say. The best way to get feedback about your products are from those who use and integrate it in their daily lives, right? There are a lot of true and tested testimonials out there where Windows Mobile can benefit from if they only take advantage of these. Listen!
Whew! I hope I didn't sound like I was ranting. No offense to anyone. The points above are based only on my experience as a developer and consumer. Feel free to share your thoughts. :)
1 comments:
You might think that Microsoft is on to something here if you haven't actually read the details and been to the Windows Mobile Marketplace developer forums. Microsoft is rejecting plenty of apps themselves, and unlike Apple, Microsoft charges you $99 each time you submit, so Microsoft has a big incentive to fail your apps, namely that each time they do they get $99 and you get nothing. For Microsoft to claim that they want to make their app store because Apple is rejecting people’s apps too much is pure hypocrisy considering that Microsoft is charging people $99 each time they reject them and Apple is charging nothing!
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