Should Microsoft Join the Phone Fray?

Windows Mobile - Microsoft's software for smart phones that runs on devices made by companies such as Samsung, HTC, LG and others - has been around for a long time. Before that, it was called Pocket PC Phone Edition. But so far, Microsoft has stayed out of the hardware business.

Up until a couple of years ago, smart phones and their more full featured cousins, PDA phones, appealed mostly to business users. They functioned as handheld computers and became more powerful each year (my little Samsung i760 has a faster processor and more RAM than the desktop computer I used a dozen years ago). But they were expensive - costing $400 to $800 - and could be awkward to use, requiring a stylus and/or the ability to type on a tiny, cramped keyboard.

Cell phone companies began to offer Internet access plans several years ago, but they were expensive at first, too, around $80 per month. And they were slow in comparison to home broadband services, anywhere from 128Kbps to 512Kbps. However, prices for unlimited access gradually came down and access speeds went up, making it economically feasible and practical to use the devices for web browsing as well as email and other Internet applications.

Then in June 2007, along came the iPhone, which Apple marketed heavily to consumers. Its popularity spawned dozens of competitors. The feature that most differentiated the iPhone from other Internet-capable phones at the time was probably its "touchability." While the users of other phones were fumbling with styluses, iPhone owners could open programs, resize photos, and scroll through lists and web pages with their fingers, using the "multi-touch" feature.

Although Apple didn't invent multi-touch (Bell Labs and the University of Toronto developed the technology way back in the 1980s, and Microsoft's surface computing uses the same technology), the iPhone is credited with bringing it into the mainstream. Apple got the technology in 2005 when they bought Fingerworks, a Newark-based company that had been making multi-touch keyboards and touchpads since 1999.

The iPhone has many advantages and many disadvantages when compared to other mobile phones. Certainly the "cool factor" is a big reason for its popularity, but many folks dislike Apple's requirement that only third party applications bought from their own store can be installed on it (unless you violate the licensing agreement and "jailbreak" the phone). In fact, even if you buy an app through their store, Apple can later decide that the application is inappropriate and delete it from your phone when you connect to the 'Net. Ouch.

For some business users, the fact that the battery is non-user replaceable (you have to send the phone back to Apple if the battery dies) is a deal breaker. And unlike most other modern smart phones, it has no flash card slot so the internal memory that comes with it is all you get. Another obstacle for many people who otherwise might use the iPhone is Apple's "marriage" to AT&T. Those who use a different provider and don't want to switch are out of luck.

For the reasons listed above and others, I've resisted the allure of the iPhone, pretty as it is. But although I don't like the idea of the vendor having complete control over what software I can install, I do recognize that Apple's control over both the hardware and OS result in a more stable system. Thus I am intrigued by recent rumors that Microsoft is seriously considering marketing their own phone, based on the Zune music player (dare we call it the zPhone?).

Those same rumors circulated a year ago and were quashed by Microsoft, but over the last few weeks they've intensified again, due in part to Microsoft's acquisition of phone maker Danger, Inc. (which made the T-Mobile Sidekick). With Google's entry into the mobile phone market with their Android phones, Microsoft may be feeling more pressure to get in there and do it themselves.
http://www.vistanews.com/B3G1NX/081204-Pink

At the same time that CNBC and other sources are ramping up the zPhone rumors, others - including Michael Gartenberg from Jupiter - argue that it's not going to happen. His reasoning is that it would compete with Windows Mobile, which wouldn't be a smart business plan. Check out his blog post at
Microsoft will NOT do their own phone anytime soon - mediabistro.com: MobileDevicesToday

Nobody really knows other than (some of) the folks at Microsoft, and they're not telling. Meanwhile, more and more cool phones are appearing on the market and prices are now in the reasonable range for almost all of them. I paid $699 for the Samsung i730 back about three and half years ago. A year and a half ago, I paid only $249 for the i760, which is much better. In the last few weeks, my carrier (Verizon) has released three tempting new smart phones: the Samsung Omnia, the HTC Touch Pro and the Blackberry Storm. The Omnia and Storm cost only $199 with rebate through the Verizon Wireless web site, whereas the Touch Pro is $349, which seems high now but is still cheap compared to my first PDA phone.

I'm going to be checking all three out in the next couple of weeks, and possibly treating myself to one of them as an early Christmas present (depending on how I like what I see). Right now I'm leaning toward the Omnia (aka the i900). I have developed a certain amount of loyalty to Samsung after two good experiences with their phones, and it is the one that looks best on paper. The physical form factor is very similar to the iPhone, the 3.2 inch display is the biggest of the three, while it's also the lightest in weight. It has the highest capacity battery at 1440 mAh with claimed usage time of 346 minutes and standby time of 464 hours. It also has a couple of features I really like: in addition to 8 GB of internal memory, it supports micro SD cards up to 16 GB, and it comes with a 5 megapixel camera that boasts zoom and video capture.
washingtonpost.com

Like the iPhone (and the Storm) it doesn't have a physical keyboard. That's one of the things I'll have to try out and make a decision about. Although it makes the phone fatter, the side-slide QWERTY keyboard on my i760 makes it a dream to type on (for a phone). The Touch Pro does have a slide-out keyboard, but the tradeoff is that it's thicker and weighs more, and its screen size is considerably smaller.

If you've used one or more of these mobile phones, or if you have your own favorite that's available through Verizon, let me know your opinions and experiences. (You can let me know about your favorite non-Verizon phones, too, but you'd have to make an incredibly good case to convince me to switch providers). If you're a smart phone user, tell me which features you consider to be "must haves" and which are just luxuries. Finally, do you think Microsoft should or shouldn't pursue the idea of a Zune-based smart phone? Tell us what you think