The recent announcement of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Series mobile operating system has pundits wondering if all the bluster is simple a case of "too little, too late" for Redmond. Any hopes of either catching Apple's iPhone or staving off Google's Android in the mobile OS space might very well depend on Microsoft leveraging its advantages in two non-mobile technology sectors.
Xbox Live on a Mobile Phone
One of the features talked about during the recent demo of Windows Phone 7 was its support for Xbox Live. Considering that the Xbox is arguably Microsoft's only real new-growth technology success in the last decade, giving the many Xbox Live users the ability to browse their accounts from their phone is definitely a win for the fledgling mobile OS.
Competing with the runaway success of Apple's App Store, especially with the imminent iPad launch, will take a focused effort on producing a host of games and other applications for Phone 7 and making them available through a Xbox Live-branded app store. The name "Zune" should stay far, far away.
Xbox Live features the best array of independent gaming choices for videogame consoles, so it makes perfect sense for Microsoft to use this developer community to try and compete with Apple in the casual, mobile gaming market. They have a lot of catching up to do.
Microsoft Office and the Enterprise
Synergies with Microsoft Office is the other area that Redmond can leverage for Windows Phone 7. The iPhone never really took off in the enterprise, and businesses might be more open to a mobile phone OS that provides easy connectivity to Word, Excel, or even SharePoint.
Considering the relationships Microsoft already has with businesses that use their desktop products, they have a built-in audience for cell phone providers supporting Windows Phone 7. Leveraging this audience might be easier to accomplish had Microsoft decided to manufacture their own phone like Apple. On the other hand, who wants to see the "Red Ring of Death" on their cell phone.
Many pundits suggest that Window Phone 7 Series is Microsoft's last shot at relevance in the mobile OS space. Its clumsy name notwithstanding, Redmond can still bring some advantages to play in the upcoming struggle for dominance with Apple and Google. It might be their only chance at having a successful mobile operating system.
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