| Apple's iPhone suddenly looks oh-so last year. |
Today, Sony Ericsson introduced its first Windows Mobile-powered mobile, the XPERIA smartphone. Sony Ericsson's adoption leaves Nokia on the sidelines as the only major phone manufacturer not supporting Windows Mobile. That said, Nokia supports other Microsoft technologies, such as Windows Media.
The first model, the X1, is scheduled to ship during second half. Scott Rockfeld, the group product manager for Microsoft's Mobile Communications group, said the XPERIA line "will be launching in the holidays of this year."
Sony Ericsson is a big win for Windows Mobile, and Microsoft knows it. Sony Ericsson is known for delivering attractive, multifunctional phones. But it's earlier smartphones, such as the P900i, were somewhat unappealing, because of their size and awkward functions.
The XPERIA X1 is a radical departure from the P series. The sleek cell phone offers touch screen and slide-out, full-size QWERTY keyboard. The iPhone-like, big-icon look distinguishes the XPERIA X1 from other Sony Ericsson mobiles. On closer look, however, those icons more resemble connected, informational widgets.
Something else: There's a familiarity to the candy bar shape, 3-inch screen and slide-out keyboard that reminds me of HTC smartphones, including the AT&T Tilt that I am now using. Perhaps, there is good reason. Last September, reports surfaced from China that Sony Ericsson had contracted with HTC for a line of Windows Mobile smartphones.
Microsoft is using the XPERIA X1 launch to spout a new marketing mantra about the consumer segment. Rockfeld gave me a kind of timeline of cellphone development, noting the early emphasis on business needs. Microsoft has changed emphasis to consumers, and that's where Sony Ericsson will play a critical role. The brand is synonymous with consumers.
Rockfeld couldn't say enough about the importance of the consumer market to Windows Mobile's go-forward strategy. He mentioned Microsoft bringing Todd Peters on as vice president of marketing for the Windows Mobile Business group, as example of the consumer push. Peters was a trendsetting retail marketing leader for Staples.
The strategy is about convergence and two lifestyles, personal and professional, meeting at one device—the cell phone. "The fasting-growing segment is the smartphone segment," Rockfeld said. The strategy through smartphones, "It's really about [how] one phone can work for your entire life," he emphasized.
The emphasis on convergence cuts two ways. While Microsoft wants to reach more consumers with Windows Mobile, Sony Ericsson seeks to reach more business users—to extend behind its consumer niche.
Microsoft wouldn't be the first company trying to tackle a real problem, where people commingle data and behavior around cell phones. Microsoft is in fact leader perpetrator behind the commingling situation. The company's unified communications strategy would make people reachable, regardless of location or device.
Commingling is as much a business opportunity as end user problem. Microsoft's goal is to make easier the using of one device for any purpose.
"The world of carrying around a holster—like you're in the Wild Wild West—is gone," Rockfeld told me on Friday. Ha, maybe he's not a geek at heart. Aren't geeks defined by the number of devices carried on their bodies?
Ribbing aside, the approach is sensible. The question: Will Windows Mobile 6 Professional be enough to achieve the goal? I can't say until after seeing exactly what kind of product HTC, Microsoft and Sony Ericsson will deliver.
Given the XPERIA's iPhone-like features—granted with extras like the QWERTY keyboard—I asked Rockfeld about Apple and its approach to smartphones compared to Microsoft. After all, iPhone has huge smartphone mindshare.
"They absolutely did a nice job of raising the awareness of what a smartphone can do," he said. "The one thing we're doing different from our competitors is the one phone for your entire life. We believe to provide choice and freedom, to make the phone your own, you have to do that through partners. We know at Microsoft we can't do it all on our own."
No comments:
Post a Comment