Windows Phone 8 could launch Microsoft back in the game

by Bruce Tyson

Microsoft is at it again. Windows Phone 8, the latest version of the seemingly-doomed mobile operating system, will propel the operating system into prominence. Once again, Microsoft hopes a new release will get the company back into the mobile game. 

Since Microsoft first entered the mobile phone market, the tech giant seemed out of place. Despite its presence at the dawning of the Mobile Age, Microsoft has consistently flopped. Windows Mobile never gained popularity.

Windows Phone 7 was supposed to bring the ultimate Microsoft experience to smartphones, yet consumers have ignored its presence. Microsoft even tried launching its own brand of phone, the Microsoft Kin, and failed. 

What Was Wrong With Windows Phone 7?

Some analysts complained that Microsoft did not have enough apps available for its Windows Phone 7 OS. Other excuses for the dismal sales of Windows Phone-powered devices include their inability to make video calls and to copy and paste text. Even after the semi-popular Mango release of the operating system, sales are in the doldrums. 

The Nokia Factor

Last year, Microsoft inked a famous deal with failing Nokia, the one-time leader in mobile handsets. That deal gave Microsoft an exclusive platform and supposedly gave Nokia a chance to return to prominence. So far, Nokia has reported sales of about 1 million phones, but Microsoft has not released global sales figures for its Windows Phone 7 product. 

An analyst with Canalys, a market research firm, says that sales of Nokia Lumia phones equipped with Windows Phone 7 have put Nokia on a path to recovery. 

Market Share

From the perspective of market share, Microsoft has almost as much a chance to compete with market share as a third party candidate has to win the U.S. election. Some things will never happen. After spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the Windows Phone 7 product, Microsoft has less than 2 percent of the market. According to Fox Business, Windows Phone 7 lost 46 percent of its market share during 2011 while Android and Apple saw healthy gains. 

Windows Phone 8

Windows 8, the next generation of the Microsoft Windows computer operating system, will support mobile processors and tablets, but will it and Windows Phone 8 have the power and pizzazz to get Microsoft back into the mobile game? 

Windows Phone 8 will support removable storage (unlike Windows Phone 7) and multi-core processors (unlike Windows Phone 7), so some experts believe consumers will give Microsoft a chance.