Windows Phone

GORGEOUS,” raves The Huffington Post.
“Best-looking smartphone operating system in the industry,” gushes Slate.
“Far superior to most if not all the Android smartphones,” says TechCrunch.
Or…
‘It’s because, for the time being, Windows Phone just isn’t good enough.’, writes Greg Kumparak.
So which is it? Good enough, not good enough or superior? I guess beauty, to a certain extent, is in the eye of the beholder. Apple fan boys are an emotional bunch and they will find it hard to admit that Windows Phone is on par no matter what Microsoft dishes out. I am a Windows Phone user and sport the HTC Titan device. I have to say that I am very pleased with the device and enjoy its user interface immensely. I remember when I originally moved from Nokia devices to… others. The user experience was so different that the new devices were almost alien. I think there is a bit of that here… enough people have to fall in love with Windows for sustainable inertia to be created in the consumer market. 
So what is next for Windows Phone? Are we just waiting for Windows Phone 8 and more features? Are we waiting for the newly released Nokia Lumia 900 to hit the market to provide improved hardware specs? I personally believe that now is the time to focus on advanced cloud services. I’d like to see Microsoft partners (and Microsoft) start anticipating Windows 8 and developing cloud based services that would wow me as a user. We need to break free from the stand alone app centric model and make a clean break.
I recently purchased an xBox. With the metro release xBox now has that Windows 8 look and feel to it. I like to see apps with more integration and data sharing via Azure. I am looking at all the ‘stuff’ on my phone and they are all stand alone apps. The integrated messaging is really the only service that seamlessly meshes data from multiple sources to create higher value for the user. The beauty of the integrated messaging is the fact that is takes multiple services and integrates them all under a single ‘theme’… communication. It just hit me, this is what we need more of! Partners, take top 20 applications in your domain and figure out a way to integrate them user a single ‘theme’.
I have SkyDrive, iCloud, box.net, SharePoint, SharePoint Workspace, mapped drives, third party document management tools, etc. Why not provide a service that integrates all these virtual drives into a single seamless experience. Any one who sends me an invite to share a folder on any service I just link to my service…schweet! Let me set sharing rules/rights, encrypt and digitally sign.
I’d like a service that takes multiple news sources and creates a single seamless news source for me. I recently uploaded Pulse, but it doesn’t integrate… it lists. I don’t want to filter just by source, but also by theme and geographic relevance. I want to integrate free and paid sources. I don’t want just text, but also the images, video clips and any interactive elements. I want to inject local news when I go out of town.
A little bit more obscure, but it would be great to have a service that links all my physical activity counters. My Suunto dive watch has it’s on site. My Polar watch has it’s own site. I had a service for monitoring my eating habits. Nike and others have sites for running, counting steps, etc. How many parameters are there… really. When your doing physical exercise you are either on land, in the water or in the air (yes, sky diving). At the end it is as easy as ABC… airway, breathing and circulation… oxygen intake and pulse. In any element you can only move in a three dimensional space. Why cant all these services just be translated into a single format and reported seamlessly. Why cant all activity be mapped with Bing and shared socially with the integrated People view.
I am also starting use ‘shopping aids’. Local Scout is a great app, but it is not a full experience. I want to be able to make table reservations. I want to buy movie tickets online. I want to see all daily deals and coupons. I want to be able to scan bar codes and compare prices. I want my shopping list to be there… why not even plan my shopping route based on deals, coupons and advertised prices… factoring traffic and fuel consumption. I don’t want to download multiple apps or go from app to app. I want it all in one, seamless and single unified experience.
I read quite a bit. Why do I have to decide between iTunes, Kindle, Nook, etc. All of them have PC and mobile versions for their readers. Why cant I belong to all and also save white papers, audio books, blogs, podcasts, etc. I’d like to make notes and automatically build a bibliography. I’d like to group and categorize my notes Syncing them with OneNote. I’d like read out loud, thesaurus and translation functionality. All of the above exists… so why cant I have it all as single seamless experience.
My wife stores photos on Shutterfly, many of my friends use Picasa and I have photos on all my devices. Pictures service is half way there, but I really need easy integration with third party apps. Panoramic joins would be a great add with meta tagging features.
PLEASE don’t try to differentiate with the look and feel. The form, function and flow should copy Microsoft services. Spotify Windows Phone app is a great example. You know you are in Spotify, but the form, function and flow is the same as with any Microsoft built service.