Thousands of Windows Phone 7 prototypes manufactured by a number of industry heavyweights – such as Asus, LG and Samsung – are currently making their way to developers.
But can the latest iteration of Microsoft’s mobile operating system take on a market dominated by Apple, Android and RIM?
According to analyst Rob Enderle, Redmond may yet have a chance of regaining its mobile mojo as the smartphone market is still very “under-penetrated” – and will likely remain so until 2015.
“Microsoft is big and powerful, but needs a hit platform to take back the momentum it has lost,” Enderle told TG Daily.
“They desperately need a hit and that may not actually come until Windows Phone 8. Fortunately, the market is still very under-penetrated with smartphones and that likely won’t change until after 2015…So, they have some time still.”
However, Enderle doesn’t believe the lack of “true multitasking” in Windows Phone 7 will significantly impede the widespread adoption of the platform.
“Remember, the iPhone 4 doesn’t have true multi-tasking either and Google will likely have to do some throttling as well to maintain performance,” he explained.
“There are limits to what the current ARM platform can do while still maintaining acceptable battery life.”
Enderle also noted that Apple’s embarrassing Antennae-gate could be expected to benefit all iPhone competitors, including Microsoft.
“[Antennae-gate] will likely be a bigger near term boost for RIM and Google [rather than Microsoft], but it should help all iPhone competitors.”
