Microsoft hopes to storm market with Mango launch

Microsoft pins high hopes on the Windows Phone 7.5 to regain lost ground as the operating system competition enters a new phase. "With Windows Phone, Microsoft has looked at the consumer experience as centric and in an absolutely fresh way. The system is stylish, innovative and one that seamlessly integrates the most sought-after user experiences such as search, gaming, e-mail and social networks across Bing, Office, Internet Explorer 9, Xbox Live, Office 365, Facebook, Twitter and much more including cloud service," Gustavo Fuchs, director of mobility for Middle East and Africa, Microsoft, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview. Microsoft, which has entered an agreement with Nokia to launch Windows Phone 7.5, also known as Mango, said the conventional application icons have been replaced by Live Tiles on the start screen which comes to life with real-time updates from the web such as news, appointments or the status of friends. Windows launched the first Windows Phone 7 in last November. Article continues below He said Acer will be the first vendor to launch the new operating system in this region on the Allegro handset before the end of the year ahead of Nokia. The main screen of the phone is divided into six main hubs. The key features are threads, which enable users to switch between texts, Facebook chat and Windows Live messenger linked inbox where consumers can see multiple e-mail accounts in one inbox. Built-in voice-to-text and text-to-voice support system also enable hands-free texting and chatting. He said HTC, Samsung, LG, Acer and Nokia are the main vendors launching the new operating system. "Windows Phone will benefit from the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft to successfully enter lower tiers of the market, also leveraging Nokia's ability to maintain its position in markets where it is traditionally strong," said Luis Portela, analyst-at-large at Pyramid Research. He said Mango will become the dominant platform by 2015, followed closely by Android and Apple. The competition will consolidate the operating ecosystem among the four big platforms — Android, Windows Phone, Apple iOS and BlackBerry OS. Traditionally strong In the Middle East and Africa, Portela said that Symbian will be the leader for the next couple of years, as customers in the region are loyal to Nokia and will take time for Microsoft to gain market share. The competition will be between Android, RIM and Apple. According to Annette Zimmermann, Principal Analyst, Consumer Markets and Technology at Gartner Inc, Symbian's market share in MEA is eroding and in the second quarter of this year it had a market share of 41.3 per cent compared to 87.1 per cent in the second quarter of last year. RIM had a market share of 31.4 per cent compared to 4.6 per cent in the second quarter of last year while Android had 14 per cent compared to two per cent in the second quarter of last year and iOS had 11.1 per cent compared to 2.5 per cent during the same period last year. She said globally, Nokia's market share fell from 41 per cent to 22.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year while Android's market share rose from 17.2 per cent to more than 43 per cent in the second quarter of this year. Microsoft's market share fell from 4.9 per cent to 1.6 per cent in the second quarter of this year and in the region, Microsoft had less than one per cent in the second quarter of this year. According to Alex Bibi, Mobile Solutions Manager for Middle East and North Africa, "The apps market is crucial for the growth of Windows Phone. We have around 36,000 applications and more than 25 Arabic apps in a short period of time and by the way we have overtaken BlackBerry in terms of apps." Accelerator According to Chad Brown, co-founder and partner of identitymine, a US-based firm developing apps for top operating systems, the Windows phone offers a great opportunity for developers and the interface is easier and friendlier than Android and offers great user experience for end-users. Fuchs said the apps are fully tested for viruses and go to the marketplace only if certified by Microsoft. He said the developers have already developed apps for Dewa, mParking and Gulf News, to name a few, through YallaApps on the new platform. YallaApps, a regional Windows Phone 7 developer portal, is developed by Microsoft in association with Prototype Interactive.