Given that most people have written off Windows Mobile, I figure I would give Microsoft a quick three step plan to make Windows Mobile relevant into 2010.

1.  Great Hardware and an improved UI. This is pretty obvious.  To compete in the smart phone market you need these two components.  Given that they already have a small screen device with great hardware and one of the best UIs on the market (the Zune HD), you would not think this would be too hard.  But, you never know.

2.  Zune. The Zune ecosystem needs to be completely integrated with the device….both music and movies.  The experience needs to be seamless.  Finally, I think the Zune service needs to be expanded to support both free (ad supported) and premium streaming.  I think 2010 is the year where your personal catalog of music becomes obsolete as music moves to the cloud.  If this was baked-in to the mobile Zune experience, Windows Mobile would have some additional appeal.

3.  Halo (and Xbox). Where Microsoft (and Sony too) still have an advantage over Apple is in IP.  And, the biggest untapped resource is the XBox IP.  I guarantee that if Windows Mobile launches with XBox branded gaming support, it would immediately be relevant again.  And, if you throw the Halo title in there, you would have converts jumping from both the Android and iPhone camp.

So, there you have it…a simple, and completely achievable road map for making Windows Mobile relevant into 2010.  Someone send this to Balmer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 11:31 am and is filed under Misc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.