Microsoft ignores RIM and targets its ‘two competitors’ with Windows Phone 8

Microsoft is planning an aggressive holiday-season push to court consumers  who might be considering a new iPhone, Android or BlackBerry phone.

Microsoft talked up why consumers might like Windows Phone 8 compared to its  “two competitors” — and did not mention Research in Motion once.

Together with the major push behind its new Windows 8 PC software and  Surface tablet, Microsoft is trying to convince consumers that its new Windows  Phone 8 operating system is a distinctly different mobile approach.

“If you look at where smartphones are and where they’ve been, I would say  the state of the art in the core smartphone experience, it hasn’t really evolved  much in the five years since its inception,” said Joe Belfiore, manager of  Microsoft’s mobile division, during an hour-long unveiling of Windows Phone 8 on  Monday.

“If you think about the predominant user experience on most of the  smartphones that people are using today, it was standardised by Apple and the  iPhone and essentially that same interface was copied by (Google) on Android  phones and it really hasn’t evolved all that much,” Belfiore said.

“We wanted to come at it with a different point of view.”

Microsoft’s different approach involves its customisable home screen made up  of “live” tiles, as opposed to the static icons that typically populate a  smartphone’s interface.

With Windows Phone 8, users select the apps that appear on the home screen  and size them according to how prominent they want them to be. Depending on the  app, those “live” tiles can show different information each time the phone is  engaged. A photo app could display a changing slideshow of pictures, while a  news app could cycle through different headlines. Users can also assign a  person’s social media content to the home screen, so a friend or family member’s  tweets, Facebook posts or photos are always highlighted.

Somewhat similar functionality is available on the Android platform with  so-called widgets, but Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer thinks his company has taken  the idea further.

“When you try this for the first time you will see your phone literally come  alive. You will get to know how this level of personalisation really sets  Windows phones apart,” he said.

Parents will appreciate the Kids Corner functionality of Windows Phone 8,  which allows users to set up a safe home screen for their children to use. Only  the apps, music and movies selected by parents will show on the stripped-down  Kids Corner interface, preventing accidental phone dialling or errant  emailing.

For those who worry about going over their data allowance each month,  Microsoft claims its web browser has built-in compression that will allow users  to download 45 per cent more web content compared to the iPhone and Android  browsers.

With Microsoft synchronising launches of new products in the PC, tablet and  phone markets, the company is attempting to get consumers to buy into all three  platforms, which are tightly integrated. A web service called SkyDrive — which  is similar to Apple’s iCloud — allows the sharing of music, photos and other  files across all three platforms. The newest version of the Microsoft Office  suite of applications is also designed for phones, tablets and computers, so a  Microsoft Word document that’s edited on one device will have the changes saved  across all three platforms.

Greg Barber, Microsoft Canada’s vice-president of consumer channels group,  said the company hopes to woo consumers by making its new products available to  try. Microsoft has partnered with Rogers to put a major push on  Windows Phone 8 units, including the Nokia Lumia 920, which goes on sale Tuesday  for $99 on a three-year contract or $549 without a commitment.

“With Windows Phone, seeing is believing and we’ll have a significant and robust experiential campaign in major malls and all of the major Rogers outlets. People can get a hands-on demo experience,” Barber said, adding that the company is hoping to have 30,000 customers try out Windows Phone 8 during the holiday season.