Does Windows Phone 8 have what it takes to bring Microsoft the kind of success that has eluded previous efforts? According to CEO Steve Ballmer, Windows Phone 8 is a guaranteed success story waiting to happen.
So what makes the latest campaign any different from Windows Phone 7 and tragic tales of failure like the Nokia Lumia 900?
In this instance, Windows Phone 8 is launching not only with HTC and Nokia fronting the campaign, but also the crucially important backing of America’s biggest networks – something distinctly lacking last time around.
Speaking at a recent launch even for Windows 8 in Israel, the Microsoft CEO stated:
“With the work we have done with Nokia, HTC, Samsung and others … there is now an opportunity to create really a strong third participant in the smartphone market. We’re still relatively small. I expect the volumes on Windows Phone to really ramp quickly.”
Of course, it isn’t just as simple a case of how worthy Windows Phone 8 is in its own right, but whether or not flagship devices like the HTC 8X and the Nokia Lumia 920 have what it takes to divert attention from the realms of Apple and Android. This is quite the task that dozens have already attempted and fallen flat at the first hurdle.
Microsoft will also have to make the necessary strides past RIM’s BlackBerry in order to position itself at the upper-end of the market, though it has to be said that Thorsten Heins and his team are making this at least one fairly simply job for Microsoft. With the BlackBerry 1- release date having already been delayed several time until March 2013 at the earliest, Windows Phone 8 has a good five months or so to make a name for itself and climb the rankings quite significantly.
