According to Microsoft’s Andy Lees, President of the Windows Phone division, the new Apple iPhone 4S lacks “variety.” Lees was also quoted saying that while the iPhone 4S may have earned 1 million pre-orders in just the first 24 hours, no one really likes the phone’s new features.
“From a pure hardware perspective, I was surprised they’re not giving the consumer more choice. People want a variety of things,” Lees stated in an interview.
Lees went on to compare iOS to his Windows Phone platform. “I think, from an end user’s experience on the software, there’s a lot of interesting reviews written comparing us to iOS 5 and the amount that we’ve got done in 11 months – so some people (are) making comparisons of pace. Perhaps the biggest comparisons people are making is our people-centricity. The more capabilities we add into our phone, the more delightful it becomes to use because you seem to have more at your fingertips without this clutter and confusion of the other platforms.”
When asked his thoughts on the already-dominating Android platform, Lees had nothing good to say. “I think Android is heading down this chaotic phase. If you’ve used some of the (Android) phones, some of them are great, but some of them are not great. But it’s random,” Lees stated.
Microsoft is still betting on its Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update to turn things around for the ill-fated platform and to finally become a viable competitor to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile operating system.
‘Mango’ features an updated user interface with the intentions of “making it easier for the user to launch, to search, to find, to buy and to install” apps. The update also features a 25% improvement in memory efficiency and support for deep links into application content. We also see a feature called Live Agents as well as better multitasking. IE9 has also made an appearance in the update.
