For the past few weeks, I have been experimenting with the Windows Phone 8.1 beta on a Nokia Nokia Lumia 1520. For those that are unfamiliar with it, the Lumia 1520 is Nokia’s current flagship “phablet” that’s packing a massive 6” FullHD, ClearBlack IPS LCD, a 20MP PureView camera, and a 2.2GHz quad-coreQualcomm QCOM +0.27% Snapdragon 800 SoC. Unlike previous-gen Windows Phones, which have generally lagged behind competing Android-based devices in terms of their hardware specifications, the Nokia Lumia 1520 can hang with the best of them. The Lumia 1520 is fast, offers great battery life, the screen and camera are excellent, and the device is generally a pleasure to use, once you get used to the Windows Phone interface, of course.
With the Windows Phone 8.1 beta installed on the Lumia 1520, however, it becomes a different—and much better—device. A number of the shortcomings of the stock Windows Phone 8 installation are addressed, which makes the phone more user-friendly. Some new features make it easier to personalize the device as well. There’s a new action center, which finally brings a proper notification shade to Windows Phone. There is also an updated keyboard, the Cortana digital assistant (similar to Siri), and new storage and data related “Sense” apps that make it easy to track things like data usage, free storage space, and Wi-Fi networks. I’m not sure if this is a feature exclusive to the Lumia 1520, but the ambient light sensor on the phone now does a much better job of detecting when the phone is being used outdoors, in direct sunlight. The contrast, color saturation, and brightness are altered on the fly when the phone is in direct sunlight, which makes the device’s screen infinitely more readable outdoors.
The point of all of these changes is to not only bring more features to the Windows Phone platform, and add some things that are already familiar to users of competing platforms like Android and iOS, e.g. the notification shade, a digital assistant, background images, the workflow keyboard, etc. In my opinion,Microsoft MSFT +1.23% is on the right track. Windows Phone 8.1 is significantly more user friendly and the platform is so fast and fluid I can’t go back to Android for my personal device. I still keep a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 around essentially for gaming, but the Nokia Lumia 1520 is now my daily driver. There are so many things I like better about Windows Phone at this point, it’s going to take an amazing device to get me to switch back to Android.
I had tried to make the switch a few times in the past, but couldn’t bring myself to do it permanently, because I felt using the Windows Phone platform meant making too many sacrifices versus Android or iOS. I no longer feel that is that case, with my particular use model. This won’t be true for everyone, but as someone who uses his smartphone mostly for e-mail, web browsing, managing a few servers and desktop PCs, and using social networks, Windows Phone 8.1 is great. There are still far fewer apps available for the platform versus Android and iOS, but at this point, the only things I really miss are a few games, hence the reason I also keep a Note 3 on hand.
If Windows Phone was able to win me over, it should be able to convert a large number of consumers as well. And it seems to me as if now—RIGHT NOW—is a perfect time for Microsoft to get far more aggressive with their Windows Phone push. I’m sure some of you will disagree, but I get the sense that many Android loyalists aren’t quite as enthusiastic about the platform and its flagship devices as they once were. The Samsung Galaxy S 5 and HTC HTC One M8, for example, didn’t seem to generate nearly as much excitement as previous-gen flagship devices did. Apple AAPL +1.18% is also a few months off from releasing the iPhone 6 (assuming that’s the device’s name) and the perception of the iPhone 5s has gone from cutting-end, to old hat. The buzz around Amazon’s just announced Fire Phone also seems to prove the smartphone market is itching for something different. All of these things point to an opportunity for Microsoft and it’s (select few) Windows Phone partners.
Microsoft has a golden opportunity that could generate significant momentum for Windows Phone as we move into Q4 and the holiday buying season. The company needs to get Windows Phone 8.1 onto as many current-gen devices as it can and significantly amp up its marketing efforts. Microsoft needs to get an array of Windows Phone-based devices onto every major carrier as well. And it also needs to do a better job of educating sales people on the benefits and features of Windows Phone. Building off of the Xbox One’s momentum could help lure in younger consumers, who may find Windows Phone’s Xbox integration and Smartglass features attractive. Associating Windows Phone with the recently released Surface Pro 3 and showing off the synergies possible with Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone would be advisable as well.
There is no magic bullet that’s going to propel Windows Phone into the stratosphere, but the market conditions are right for Microsoft to make and aggressive push to gain some more traction. The time to act is now.
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