I’ve been thinking over this post for a few months now, but Joshua Topolsky’s review of the Nokia Lumia 900 has reminded me that Microsoft has lost its speed. Especially with this quote:
In some ways, I feel like I’m reviewing a webOS device again (but with much, much nicer hardware). There are all these wonderful ideas at play, but it’s impossible to look past the nagging bugs and missing features.
As a Palm Pre owner, I feel the pain. And as a Windows Phone owner, I see the similarities. But the problem is that webOS was, in its peak, run by a tiny company with little resources. Meanwhile, Microsoft, a massive company can’t keep up with the pack.
Pick up the pace Microsoft. Wow us. Impress us. Or you might never catch up.
And Microsoft seems to think that the problem with their company’s strategy is lack of awareness. That pumping money into ads will fix the problem. Sure, every company uses ads. But Microsoft seems to be pushing old products, instead of making new products. And then, in recent times, it has begun just attempting to slam competitors in online-ads, such as the recent Google attack ads. And these ads are filled with lies. All that makes me see is fear and a lack of confidence in their own services.
Microsoft should learn that no matter how many times I accidentally press the search button on my Windows Phone am I going to start using Bing. No matter how many times I see an ad for Windows Phone am I going to look past the lacking ecosystem and somewhat wasteful interface. And no matter how many times I get told that Windows 8 is the future am I going to forget that it just doesn’t work at all on a Desktop computer. Windows Phone can be improved. Bing can be updated. And Windows 8 is amazing on tablets. But the fixes to these problems are all distant dreams. And the fixes take too long, if you ask me.
Now, before you call me a troll, let it be known that I actually love Microsoft. I do. But there are some very dumb decisions from Microsoft that have lead me to write this post. I love Zune, which has sadly stayed the same for a long time. I tried to love Bing, but the design is old, ugly and the whole functionality of search doesn’t feel as fresh as Google. I love Windows 7. I love Xbox. But I haven’t loved any recent developments from Microsoft, because there are barely any. And new products are either already behind the competition or lack good thought. A brand name, not even one like Microsoft, will help them catch up.
And the big problem is that Microsoft hasn’t grasped the nature of technology today. Tech moves fast. Too fast, some may say. But that’s just what technology is now. And while the rest of the web and companies push small fixes and updates, as well as massive ones, Microsoft continues to treat the web and products like a box of software in a store. Bing truly hasn’t changed in a big way for too long. And “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” doesn’t apply. Bing is, by my standards, broken compared to Google. It has no positive differences, it’s uglier and it’s in some circumstances worse. Windows Phone is nice, but 3rd party apps suck and so do Microsoft’s current restrictions for hardware manufacturers. And Windows 8 is going to simply confuse Desktop users with its backwards UI (only on a Desktop, not tablet). Windows Live also hasn’t changed for ages.
And it just looks like Microsoft believes that, because they’re Microsoft and because they have money, then they can just get away with slow product cycles and boring, or broken, final products. Well they can’t.
This isn’t me hating Microsoft. I want cool new things. The Lumia 900 would be great without Microsoft’s restrictive screen-size, processor speed and lacking OS.
Pick up the pace Microsoft. Wow us. Impress us. Or you might never catch up.