Microsoft Won’t Be Able to Buy Success for Its Windows Phone 7.

In what can only be described as an unusual twist involving Samsung and Nokia, Microsoft wants these companies to spend more of their own money to promote the Windows 7 phone. Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, has already stated that sales for the Windows Phone 7 have been lackluster, even after the company spent a reported $400 million to promote its latest cell phone. This new plan will supposedly train sales associates from various retailers in the attributes of a Windows Phone 7 compared to the competition.

I have used the Apple iPhone from its inception up to the latest models and Apple has a fantastic product, as does Google with its Android operating system and its Droid phones. On the flip side I tried the Microsoft Windows Phone 7 and unfortunately it does not compare favorably to Apple and Google products. Consumers cannot be fooled into spending their money on an inferior product.

This does demonstrate the philosophy of Microsoft in that if you can’t compete with a better product, try to disguise the product — in this case have overzealous sales associates praise its truly unproven attributes. Microsoft has tried this same strategy with Bing, even trying to pay consumers for using Bing. On the Internet search and cell phone platform, Microsoft has failed miserably and, in my personal opinion, will struggle to compete. Apple and Google have commanding leads in the cell phone arena, with Google being the search king.

Since the new Metro that is being designed for use on tablet computers, along with Windows 8, is based on the Windows Phone 7 look, I also believe that Microsoft may struggle with Metro as well. Microsoft is coming to the tablet party very late and Apple has a commanding lead. Now that Amazon is entering into the tablet fray, this may leave little room for another tablet operating system. Google’s Android, a variant of which Amazon will use on its Kindle Fire tablet, is going to be hard to beat — especially at a $199 price point.

The days of Microsoft holding consumers captive in a Windows environment may be coming to an end.What do you think?