Microsoft has taken heat over decisions it made about how its mobile platforms worked. The first platform that had any sort of retail presence was Windows CE, released in the latter half of the 1990's. It looked exactly like Windows 95, even when on a tiny three inch screen.
When the Pocket PC was launched in 2000, the user interface was cleaned up quite a bit, but it still had that Windows start menu, application menus, and several other design elements that were lifted from the PC.
With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft threw out anything that remotely resembled its PC-based big brother and instead adopted the Metro interface that was born on the Zune media player. Now that interface may be making its way to the big screen when Windows 8 launches in 2012.
Microsoft's big web developer event, MIX11 unofficially begins tomorrow, with the big action taking place from April 12-14 in Las Vegas. It's Microsoft's most important MIXever, because of the user interface and user experience (UX) changes accompanying the tumultuous move from the PC era to cloud-connected devices. Then there is Microsoft's increased emphasis on making you the natural user interface for all CPU-driven devices.
This year's keynoters include three important Microsoft execs: Joe Belfiore (Windows Phone), Scott Guthrie (.NET development) and Dean Hachamovitch (Internet Explorer). Sessions cover a wide range of Microsoft development tools or platforms, including Azure, IE, Silverlight and Windows Phone. Like the last two years, attendees can expect to hear lots about natural user interfaces, cutely referred to as NUIs.
But with a difference. When Bill Buxton, Microsoft Principal Researcher, stored the MIX09 Keynote stage, he spoke more about the future of NUIs, with Office 2007's ribbons being the first major step. Since, Microsoft has brought some truly innovative NUI products to market, with KINEct being , perhaps,the most notable.
Here are seven (more) things Microsoft should do during MIX11, presented in no order of importance:
1. Release IE10 beta. In mid March, Microsoft unveiled the long-anticipated Internet Explorer 9. It's a milestone, but not nearly enough. Google is setting a brisk pace for browser development. The search and information giant released Chrome 10 earlier in March and Chrome 11 beta almost immediately afterwards. Meanwhile, Firefox 4 released about a week after IE9, with there already being buzz about FF5 coming as soon as summer. Apple and Opera also released browser updates during March.
There's a new browser war, and Microsoft must step up the pace. Despite the new version's release, Internet Explorer continues its usage share decline -- to 55.92 percent in March from 56.77 percent a month earlier. Meanwhile, Chrome usage share rose (again) to 11.57 percent from 10.93 percent.
2. Debut IE9 for mobile. Microsoft needs a good mobile browser, and also one that can be installed on other platforms -- not just Windows Phone. A smart Microsoft would invade Google turf by developing mobile IE for Android. Firefox and Opera already are there. The best Silverlight client should be IE9 mobile -- for Android, BlackBerry OS, iOS and WIndows Phone.
3. Formally make Kinect a development platform. Kinect is unofficially a platform already, and that's a good start. But Xbox and Windows PCs aren't enough. Imagine Kinect as one part of retail kiosk user interfaces, for example. I'd love to see Kinect, using technologies like Microsoft Tag, allow people to remotely log in to a personalized Kinect profile they could take everywhere the technology is commercially deployed -- coupled with other NUI motifs. The time to start is now, and MIX is the right venue to begin building apps and supporting devices that could be deployed as soon as 24 months.
4. Bring back the position of Chief Software Architect and appoint Bill Buxton to the role. Give the man a core, startup-like team, and let them change how everyone interacts with software. Buxton truly gets good design, and there's no question his influence has transformed how Microsoft developers look at UIs and UX. But the company needs more -- a kind of seedling project for new and existing software products. Buxton is the man with a plan.
5. Release Microsoft Expression Studio for iPad. Some of the best design applications already are available for Apple's tablet. Microsoft should be there, too. Designers have used Wacom and competing pen tablets for years. Wacom even provided the stylus drivers for Tablet PC operating system. The finger and touch are a more natural user interface -- and there are touchscreen or Bluetooth keyboards, too, for designers who need them. Expression is a natural for iPad. Go there, Microsoft, and bring along some visual development tools, too.
6. Bring Office to non-Microsoft OS devices. Gartner projects global media tablet sales of 69 million unit this year, generating $29.4 billion in revenue, and 468 million smartphone sales. As I explained on Friday, Microsoft can succeed by delivering the best agnostic software backed by azure services. There's a huge market of Office and potential Office users Microsoft can support on mobile devices. If Gartner and IDC are to be believed, Android smartphone OS share will be around 40 percent this year. While both firms put Windows Phone as No. 2 in 2015, share would be around 20 percent or lower compared to Android's projected 45 percent share.
That's a huge addressable market for Office Mobile that taps into either the productivity suite desktop software or the cloud for fullest functionality. What? Microsoft wants all those Android device owners using Google Apps? I don't think so. The time to announce agnostic Office Mobile is now and to provide developers with APIs and SDKs for supporting apps or services.
7. Debut mobile money platform. There are two killer applications for the connected world -- sync, which Microsoft does pretty well, and mobile money. There is lots of buzz about NFC (Near Field Communication) for providing transactions, such as debit card purchases, using mobile handsets. Microsoft should launch an agnostic mobile money platform supporting NFC and other mechanisms, including barcodes, for making purchases and using cellular handsets as portable bank accounts. Release the SDK at MIX and start collecting developer feedback right away.
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