It's not a question of timing, but of Microsoft's brand image (Internet Explorer) and the fact that Android was already open source.
Re:Gemini – Google DeepMind
by brandall10 on Wednesday December 06, 2023 @06:49PM
(#38551075)
Timing was definitely an issue - first Windows Phone came 3 years after iOS and 2 after Android. AFA the product itself, I think the perception it needed to overcome was more PocketPC/Windows Mobile having an incredibly substandard image in the market after the iOS release which seemed light years ahead, esp. since MS had that market to themselves for so many years.
That said, it got great reviews and they threw $$ at devs to develop for it, just couldn't gain traction. IME it was timing more than anything and by the time it came to market felt more reactionary than truly innovative.
"Open source" in the sense there was open source. Which you could use if you were willing to jettison Maps et al.
Given dog eat dog of early Android manufacturers, most couldn't afford to recreate Google services.
By this I mean that Microsoft had the positioning of an iPhone in a not-so-great version.
Where as Android relied on the "Open source" and free side for manufacturers to adapt to their phones, even if Google's services remained proprietary.
Can we really talk about timing, when it's above all a problem of a product that didn't fit the market?
Microsoft is a decent physical product company... they've usually just missed on the strategic timing part.