Microsoft is in the driver's seat for Windows Phone updates
One of the biggest criticisms of Windows Mobile and Android devices is that device manufacturers get control over who gets updated versions of the OS. That leads to awkward situations where someone pays big bucks …
Context & Ripple Effects
Windows Phone 7 has just reached U.S. buyers through AT&T and T-Mobile after launches in Europe and other markets. Its early handset sales were muted, making a predictable software-maintenance model a meaningful way for Microsoft to distinguish the new platform from the Windows Mobile experience.
Microsoft's decision puts operating-system release timing with the platform owner rather than leaving it to individual handset makers. That gives the company a direct lever over the consistency of the Windows Phone experience as it tries to build adoption.
First-order effects
- Windows Phone handset owners receive a single Microsoft-controlled path for operating-system updates, rather than depending on each device maker's release schedule.
- Handset manufacturers and carrier partners lose discretion over the timing and distribution of Windows Phone software releases.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft can make timely updates part of Windows Phone's pitch against Android, where device-manufacturer control can produce uneven software availability.
- Windows Phone manufacturers must compete more on hardware and distribution because Microsoft retains a key part of the post-sale customer relationship.
Third-order effects
- If Microsoft sustains direct update delivery, mobile-platform competition shifts toward the OS vendor's ability to govern a consistent installed base rather than merely license software to hardware partners.
- The model concentrates platform gatekeeper leverage with the company that controls both the operating system and its update cadence.
The trend: Smartphone platforms are moving toward centralized software-update control as vendors use maintenance consistency to differentiate their ecosystems.