Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/scottkuhl/archive/2013/09/14/armchair-ceo-windows-phone.aspx
So the Nokia thing finally happened, assuming the EU allows it. Now with Nokia under the Microsoft umbrella, what should they focus on next?
Lumia Accessories
When people love their phones, they want to buy more stuff for their phones. This is one area the iPhone has everyone beat by far, even Samsung. Microsoft should concentrate on more branded accessories by working with vendors and stock more of the existing third party ones in their stores. Especially cases. They need a super rugged case that is not huge and bulky, and a great looking waterproof case ASAP.
Free License
Stop charging what’s left of the device manufacturers a license for Windows Phone. You’re in third place. With the purchase of Nokia, this might not be salvageable.
Day One Updates
All carriers, all devices updated on the same day, just like Apple. Microsoft ought to be able to at least get AT&T to agree to this and they certainly can make sure Nokia is ready to go. These staggered rollouts have to stop.
Better XBOX Music, Video and Podcasts
Music has some issues with syncing and storage of your own music, but its a great service. Making it available on iOS and Android is a great idea. Now make it perfect on Windows Phone. Better playlists like Spotify would be good. You’re so close.
Video sucks. Videos purchased on the XBOX marketplace should sync offline or stream to Windows Phone. And LOWER the price of the videos. A huge win here would be to list Netflix, Hulu and other video services queues and search right into XBOX video on the phone. Combine all your services into one app. It doesn’t need to play them, it just needs to launch the other apps. This should be extensible to all third party apps. Finally, get the missing major apps: Amazon Video, HBO GO, Showtime Anytime and somehow bring back YouTube.
Podcasts suck as much as video. This is terrible. There are so many things that need to be fixed here its a complete overhaul. At a minimum show podcasts you still have to watch in their own queue. Multiple playlists would be even better. Back to the drawing board on this one. Take some lessons from WPodder, my personal favorite of all the third party apps available on the platform.
Android Apps
Windows Phone has a LOT going for it over iOS and Android. I am finally at the point where I try to get people to switch. Average users who get this phone, love it. The only complaint is the app market. Most of the big apps are there or have third party alternatives. What you don’t see are new apps and small market apps until much later. How many times have you seen an poster or ad with the “now available” on Apple App Store and Google Play logo without the Windows Store logo sitting right next to it. The new Windows Phone App Studio could make a big difference for small apps, but not games. Android is open source. Build in integration into Windows Phone and make these apps available. You can always try to push Windows Phone apps over the Android apps but this fills a huge gap real fast. Want to stick it back to Google, build in the Amazon marketplace over Google Play. So when I search for an app like Instragram it shows me the official app when it is available, otherwise it shows the Amazon app and finally if that’s not available it shows the Google Play app. And alert me when the official app is available if I am running an Android app or point me to great third party apps.
Windows RT Convergence
Finally, start the road to a single Phone / RT OS. Someday the idea of the single device will be achievable for the average user.