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After reading about sales figures for phones, and after the recent announcements by pretty much every company other than Microsoft of some technological breakthrough, It’s started to make me wonders if there’s a storm on the horizon for Windows.

Now, I’ll makes no bones about this. Suggesting Windows has any problems in the market whatsoever sounds like lunacy. Right? Well, three years ago yes it would have. Even with the disaster of Vista, Microsoft still managed to carry on regardless and made Windows 7. But how many people have adopted WIndows 7 now? How many people still rely on XP? Considering XP has been around for ten years, and hasn’t really been improved upon that much, have Microsoft run out of ideas?

Well, who’s better then?

Compare Microsoft to Google, Apple and RIM. These companies have something in common: true innovation.

Google is now “the” search engine, and has been for years, not due to their algorithm as many believe, but due to their unerring dedication to simplicity. The home page hasn’t changed for ten years except for some additional categories in the top where they sit until you’re ready for them. Anyone use iGoogle? No, didn’t think so. It was an ok idea, but nobody actually wants a home page. Organising yourself can be done very easily on a smart phone or touch tablet now so you don’t really need it in iGoogle. What if you can’t connect to the internet?

Apple are just as consistent with their high quality and good user experience. The thing these guys have in common is that they’ve woken the general public up to a very scary idea for Microsoft: THERE ARE OTHER OPERATING SYSTEMS.

Netbooks are already being installed with Chrome OS, and as more people use phones and devices with iOS and Android, people are getting used to a Windows-less experience.

But what about Windows phone?

Windows phone is actually and awesome OS that would be fantastic on a tablet. But how long will we wait for one? Probably about two years judging by how slow the Windowsasurus seems to move these days.

But it’s not just speed: it’s the name. What’s the one cool product that Microsoft have done immensely well with over the past few years? The Xbox. And what did they get right? It doesn’t have the name Windows stamped on it. It even uses it’s own version of Windows Media Centre, titled Xbox Media Centre.

So why did Microsoft decide to make the Xbox so far removed from Windows both in name and experience? Windows is just not cool. It’s like a hammer, or an HB pencil: a utility.

So, for Windows Phone 7, why didn’t Microsoft learn from their most successful “cool” product and call the OS something else? It’s absolutely nothing like Windows Mobile, but it’s Windows and runs on mobile devices so it’s not going to grab the attention of consumers that quite rightly hated their previous iterations.

But why the storm?

People are getting used to being away from their PC. Why have a huge desktop filling up space when you can plug your iPad or Android tablet into your 32” LCD TV and have a much better experience? Why have a PC at all when network drives are easy to use and not too expensive, even for 2 TB? WHy even use a laptop when a tablet lets you browse the internet more easily?

Once iPad and Android tablets start running Photoshop, Microsoft’s days are definitely numbered. It occurred to me that Adobe just flat out refuse to make the Creative Suite compatible for linux, even when they make it for Mac which is built on a similar system architecture. Considering many developers use Linux by choice, and developers need designs to work from, there’s a bit of a mis-match.

Android is a Linux build so once Photoshop and other Adobe programs are ported to Android, it’s available on Linux and with a decently named counterpart to Android (come on, nobody can pronounce Ubuntu when you tell them about it, and Chrome OS is just too confusing for people at the moment – your OS is NOT your browsers). That would be the saving grace for Android tablets too. The top of the range tablets coming out now are powerful enough to run Photoshop and Illustrator – on a portable device. Even smartphones could conceivably run them. The Motorola Atrix has a dual core and 1GB of RAM – enough for Photoshop CS4.

Microsoft should up their bribes to Adobe accordingly or they’re pretty much screwed.

Two blog posts in as many days – I must be excited about something.

Yes, it’s the iPad 2. But why am I talking about it again?

Zero resistance

Since Apple brought out their first iPad, manufacturers have struggled to get anywhere near it. The first batch of Android tablets have been pretty poor, and unbelievably overpriced (1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, £700 – How on earth is that spec worth that on anything?)

Now, as the major players are bringing out their first generation tablets, mostly an attempt at a high end dual core, Apple have brought their second iteration out – with the 16GB WiFi version at under £500. That’s a dual core, ultra thin, hi-resolution tablet with a full 1080p HD output and an awesome graphics card on top of everything else. Seriously, Apple don’t even seem to be trying and they just keep making market leaders.

I’m not a lover of Apples – well, not all of them

Now, most people that praise Apple love everything about them. I don’t. I think the iPod is an utter waste of money in this day and age of 16-32GB smartphones, and on that note I don’t like the iPhone 4 too much either. It’s uncomfortable to hold and doesn’t quite sit right. Everyone gets a case. Aesthetics, protection or are the things just hard to hold?

I much prefer Android phones, HTC being my manufacturer of choice as they don’t mess around with the stock Android UI too much like all the other manufacturers do. Even though most manufacturers have now turned to Android, they still insist on adding whatever custom UI they feel like, most of the time ruining the Android experience completely.

Android tablets

But Google seem to have woken up to the one way on which Apple beat them – consistency. Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) is apparently being more strictly controlled so no more Motoblur, Mediascape or any other useless tosh that can’t be handled better by any number of apps. Even HTC don’t escape this as FriendStream is severely limited and just doesn’t give you the integrated social networking facility that you really need.

The high end Android tablets will be released from May to September this year – just in time for Apple to trample all over their marketing with yet another iPhone release. Has nobody worked this out yet? To compete with Apple, release one great product every six months. ONE. Not seventeen mediocre products every year and a half.

Living in the past

Phone companies are starting to spread themselves too thin to cope with rising demand – when all they need to do is focus on their core customers. Certain brands get certain customers: Nokia get people who like numeric keypads, Sony Ericsson get people who like music, Motorola (who knows?), HTC get technologically minded people and a few more now and BlackBerry get kids, trendies and businesses.

BlackBerry and HTC seem to know their markets well. HTC still make a few too many devices, though, and should really bring out a good ONE every three months or so. BlackBerry seem to have it just right. Not too many choices, the occasional foray into touchscreens and an ever growing youth customer base.

What are the other manufacturers doing? Well, Motorola seem to have the USA covered but elsewhere they’re non-existent. Their early gamble on Android in the US paid of massively, but what are they playing at everywhere else? They’re only just starting to impact the UK market when they’re one of the oldest phone manufacturers around.

And then there’s Nokia. The epitome of a company that refuses to watch modern trends, Nokia seem hell bent on making phones for the elderly and utility company staff members. Seriously, does anyone use a Nokia any more? Not even a 12 megapixel camera could save the (9 months delayed) N8 from near oblivion due to the rest of the phone being a bit pants.

BlackBerry have a single goal, as do Apple and as do Google. Why bother trying to be anything else at the moment when those guys cover all bases so well? To be different from all of these guys would be to make a product that nobody wants to use. Well, except for Windows Phone 7 – another favourite of mine when I remember it exists, which is sort of the point. Great UI, not enough customisation or features. Why do Microsoft just insist on getting it a little bit wrong all of the time? Too many projects? Sounds familiar…

Apple

First up, I think Apple are going to make not two but three iPhones to release this autumn. It wouldn’t make sense to make just one alternative when they’ve already tested a three step approach to products with the iPod series. Speaking of the iPod, will it even have a point any more should Apple release a bunch of phones at different price points?

What will they look like and what would they feature? Well, the two things Apple are missing out on with the iPhone 4 are users that like physical keypads and users who haven’t got £450 to spare.

A re-skinned and tweaked iPhone 3GS (which had half the screen res of an iPhone 4) wouldn’t be a huge step backwards and would be really clever business if they kept it secret enough. The real innovation would be a candy bar style phone or a QWERTY slider. I don’t think they’d make something like a BlackBerry as, lets face it, BlackBerrys aren’t all too pretty.

Sony Ericsson

Contrary to common opinion, I think Sony Ericsson are going to completely blow people away with the Playstation phone – if they get it right. Firstly, they should really ditch their heavily customised Android UI (it looks tacky and is probably a pain to tie into updates).

Secondly, they really need to encourage emulators and maybe get a few deals going with some of the older games manufacturers. Nintendo games may be a step too far (legally, anyway) but are Nintendo going to make a phone? I’d think probably not in the next two years so they could learn from a partnership with Sony. Come on guys, do it.

I think I should probably quantify the “blow them away” bit. The first Playstation phone (Xperia Play) looks like a brick and doesn’t appear to have any ergonomics. I think a second generation will be where they really hit the mark, as long as they don’t take their eye off the ball. Sony Ericsson products have not been the best lately and I think they know it. Update: In the flesh this is a very svelte device. The pictures are somehow completely un-indicative of actual form.

Android Tablets

By far the biggest market will be Android tablets. There will be hundreds of the things in a short space of time and it won’t be long before a manufacturer announces a 2GHz dual core with 2GB RAM and a laptop dock (Asus are already close). When that day comes, I’d say that traditional laptops, and even desktops, will have their days numbered (are you listening Dell – clearance sale SOON).

The problem with Android and other good quality tablets, is that there are a lot of manufacturers announcing them but the only tablets worth spending money on seem to be endlessly delayed (BlackBerry PlayBook, ahem, AHEM).

They’ve actually delayed for so long that the iPad 2 has been released before them – which is really ridiculous. We know Apple are innovators but they shouldn’t be that far ahead surely? No doubt as soon as there’s a decent Android tablet out, the iPad 3, with Quad core and dual boot iOS / OS X 10.7 will be released (March 1st 2012 – keep your eyes peeled).

Well that’s my time travelling done for today. I’d absolutely love to see Apple’s take on a keypad-based phone. Will they do it? Will they want to take on the now-not-so-mighty Nokia at their own game (and no doubt do it better)? Now that would really be worth watching.