Poll Results: Readers Are Excited About WinPho 7

Late last week, following myriad announcements on the subject being excreted out of MWC, I asked y'all the question... "Which new mobile OS excites you most?" Clearly this question got everyone real excited (not). Nonetheless, the results show that the crew from Redmond may still have some mobile mojo goin' on. Hey, Microsoft's video looked bitchin'... but as folks once said, the proof will be in the pudding and, as I say (using a made-up word), the proof will be in its consumerization. Does the 2nd most popular choice (none are interesting) indicate that you guys think that OS proliferation is a bad thing in general and/or that iPhone, BB, Ovi and Android pretty much have it handled? Or does it mean I just need to ask more interesting questions?

For WinMo 7 Holiday 2010 Can't Come Zune Enough

Key Takeaways CTIA Fall 2009

So I survived another CTIA, this time with my voice and (obligatory liver damage aside) my health intact. I was unsure how well San Diego was going to work out for the show, but I was pleasantly surprised. The Gaslamp District seemed cleaner and nicer than I'd remembered it... with just enough grit to keep it entertaining. While enjoying vodka martinis alfresco at Greystone Steakhouse a friend and I were treated to several rounds of hobo-karate street theater. But, overall I like San Diego better for CTIA than SF (and much better than Orlando)... plus it's drivable from LA. So what did I learn? Uh, not that much frankly... but here are a few morsels that you all might find interesting:

• There was a significant amount of heat around Android, both from a device and content publisher standpoint. That said, publishers continue to have concerns about the lack of carrier-integrated billing.
• Windows Marketplace for Mobile running on Windows Mobile 6.5 looked pretty slick and worked pretty well on the HTC Pure (AT&T). The application catalog is still kinda light, BUT this store does have carrier billing.
• The Motorola CLIQ with Motoblur running on Android was my favorite new handset at the show. I spent a bunch of time with this device and was really impressed with the form factor, user interface and user experience. It looks kinda like an N97, only smaller and lighter. Motoblur is the best execution of desktop widgets that I've ever seen on a mobile device. For Moto's sake I hope that there's no hidden lameness.
• There was a lot of buzz about the departures of respected mobile games industry veterans Greg Ballard and Jill Braff from Glu Mobile and about who their replacements might be. The general consensus is that management and the board have been at odds over the path forward for the publisher.
• The rooftop bar at The Ivy hotel is definitely the best hangout spot in San Diego. But 207 @ the Hard Rock Hotel was the true hub of the show... SD's version of the W Bar in SF. BTW - almost nothing was happening on the actual CTIA show floor.
• Billboard's Mobile Entertainment Live! should be re-named Mobile Entertainment Dead!... the event was a pathetic shadow of its former self.
• Apparently, I need to revise some of my Top 10 Mobile Games Publisher WW numbers down... and if Sony Pictures' claim to mocoNews.net that they are the fifth largest games publisher in terms of downloads is to be believed, then perhaps I need to include them on the list (...but I suspect some more diligence is required).
• I was distressed by how many industry veterans discussed leaving mobile. Many others were re-focusing their mobile efforts on the un-sexiest, most established mobile services (where there's actually some money to be made).

That's all I have for now, if I remember any more as I come out of the post-show fog I'll add it. Did anyone out there see anything mindblasting at the show that I missed?

The US Is Getting Smartphonier, But Which OS Is The Smartphoniest?

FierceDeveloper ran a piece yesterday profiling the various mobile operating systems, including subscribers, recent growth rates, launch dates, supporting handset manufacturers, etc. Most of the information came from recent comScore survey data that revealed 30mil Americans have smartphones while 204mil still have dumbphones (and the rest have Fisher-Price phones). Here's the numbers by OS & growth rates from Feb to May 2009...

1. BlackBerry = 12,202,058 +26.2%
2. Windows Mobile = 7,040,584 +3.4%
3. iPhone = 5,744,018 +9.2%
4. Palm = 2,406,244 +0.3%
5. Symbian = 889,232 +0.1%
6. Android = 797,633 +86%

The growth information is obviously distorted somewhat by product release cycles...so, as you can imagine, iPhone will show crazy growth in the next cycle from 3Gs as will Palm from the Pre/WebOS. In the following cycle I'd expect to see Android growth spike again if the HTC Magic/myTouch performs to its potential. Frankly, I was pretty impressed by just how dominant BlackBerry is in the US and with how big Windows Mobile still is...like, I don't know anyone with a Windows Mobile device (except my mother-in-law...seriously).

Could There Be A RIMSoft WindowBerry in Your Future?

Silicon Alley Insider suggested in an article today that Microsoft (MSFT) should purchase Research In Motion (RIMM), while the stock is cheap, if it really wants to be a serious player in mobile. RIM is trading near it's 52 week low at $37.42, down from the $150 range last June. The benefits to Microsoft seem pretty obvious given their inability to get serious traction with their Windows Mobile OS and their limited revenue opportunity per handset as a software only play. The primary benefit to RIM would be the ability to leverage Microsoft's financial resources in order to maintain or grow its position in the increasingly crowded and competitive smartphone market. Interesting idea...but I am very concerned that there could be a painful culture clash in a combined company that could stifle innovation on the device side. If not executed artfully, such a merger could create substantial opportunities for Nokia, Acer, Dell, etc.