Is Windows Phone Right for Your Business?

History

Windows Mobile was the slow, dated and gawdy looking operating system the Microsoft needed to separate itself from in order to remain relevant in the smartphone arena. Windows Phone is Microsoft’s second attempt at creating a smartphone operating system and this time they’ve hit a sweet spot.  The new operating system takes into consideration what information people need the most and presents it to the user in a very quick, and easily accessible, way.

Pros

If you’re looking for a phone that combines fluidity and style then make sure to give Windows Phone a legitimate look.  Out of the four major smartphone OS, it’s certainly the most graceful of the quartet.  Transitions between menus are executed beautifully and the entire interface is a joy to use.  One of the best things about Windows Phone is the immediacy of which you can retrieve information.  As you very well know, in the business world time is a very important factor.  Simply by looking at the live tiles on the home screen a user can view time, weather, missed calls, number of text messages, upcoming calendar appointments and social media updates can all be seen without opening any application.  It’s no coincidence that a Windows Phone was named smartphone of the year by Engadget.

A unique feature that is beneficial to many business executives is the Office Hub.  Imagine working on a document on your laptop, then having to travel for a meeting.  That document can be saved to SkyDrive (Microsoft’s cloud storage), opened with the Office Mobile on your Windows Phone device and edited for any changes that you may need to make.   After returning to the office, open up your laptop and the continue working on the document that already has the changes made on your smartphone.  Excel PowerPoint, Word and One Note documents can all be edited directly from your phone without having to worry about any compatibility issues.  With Windows Phone, you truly do have a mobile office to run your business from.

Cons

The main problem with the Windows Operating system stems from Microsoft introducing it at a point where the smartphone market was already dominated by two other OSes.  The result of this has been a slow, but steady, adoption rate and hesitancy for app developers.  For the most part all of the major apps can be found in the Windows Store, however don’t be surprised if an app you’re looking for is missing.  The best remedy of this is to go through the store to make sure most of the apps you need for your business are available.  Windows Phone is a very promising operating system and would benefit many of people who are looking to run their business with it.