Another example of how Microsoft's mobile approach is failing

from The Verge 

Posted by Brian_M on February 19, 2013 01:05 pm56

Check out the new HTC One being hyped up on the front page of most of the big tech sites (including this one).

It's a gorgeous device with an awesome camera that makes the Lumia 920 look decidedly dated and clunky.

HTC was planning a Windows Phone variant of this device, but had to stop development after Microsoft refused to increase the specifications for Windows Phone 8 to allow for a full 1080p display. Apparently that "goes beyond current plans" and is "more than consumers need."

It also has a camera that's very competitive with the 920's "PureView" including all the bragging rights around OIS, low light performance, etc. So that's no longer a differentiator for the WP ecosystem either.

So not only has Microsoft missed out on getting a variant of what will be the most capable phone yet released, but their existing competitive situation has been eroded even further. And when Microsoft does decide to update the "chassis specification" of WP8 to allow for a One-style phone, it will be old news in Androidland.

Windows dominated the PC landscape because it was the platform of innovation. Hardware makers could try all sorts of crazy things, and they did. Windows Phone 8 is failing because it's a platform of stagnation -- Microsoft sets all the rigid parameters and innovation is completely banned, except in tangential areas like camera resolution.

Bill Gates rightly noted that the company needs to return to innovation in order to win again. Setting Windows Phone 8 OEMs free to innovate on the platform would be a big step in the right direction to this end.