http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/blog/2012/aug/28/apple-samsung-windows-phone-nokia

Since the release of iPhone in 2008, iPhone has become the most popular smartphone in the world with an intimidating consumer base. Being the first in the market, Apple has always had the trendsetter advantage, and has always used this advantage to retain its large consumer base.

After winning the lawsuit against Samsung regarding design copyright, Apple has unearthed a new competitor claiming: “Not every smartphone needs to look like an iPhone”. The windows operating system running on several Nokia and Sony devices is critically praised and offer several new features that Apple has not, such as the integration of Microsoft Word, Excel, and other applications.

If the Windows phone is to succeed, it must differentiate itself from Apple and offer new features that Apple has not yet released in its devices. A competitive edge of Apple is the ease of compatibility between the iPhone, iPad, and Macs – “iCloud” (the wireless connector of these three devices) has indirectly encouraged every Apple user to buy all Apple products. Therefore why would a Mac owner purchase a Windows Phone? Is the entire demographic of Mac users now eliminated from the potential customer base?

For Windows (or any competitor) to succeed in its smartphone endeavours it must understand Apple’s clear advantage and develop a product entirely new and innovative.