Think Critical

maxmellman on “Microsoft’s Developer Problem” from Marco Arment:

On the bottom end of the spectrum, Metro keeps even the simplest apps looking good, which cannot be said for iOS. But at the top, though it may be gorgeous, Metro is a ceiling, and keeps functionality limited. The Metro UI, it seems, is a great normalizer. 

One additional problem Microsoft has with their Windows Phone Series is the initial marketing. When Windows Phone 7 came out, the ads all emphasized getting your data fast and getting out of the phone. Remember the commercials where people were lost in their phones? Windows Phone was meant to be the solution to us staring at our little handheld screens.

Many people thought that Microsoft’s marketing was just that, marketing. But I think it was more honest than that. The Windows Phone operating system, and Metro especially (Why couldn’t they just call it that?) feels like it is supposed to be one integrated software experience.

On Windows Phone, unlike iOS, the phone doesn’t *become* the app. Instead, my Facebook information is right there as part of the phone software itself. The app is assimilated into the Windows Phone experience. Apps *look* just like everything else, because one of the primary design principles of Windows Phone is that it should all feel the same, like one giant Windows Phone app that has access to all of your favorite content.