I didn't mean to imply it is going to die. I mean that it is walking into a hostile environment: reviewers, carriers, developers, everything is against it and it hasn't even come out yet. Never mind the huge internal pressures. It's a scary place to be, even for a big team at a big company. I guess I choose the wrong phrase. I'm not sure how to describe it succinctly.
What I don't understand about Windows Mobile is how they squandered such a huge lead. I used to absolutely love my Windows Mobile 5 HTC phone back in 2005, there was nothing even close in terms of functionality, apps, hardware. In the 5 years since, while Apple and Google built entire new systems from the ground up, all Microsoft could come up with were some minor updates. What have they been doing all this time? Were they resting on their laurels thinking they had won the market?
> Were they resting on their laurels thinking they had won the market?
Absolutely. Microsoft has totally stagnated, and only now are they going "oh crap..." and realizing that the market has moved on. Nobody thinks of Microsoft products as being truly innovative or groundbreaking. It's an unfortunate consequence/abuse of the clout that they've had in the technology space in the past few decades. Grow too big for your own good and blanket the marketplace with mediocre products.
However, I am going to stay far, far away from specifics. I've still got a lot of friends there. Most people work very hard and really care about their product. I wouldn't want to cause any trouble for me or for them.
