mPhone, Anyone?

Somewhere on the Redmond campus…

The vein in Ballmer’s forehead is throbbing. If he’s not careful, he may direct his anger on yet another unsuspecting, innocent victim, a chair that is soon to feel his wrath. Why? Because of Apple’s continued success with the latest darling being the iPhone. While the industry as a whole has seen better days, Apple is thriving. This infuriates Ballmer and annoys ol’ Billy Boy. The iPhone is the talk of the country, the way Microsoft used to be back in the Windows 95 days.

Microsoft’s attempts to slap Apple down to its “rightful” place in their eyes have proven futile and little more than a cosmic joke to Apple. Just look at the Zune for an example. Had the Zune been released in the days when Microsoft dominated nearly everything, perhaps the iPod would’ve been swept away, but not these days. The Zune was and is a resounding failure. So, what can Microsoft do to try to put the brakes on the Apple train flying down the tracks? How about the mPhone?

It’s a logical assumption that Microsoft could try to enter the market here. What would the mPhone be like though? Would it run Windows CE or a mini Vista? Would it integrate into Vista on your PC seamlessly? Could the mPhone have a Zune function? All these questions are small ones, but the biggest one hasn’t been asked yet: would Microsoft finally learn to create an easy-to-use, intuitive user interface instead of a clunky, half-baked solution?

Odds are they won’t, because Microsoft simply doesn’t understand the concept. Anyone can slap together something and SAY it’s easy-to-use, but it doesn’t make it so. This is where Apple truly shines. Apple isn’t about features or performance, it’s about something that’s sorely missing from most electronics and from PCs these days—one word, simple.

Wonder how much longer it’ll be before Billy Boy and Ballmer get fed up enough to throw their hat in the ring? No one really knows when and if it’ll happen. I’ve got to admit, it would be fun to see if Microsoft finally makes something for “the rest of us.”