Microsoft Shows Win Phone 7 On iPhone, Android

Microsoft is giving mobile phone users the ability to experience Windows Phone 7 in action, with an interactive demo that can viewed on an Apple iPhone as well as Android smartphones.

The idea involves a HTML5-based demo on a Website that can be accessed by the Web browsers on the iPhone and Android smartphones.

Interactive Demo

Mobile phone users can access the Website by clicking here or here using their mobile Web browsers to try out Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) and run the HTML5 demo in a mobile browser window.

Of course, there are also plenty of Youtube videos available showing off Windows Phone 7’s user interface and its functionality.

The online interactive demo for mobile phones however is a novel approach, in that it allows the user to effectively “road-test” all the major functions and features of Windows Phone 7, such as Messaging, Calendar, Pictures and Outlook, without having to install any software on the actual handset.

The demo is designed to be touch-enabled, so it does apparently feel like the user is using Windows Phone 7 on their iPhone or Android-based handset. As it is just a demo however, it doesn’t give the users the ability to make actual telephone calls (other than pretend calls) or manipulate their own data.

Uphill Battle?

Microsoft is facing an uphill battle in the mobile sector. Android and Apple iOS-based devices have already secured leading positions in the mobile phone sector. However Redmond is fighting back hard, and it does have some form in playing catch up when it is caught out by new developments.

For example Microsoft was completely caught out by the arrival of the Internet on people’s PCs, and for a number of years Netscape dominated the Web browser market until it was ruthlessly crushed by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

Likewise Microsoft has managed to carve itself a sizeable market share in the console gaming market thanks to its Xbox franchise, which is successfully taking on the might of Sony’s Playstation 3 and Nintendo.

And of course now Microsoft has Nokia onboard and fully committed to the Windows Phone 7 platform, after the Finnish handset giant finally decided to ditch its Symbian and MeeGo platforms, in favour of the Microsoft option.

But the question remains whether Redmond and Nokia, despite being desperate to secure a foothold in the mobile sector, have in reality left it too late to convince mobile phone users?