Now, we're 8-9 months down the road from my last posts on Windows Phone, Google Android, and the general mobile marketplace.  Wow, how things have changed.  First off, Google Android has really taken off in its number of units in the marketplace.  While I wasn't the first person to complain about the Droid line of phones, that didn't stop people from buying them.  HTC has released a line of Android Phones.  I bought the HTC EVO 4g.  These are impressive devices. 

Now, we know that Microsoft is releasing Windows Phone 7.  A lot has been made on twitter Friday about me talking about the product.  I didn't realize I was going to start such a s*** storm about it.  52 @ replies by lunchtime.  With 140 characters, its hard to full explain your thoughts.  Anyway, I wanted to blog about this a little bit more and try and put some more of my thoughts out there.

• We need lots of mobile devices out in the marketplace.  These devices will have various form factors.  Its about hitting a market segment that will buy your product.
• There is constant turnover in the mobile device marketplace.  If you don't buy an iPhone, Windows Phone, Android device today, you might next year.
  
• Microsoft keeps telling me to develop for their device.  Ok, fine.  Tell me "What you are doing to get your device into 20-30-40 million users hands next calendar year?"  Time is money, and because its my time, it doesn't come from some type of magical bucket of money.  My time is valuable.  I don't want to waste it on a platform that you aren't pushing or is a dead end.  What is your strategy to get your product into enough users hands to make my investment in time valuable?  I keep asking this because I don't get a satisfactory answer.  In May, the answer was "I can't talk about it now because plans are still be formalized."  That's fine.  Its the end of August now, what's the plan.  I understand that you are putting $500 million into marketing the device.  Awesome.  What segment are you going after?  I feel like you are trying to sell me sizzle, devs are meat and potatoes guys.  Trust me doesn't work, show me does.  The devil is in the details folks.
• Developing on a platform costs money.  Web HTML works well because it works across lots of platforms.  Now, develop native apps for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7.  How much does that cost?
  
• What's the story on Windows Phone 7 development hardware?  Who's got any hardware?  I've asked on Twitter looking for devs in Knoxville with a #WP7 device. Asked for devs in Tennessee.  Still waiting on a response.  Now, I realize that there is a limited supply of dev devices, but the simulator will only take you so far.  For what I'm doing, the simulator isn't going to cut it.  Now, I don't need the hardware at this point in time. With no users, I'm not worried about hardware today, but when I ask when will we have access to hardware in the future, it doesn't get answered.  I'm not asking for free hardware either.  With the iPhone, there is the iPod Touch that you can use for most of your development.  With Android, Google has the Nexus One, which is currently sold out.  I'd like to see some piece of hardware that I can use without having to buy a phone and its associated minutes.  I want a device.
  
• I think the Windows Phone 7 bootcamps are brilliant.  Run around the country doing one day training seminars on Windows Phone 7.  Brilliant.  I'll see you at the Knoxville Windows Phone 7 bootcamp on September 30.
• Android is activating 200k devices per day or some similar number.  Wow, that's a big number.  Even if it's worldwide, its still a big number.  Assuming that this is per working day, that's about 4.5 million devices per month and 54 million devices per year.  Wow, that's a big number.  Clearly Windows Phone 7 will blunt that, but its still a big number.  Still Android is there first, and that matters.
• RIM may be the big boy of smart phones with 40% of the marketplace, but no one is building apps for their platform.  9,000 apps for the platform?  That's nothing.
  
• Apple iPhone devices are where people are spending the most money at.  The device costs more, the minutes cost more, and the apps cost more money.  There is money there.  While there are fewer for pay apps on Android, the volume is significant and does make up for the lower for pay apps. 
  
• Apple, Android, and RIM are the big guys in the smartphone application marketplace.  Palm was recently purchased by HP, so I suspect that they will re-emerge in 2011.  Can Windows Phone 7 make it anything better than #4 in 2011?
• I've had conversations with three potential clients about the iPad.  No one is asking about Android or Windows tablets. It looks to me that the market wants the iPad.
• I have reservations about the iPhone/iPad family of devices.  Not that I think that the devices are bad.  Far from it, I think the devices are very good.  The problem I have with these devices is Apple.  Their licensing terms for their SDK and devices makes me really nervous.  Remember the story of the scorpion and the dog.
• Android is very interesting, but the flood of all of the devices with all the versions of the product.  Now, I am impressed with the higher end devices, but not everyone is getting a high end device.
• Nobody is developing for RIM devices at this point in time. I think Palm has even less developers.