Windows 8 waiting game

It's official - the current range of Windows Phone devices will not be getting fully upgraded to Windows 8 - essentially leaving them up a river without a paddle.

This could be particularly bad for Nokia. The Lumia range of Nokia Windows Phones has been doing a lot of legwork to capture the attention of a market enamoured with the “cool” of Apple and Android devices, and the affordability of the BlackBerry solution. The flagship Lumia 800 and 900 devices have been critically acclaimed for their design and dynamic user interface.

But if there's one thing we've learnt from the way things turned out after the Nokia N8 arrived, with its dead-in-the-water Meego OS, it's that the prospect of being left high and dry with outdated software will certainly not lead to the phones flying off the shelves - regardless of how great they may be in their own right.

So Microsoft and Nokia could be looking at a situation in which the consumers they have worked so hard to win over and to actually buy the current Nokia Windows Phone offerings, may now be feeling neglected and in some cases downright angry. I know I would be.

It is almost the equivalent of finding out you've just been part of a massive beta test - that you had to pay for - and that you will still be paying for until you get a new phone that can run the new software in all its glory.

The current Windows Phone platform is not a complete dead-end. Its final destination will be a “Windows 7.8” (see what they did there?) update. This update will provide superficial Windows 8 features (like a new home screen, and more customisable tiles), but the existing phones' hardware won't be able to take full advantage of the platform as will be the case with the “real” Windows Phone 8 handsets.

The prospect of being left high and dry with outdated software will certainly not lead to the phones flying off the shelves.

Kathryn McConnachie, digital media editor, ITWeb

That's like thinking you're getting a new car, only to find out the only thing new about it is a surface paint job.

The current Windows Phone 7.5 platform is still based on Microsoft's old OS, Windows CE. Windows Phone 8, however, has been completely rethought and re-coded from the ground up, sharing the same source code as Windows 8. So it's understandable then that Microsoft would want a tight, no-compromise rollout of its new platform as it seeks to better intertwine device hardware and software within a single unified ecosystem.

That's all well and good, but it doesn't soften the blow to those who are already in the ecosystem and who will be stuck, cornered off with a second rate version of the OS within months. It's unfortunate that the most dedicated Windows Phone fans may be left outside in the cold with their Windows Phone 7.8 devices, while everyone else is enjoying the Windows 8 party to the fullest.

Another key consideration is the fact that those people who were seriously thinking about buying a Windows Phone device will now play a waiting game with Windows Phone 8 instead. A problem that could not come at a worse time for a device like the much-hyped Lumia 900 - due to go on sale next week in SA.

As noted by analyst and MD of World Wide Worx, Arthur Goldstuck, while a device like the Lumia 900 - as it is with the current OS - may be as good, if not better than competitor devices such as the iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S3, Nokia and Microsoft's problem is actually getting the device into consumers' hands so they can see it for themselves.

Poor upgrade prospects will be just another reason for consumers to pass the Lumia devices by for now, while they wait to see the first true Windows Phone 8 offerings. This does not bode well for sales figures of the current top-end Nokia Lumia phones.

Will Windows 8 be worth holding out for? Everything seems to be pointing to the fact that it will. At the very least it will be a welcome shake-up to the PC, tablet and mobile industries - bringing Windows fully into the fray and on par with, if not in some respects ahead of, competitors.

But, it is going to be interesting (to say the least) to see if the groundwork laid by the current Nokia Windows Phones will make Lumia converts eager to purchase the first Windows 8 handsets, or if it will leave them with a bitter taste in their mouths and outdated devices.

In the South African mobile landscape, the country is witnessing a major smartphone boom - with smartphones due to outsell feature phones for the first time next year.

To my mind, while the growth potential is huge, the window for getting devices and platforms at the top of consumers' minds in order to capitalise on this growth, is not as big. Whether Nokia and Microsoft can afford to see their current Windows Phone devices flop as consumers play the waiting game remains to be seen.