6 Reasons Windows Phone 7 is Dead in the Water
i4u.com
i4u.com
This author misses one big thing in all of his reasons. The average consumers don't care about these technical issues.
Now that WP7 phones have 'cut and paste' and most of the other features of comparable phones (except a front-facing camera) so consumers aren't going to be concerned about update schedules, Microsoft not standing up to partners (why would you 'stand-up' to partners, you want to work together), and most of the other reasons in this article.
A consumer goes into a store, speaks to a staff member (hopefully knowledgable) plays with the device and picks the one which they like best, most of which is probably based on appearances and ease of use and what everybody else has/recommends.
Microsoft has done an amazing job with the phone UI. They are showing lots of promise and commitment to the platform. Android was able to take significant market share, and there is no reason to believe that WP7 won't be able to do the same.
Early numbers aren't realistic as the more people using the phone, the more it gets accepted in the marketplace. There have been quite a few posts on engadget recently where TV shows are overlaying Windows UI onto the non-windows phones. This breeds familiarity and branding. Windows phone UI looks so different from all the other OS's that this is a very strong move.
Plus, it's really good (if you've tried it). I'm not saying that WP7 will absolutely be a success, but if it fails, I doubt it will be for the reasons in this article.