Andy Ihnatko reviews Windows Phone 7:

With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has created the first really fresh and successful approach to a mobile platform since the iPhone. They’re competing with iOS and Android the same way Apple chose to compete with Blackberry, PalmOS and Windows Mobile in January of 2007: by not competing at all. They didn’t build a knockoff: they built something new.

In short, he likes Windows Phone 7. And, I am starting to see where Windows Phone 7 could fit into the market. The carrier’s and handset makers’ tendency to muck-up Android isn’t helping the platform. I don’t think it will be long before Android is thought of as the Motorola Razr of the smartphone market. But, I’m not speaking of the Razr of 2005, I’m thinking more about what the Razr was in 2007, sure everybody had one, but that’s because it was practically the default not because it was what the cool kids were getting.

While Android as a platform is fragmenting, the folks at Apple, Palm/HP, and Microsoft are still chugging along with platforms of their own. Oddly enough, two months ago I wouldn’t have listed Microsoft in the category of premium mobile OS makers, but I’ve started to change my tune. Just as Andy pointed out in his review, Microsoft built something completely new. But, my initial reaction to the platform was that it was too little, too late. However, I no longer feel that way. If the Xbox has proved anything it’s that Microsoft is more than willing to pour money into a platform until it becomes a successful product. And, I don’t see them doing any less with Windows Phone 7.