Windows Mobile Camp Takes A Swing at Competitors

Microsoft and Samsung are pulling out all the stops in a bid to gain share in the Canadian smartphone market.

The companies jointly introduced the Samsung Omnia smartphone, which is powered by the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, on the Bell and Telus networks this month. The Omnia will likely be Microsoft’s big smartphone bet in Canada this year, if not Samsung’s.

Now Microsoft is set to give away $10,000 to the mobile device user who snaps the best shot using a mobile device (no, not just a shot taken with a Windows Mobile device). The winner is chosen from a pool of 25 photos that garner the most online votes by June 15. Three Omnias will be given away to online voters as part of the contest.

The Omnia product release is Samsung’s latest attempt to gain share in the hypercompetitive Canadian smartphone market. The runaway leader, for those that live in a cave, is Research In Motion and its ubiquitous BlackBerry.

The Omnia, conversely, has been a moderate success in markets such as the United States, where it was released in August of last year. The Samsung Omnia HD, the  second iteration of the device, will be introduced in various overseas markets in the third quarter of this year.

Back on the homefront, the Microsoft contest is designed in part to help the company gain needed smartphone mindshare. This is a considerable hurdle for the company to overcome given the lock the BlackBerry camp (and increasingly iPhone) has on Canadian users.

Anyway, the Omnia is an intriguing product that should help the Windows Mobile camp maintain or improve its position in the market place for a couple of reasons. The first reason is the fact its Samsung’s first touchscreen smartphone device available in Canada. These types of devices are growing in popularity thanks in large part to the precedent set by one very notable smartphone supplier based in Cupertino, Calif.

Second, it also comes with the company’s TouchWiz user interface, which replaces the standard Windows Mobile deal users would get otherwise. This is a net positive as Windows Mobile skins are perceived by many as rather, outdated.

The TouchWiz technology has been well received by most reviewers; some have proclaimed the Windows Mobile skin to be better than HTC’s TouchFlo. (I have yet to use the Omnia for any length of time so I can’t offer my qualified opinion.)

Smartphones are still a relatively fast-growing part of the information communications technology industry; there’s still ground for all suppliers to gain. The window of opportunity for challengers won’t last forever which means short-term success is imperative.