MS spent a decade driving its smartphone brand into the ground and then excavated a sizable crater for it by floundering for several years while the rest of the smartphone market flourished with new offerings from apple, android, and others.
MS has lost its smartphone brand credibility. Releasing good, solid products will help them rebuild it but even if they successfully rebuild credibility it'll be a long time before sales catch up.
P.P.S. I've said it before, but I think it might be some sort of great cosmic karmic justice if somehow Microsoft got shafted trying to peddle a "superior" product in the face of competitors with network effect on their side.
MS has lost its smartphone brand credibility. Releasing good, solid products will help them rebuild it but even if they successfully rebuild credibility it'll be a long time before sales catch up.
See also: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3395281
Edit: I found a decent chart that tells the tale: http://www-bgr-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/npd-u...
P.P.S. I've said it before, but I think it might be some sort of great cosmic karmic justice if somehow Microsoft got shafted trying to peddle a "superior" product in the face of competitors with network effect on their side.