Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 is coming, and the buzz is good! A lot of tech observers are licking their chops for another entrant into the mobile market, with the added potential bonus of Microsoft and Apple duking it out anew, with the roles of industry giant and plucky upstart reversed.
Except ... Windows Phone 7 isn't the first much-heralded attempt by Microsoft to enter into the world of mobile OSes. The company that has dominated the PC operating system market for pretty much as long as that market has existed has never managed to find long-term success in anything smaller than a laptop, with its mobile offerings generally underwhelming customers -- when they've ever made it out of the planning stage. And so, to add a cautionary note to the largely positive Windows Phone 7 coverage, we offer this tour through Microsoft's mobile OS history -- history that folks in Redmond have to hope won't repeat.
Photo courtesy of viagallery
