When it comes to the brand ‘Windows Phone’ everyone has an opinion and everybody is also a self-appointed expert on marketing. Even here at Windows Phone Central, a lot of comments lean towards the idea that Microsoft's brand is baggage, a discussion that is amplified with the proposed purchase of Nokia and the future of the Lumia trademark. The reason for then negative perception most often proposed? Its deleterious association with Windows desktop, of course.
While by no means scientific, the search indexing site What Does the Internet Think? returns some interesting results when looking up ‘Windows Phone’ that may surprise some. The site, which uses a proprietary algorithm to measure popularity and perception of a search term, claims that ‘Windows Phone’, at least how it is being used on the internet, has 56.1% positive coverage. (The term ‘Lumia’, while not popular for search, does bring in an impressive 63.3% positive result).
When comparing to the iPhone, Windows Phone seemingly does much better as Apple’s OS only reaps 33.9% positive coverage. Of course Apple’s iPhone is way more popular as a search term overall, dominating Windows Phone with 82.5% of all the hits by comparison. Apple is increasingly facing the modern problem with operating systems: becoming stale despite being the go-to brand. Palm and BlackBerry have had to deal with this perception issue and Apple will too at some point.
The term ‘Android’ unexpectedly churns out a comparable 57.6% for positive coverage and is also exceptionally popular. Due to its market dominance, Android should naturally be searched for more than Windows Phone and it runs neck and next with iPhone in that regard.
Is any of this concrete proof? Far from it. With a proprietary algorithm and variable returns changing based on search terms, the results are merely a cursory tool for feedback and they should be considered anecdotal. But it may cause some people to rethink that ‘Windows Phone’ in and of itself is perceived negatively by the masses and is an albatross around the neck for Microsoft. It’s ahead of iPhone, runs nearly even with Android and it seems to reflect customer satisfaction, which always runs high with Windows Phone device reviews. The problem is perhaps not perception just popularity i.e. not being considered a viable smartphone choice by consumers due to it being mostly unknown.
We find it fascinating only because had the results been reversed, it would have confirmed a lot of people’s suspicions. This, however, bucks the trend and serves as an interesting starting point for conversation. That leads us to your comments...
Thanks, Jason M., for the tip!
Daniel Rubino is the Executive Editor of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft here since 2007, back when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, Microsoft Surface, laptops, next-gen computing, and arguing with people on the internet.
