Today I had the opportunity of attending the launch of Nokia’s Lumia 800 with Windows Phone 7.  This phone is available for the first time in Puerto Rico through Claro, arguably the most advanced and forward-thinking mobile operator in Puerto Rico.

I had the chance to get together with some good friends from the industry like Rodolfo Forster (Nokia), Vivek Shah (Nokia), Alejandro Mercado (Microsoft) and Yamille Morales (Microsoft).  It is always good to catch-up on projects and strategies, and in a way, constantly validate our roadmap.

I am an Android user, however, the Windows Phone not only feels very solid and polished, but also adds a completely different navigation paradigm to the mix.  I have to admit, that while using a Windows Phone for the first time, it makes an Android or iOS user feel a little bit uncomfortable, primarily because the user experience is not what one would expect.  You look for icons, menus, dock bars, notification bars…it’s all different on this phone.  This is one of the key differentiators between native and web apps, and I think this very fact will help people understand how important user experience is.

The differences between platforms are part of a well orchestrated strategy towards increasing adoption.  You can create a Web App, open it with the iOS or Android browser, and since both platforms are similar in may ways, you wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable.  Now, open that very same Web App on the Windows Phone browser, and you’ll probably say “hey, what’s going on here!?”.  There are many differences in animations, screen transitions, fonts, buttons and other, that today’s Web Apps don’t take into consideration.

The company behind an operating system, wants apps to be developed for their platform, because apps are their currency.  The amount of Apps on every market increases the value of the platform, and creates value to the end user.  Users want to be on a platform with as many useful apps as possible!

We, as technology providers, and our customers as content publishers, must always remember that we cannot choose for our customers, but make it so that what the user wants is readily available on whichever platform they decide to use today, or better yet, be natively available on any platform they choose.

Ricardo Alcocer - Co-founder and CTO