>>>>>>>I didn't mean MVP, I meant the support they offer to Windows Phone developers. My impression (from afar) is that they offer quite a lot of it as part of their effort to chip away at Apple and Google. Here is one link.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff402535%28v=vs.92%29.aspx
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>And Apple doesn't do similar things as part of their platform?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>They do. It's just my impression that with Microsoft being so far behind in the cell phone market they are trying harder to lure developers. I may be wrong.
>>>>>
>>>>>Most .NET developers don't build apps that target consumers. And the primary thing that will drive developers to the WinPhone platform is WinPhone sales. The primary thing that will drive sales of WinPhones is a great platform of apps. Catch 22. This is what makes the Nokia deal interesting. Nokia is a great brand for great hardware, and the mixed with the WinPhone OS, it will be the Nokia brand plus the WinPhone ecosystem. It's not clear which will do more to drive phone sales, the hardware/brand or the the platform/ecosystem.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Did you see that the BlackBerry PlayBook runs Android apps? The possibility of RIM and Android walking hand in hand is slightly more compelling, IMO, considering they ARE the smart phone market at present.
>>>
>>>Are they? Maybe they have some better products now but those earlier Blackberries were an ergonomic challenge for human fingers.
>>>
>>>Maybe I am a hopeless Apple fanboy but my impression is the iPhone has been the game changing product and everyone else is playing catch-up.
>>
>>
>>Take a look at some numbers.
>>
>>Apple is a distant third to BlackBerry and Android in smart phone market share.
>
>They've been toppled by Android in the mobile platform market:
>http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-brief/54462-android-market-share-topples-blackberry


True, but RIM has always been in front of Apple.

I said Apple was a "distant" third, and looking at the numbers, that's an exaggeration. But they are still 3rd.

Like I said, I see RIM smart phones running Android in the future. They did it with their tablet. They "have the technology".