I know that Microsoft feels that it has a lot riding on the success of the still to be launched Windows Phone 7 and are hoping for the same kind of response the company has seen with Windows 7. Sure it would be nice to see the smartphone flying off the shelves come launch day but any person with half a brain knows that this is unlikely to happen.

At the same time they will have to weather the inevitable comparisons to the iPhone. It isn’t going to be just a simple comparison but rather right across the board – the OS, the UI, the hardware, the price etc etc right down the line.

There will also be some comparisons made against the Android based smartphone but it won’t be to the same degree. In most cases I can almost guarantee what the response will be regardless of how good the Windows Phone 7 is.

From it’s no iPhone right through to #FAIL.

But the thing is, of course it is going to fail under those conditions except that in the broader sense it won’t really fail. It just won’t be the rip roaring success that will have all the pundits asking for ketchup to go with all the crow they are going to have to eat.

Does that mean it’s a failure?

No it doesn’t because in the broader sense Windows Phone 7 doesn’t need to be a rip roaring success in order to be successful. After all how can anyone really expect a first generation device even come close to besting devices that are already entering their fourth generation, as with the iPhone, or even the second generation as with the Android phones.

Anyone who does is an idiot.

However that doesn’t mean that Microsoft can slack off in the slightest.  They are coming to market with a first generation mobile device with specific hardware requirements, something that they have never done before, and they are coming into the game with a first generation user interface (UI). Common sense should tell anyone that they aren’t going to wipe the floor with Apple, or Android.

What they do have to do though is be good enough to get their foot in the door. They need to make people stop and look. They might not buy in at this point but at least they will see what the new kid on the block is bringing to the table. They desperately need to wipe from the consumer’s mind things like WinMo and Kin and they can only do that by making their product available in as many places, on as many carriers, as they possibly can.

If they can get any amount of mind share, today and the future, then they will have been successful. The future of the Windows Phone 7 will at least have a chance but even there they can’t slow down a single day. Unlike their corporate customers who value predictability the everyday consumer needs to be constantly reassured that the product will get better.

So even though it goes against their current mindset Microsoft has to learn very quickly that they have to push out updates as fast as they can, even if they are just fixes and minor new features. Once the consumer sees that Microsoft is serious with Windows Phone 7 then the company can think about going for the winner’s circle.

[Editor’s Note: Windows Phone 7 won’t be a rip roaring success but it doesn’t have to be is a post from: winextra. –mrh]