Nokia was obviously impressed with Windows Phone 7, having selected it for use on their hardware, but not everyone is as enamored with Microsoft's OS as they are. In an interview today at MWC today, Verizon CTO Tony Melone touched on WP7, saying that he doesn't think that the platform will gain the popularity that Microsoft is hoping for. Additionally, Melone said he doesn't think that Big Red "needs the Nokia and Microsoft relationship" and that the big three competitors on his network are "Android, Apple, and RIM." The CTO feels a little stronger about HP's chances at success with webOS, saying he's "optimistic with WebOS developing into a strong player, just based on the strength of the OS."
Unfortunately for Microsoft, an exec at Motorola echoed Tony Melone's unenthusiastic feelings on WP7. Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services product management at Motorola, said that the possibility of using WP7 is "not something [they're] entertaining now." Of course, if Microsoft's OS were to really take off, I'm sure Moto would be happy to jump on board. For the time being, though, Wyatt doesn't feel like Moto would see success with a "closed platform" like WP7.
While Moto's thoughts on Windows Phone 7 aren't terribly surprising considering the success they've had with Android, the candidness of Tony Melone's interview is kind of surprising, especially since Verizon is gearing up to launch WP7 devices within the next few months. We don't know for sure how well Microsoft's mobile OS has been doing since there's been no sales numbers to be found, but I'd say that it's a little too early to count out WP7 right now. Once the big NoDo update finally lands and CDMA devices begin arriving on Sprint and Verizon, then the real test will begin.
