Windows mobile have had a huge head start over the likes of the iPhone and lets not even talk about Google Android. Last year around 20 million Windows Mobile units were sold. That is a lot when comparing with other platforms.. but it is way under forecast !

In fact sales have tapered off significantly over the past 18 months. In the fiscal year ended in June 2008, Microsoft sold 18 million licenses, which missed its target by 2 million, but represented a 63 percent increase over year-ago period. But if the 5 million sold in the second quarter is any indication of what is to come, Microsoft might be looking at relatively flat results over the next year. That’s in stark difference to what they had hoped for. In May, Eddie Wu, the software company’s managing director of OEM embedded devices Asia, told Reuters: “50 percent growth is the minimum.”

The reality is that Microsoft should be not just selling more units than its competitors but kicking butt. The problem: Microsoft was quick to target the early adopters in the enterprise segment, but incredibly slow at providing a phone to the mass market. Beyond that their phones just never get that WOW factor that the iPhone has and seems that the new Palm, Blackberry and even the Nokias have.

In the year-plus that Apple has been selling phones, it sold more than 13 million; BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion has been very good at transitioning from offering corporate e-mail on-the-go to consumer-friendly services; and Google has entered the market with its easily personalized Android operating system. Palm has recently launched a new and very competitive operating system. All of these companies became new threats over the last year, right when you see Microsoft’s growth moderate. I am not putting down Microsoft.. quite the contrary I have been an early user. What I am is lamenting that they can’t get their act together. They need to be cutting edge, they need to surprise and make using a Windows Mobile easier, faster, more syncable, more services that are really cool that run on top of it, etc…

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