A Phone That Saves Us From Our Phone. Really?

If you have watched television at all within the past month and a half chances are you have seen one of the Windows Phone 7 commercials from Microsoft.  Windows Phone 7 is supposedly a phone that will save us from our phone.  I understand what Microsoft is looking to accomplish with these commercials.  I get it – I really do.  The Windows Phone is supposed to allow users to quickly glance at their phone and get an idea of what is going on with their friends, work, etc through the use of the “Tiles” feature so you can get back to life.

In these commercials, Microsoft really makes their point.  People have their face in their (smart)phones a lot.  There is absolutely no denying that.  However, there are a lot of people who actually enjoy using their phone.  In fact, I would say that most people I know, whether it be friends from school or online, enjoy using their phone and do not see it as a nuisance.

Granted, there are times when you shouldn’t be using your phone, but I don’t think whipping out your Windows Phone to take a quick glance at it in those situations is considered permissible either.  So that point is pretty much moot.  Which brings me back to the question, what is a phone that can save us from our phone?  Does such a thing exist?  Do we even want such a thing to exist?

If people enjoy using their phone, why would they want to be saved from it?  I just don’t see how that would sell phones.  To me, it seems like Microsoft is saying if you want a cool and fun phone with lots of apps and games, get an iPhone or Android, because Windows Phone 7 isn’t for that type of use.  Meanwhile, Windows Phone 7 also has its fair share of distractions built-in as well (e.g. XBOX Live integration), but it totally ignores that in these types of commercials.

The commercial’s make Windows Phone 7 sound like a total bore and I think that is a mistake.  However, while the commercials are clever, they don’t show off any features or capabilities which is what people typically look at when buying electronics.  Will this end up being a successful ad campaign for Microsoft?  We’ll see.