This article has assembled a collection of Microsoft announcements and accepted them all at face value.The reality is the opposite to what Microsoft's spin department would have you believe.Microsoft's claimed figure of 15,000 developers has included its own employees who have been encouraged to create apps and submit them back to the Marketplace in their own name. Microsoft also bought 90,000 handsets to give to its employees, but purchased them all through retail channels so that they register as retail sales.The claim that WP7 apps are cheaper is also meaningless, as it includes garbage apps. When you survey individual high-profile apps, you'll find them more expensive on Windows Phone 7.Does anyone seriously believe that Windows Phone 7 offers anything at all to the enterprise? Its Exchange ability is sub-par. Its Office software is worse than what's available on Android or iPhone. Windows Phone 7 is a security nightmare, and doesn't offer even the most basic security features, such as VPN or strong passwords. Enterprises will know to stay well away from it.And above all else, the elephant in the room is that the platform is in dire straights. There is no longer any doubt that the first month of sales has been a complete flop.At the May, 2010 ReMIX conference, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer went on stage and gloated that Microsoft would sell 30 million Windows Phone 7 units in its first year. AT&T obviously believed this, and on 22 July, 2010, AT&T announced it had ordered 8 million Windows Phone 7 devices, and had high hopes.Now look at the situation. Just 2 weeks after the US launch, AT&T is giving away phones, with 2-for-1 offers at fire sale prices.

Now look: a troll!

Hey Crowd_Sorcerer, thanks for the insight. I'm looking into the cost of its flagship apps right now (namely ones issued by Microsoft.)In terms of Exchange/Office, what you have to remember is that this is still an operating system in its infancy. iOS and Android both had their share of issues, but we've more or less forgotten them since they've been out for a few years now. I'm not saying WP7 will take the cake — just that it shouldn't be discounted.

Microsoft has made Windows Phone 7 a paradise for developers. They offer free Visual Studio and free Expression Blend tools. They commissioned Charles Petzold to write a 1000-page book on programming WP7 applications. They offer free developer classes, both live, recorded, and webcasts. There are already tons of resources for developing WP7 apps. Sure, some of the 15,000 developers are MS employees. Everyone is excited about the platform and they should be. It's an extraordinary piece of work. The platform only launched three weeks ago in the U.S. and there are already 3000+ apps in the Marketplace. I honestly don't know what other platforms offer in terms of Office applications. I'm not much of an Office guy. But I do know that WP7 offers strong Sharepoint integration and 25G of cloud storage in your SkyDrive comes with every phone. I doubt anyone is going to do much content creation on a phone regardless of the OS.MS did not buy any handsets for employees. They offered to reimburse employees for WP7 handset purchases. They also told them to hold off and allow the general public first crack at getting handsets. There is no dishonor or deceit in wanting your employees to use the product you make. Nor is it an indication of failure to offer discounted handsets with contract. It is normal business practice. MS has to compete with every handset, not just iPhone.I am very satisfied with Windows Phone 7. It is a very robust OS that makes the competition look antiquated. As with all platforms, it is a work in progress. Future patches will backfill features that got cut and continue the innovation. There is a great team behind WP7. MS nailed it.

What I don't understand is – you think WP7 will fail badly and yet you get some time from your busy schedule not just to read the complete article about the device that according to you will never will make a positive impact but also write a long comment about it. You either want to advocate people about not buying WP7 because it will fail miserably or are afraid of the competition WP7 is posing to the market.If WP7 fails it will not be because of WP7 lacks competing features but it will fail because of people of fanboys like you who don't want competition because this will impact sale of their favorite products.

In terms of enterprise potential, here's another fun tidbit people may have forgotten: Dell actually decided to buy all their employees Windows Phone 7 phones and shift them away from RIM's BlackBerries a few weeks ago.I'm glad to see some insight on the developer standpoint though — is this from personal experience, or do you know people that have participated in Windows Phone 7 app development?

If you look back at my Twitter feed from a month ago I was skeptical at best about the WP7.After actually using the hardware and playing with different features and apps a bit I can genuinely say that the UX is quite the experience.I'd say it's about on par with the iPhone, excelling in certain areas while coming in at around par in others.It's a far better experience than that of the BB or Android.The UX, coupled with the way MS has been treating their devs really has me hopeful for it to go big in the next year or so.I'll still be giving it a year though for them to iron out the wrinkles before I'd even consider switching out my trusty iPhone for one of these bad boys.

The Dell thing is interesting. Both Dell and Microsoft moving their employees to Windows Phone 7 handsets, which of course both companies are involved in creating and selling (so they have a vested interest in being their own lab rats).Are they really going to downgrade their security and not require on-device encryption? On-device encryption is one of the basic fundamentals of enterprise security. But Windows Phone 7 doesn't do it.The older Windows Mobile does it. iPhone and BlackBerry both support on-device encryption at an OS level. Android has its Touchdown email app that will encrypt all email, contact and calendar information for sending to Exchange.On Windows Phone 7, not only does the OS not support it, but you also can't run any app to support it, because the dang phone does not multitask. It's a hopeless situation.Most enterprise Exchange Servers are set up with policies which demand on-device encryption in order to connect. So it will be interesting to see Dell and Microsoft downgrade their own security for the purpose of promoting their own phones.Windows Phone 7 does not have the basics of security. It would be the worst of all mobile OSes for enterprise. Even simple tasks like connecting to a WiFi network are a nightmare. It won't connect if the SSID is hidden. It won't connect if you use a static IP address (which most enterprises use). An absolute fiasco.Microsoft should never have released Windows Phone 7 before these OS basics are in place. All we have is a promise to introduce features in the future, but with no roadmap or timeframe.Talk of Windows Phone 7 being used in the enterprise must end here.