Third party extensibility is absolutely critical but it doesn't necessarily need to be in the form of a third party app. With 8.1, Microsoft actually seems to be moving away from building service aggregation into the platform but the point still remains. Under certain circumstances, it adds distinct value that isn't present in other platforms that depend upon third parties to extend the capabilities for features like contacts, mail services, calendar, etc... At times, third party extensibility for core features is a good thing but when third parties begin developing calendar apps en masse, there is probably something missing with the platform's native contact management app.
Thanks - interesting post. I agree that third party extensibility doesn't have to be at app level, but there are pros and cons of service aggregation. Thinking about messaging, as one good example, aggregating SMS, e-mail, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc has some apparent advantages - consistent UI, single contact list, etc. However, even these advantages are questionable. I don't use a single e-mail inbox, for example, as I use different e-mail accounts for different purposes. I do not want to see work, personal and spam e-mail accounts in one view. Maybe some people do, but I guess a lot of people are like me.
There are some clear disadvantages, too. Just thinking about messaging, each messaging channel has its own characteristics. For SMS, I want a counter to tell me how close I am to the 160 character limit, but I don't want that for e-mail. I can attach any file to an e-mail (well, not on WP...), but only photos to WhatsApp messages, and nothing to an SMS. Some messaging channels require payment (SMS), others don't. Aggregating all the channels together limits them to just the features that Microsoft implement, which may miss things and reduces the opportunities for others to innovate and try something new. It seems to me that integrated messaging solves a problem that most people simply don't have (using several messaging apps doesn't cause me any problems in day to day life), and it brings limitations.
These problems are likely to apply even more seriously to other functions. What if I want to make an app that combines, say, photos and messaging? Should it interface to photo aggregation, or messaging aggregation? Is it even possible to integrate with both, and will the UI(s) make any sense?
Another problem is that forcing all, e.g. messaging systems into a single UI reduces the opportunities for third parties to differentiate their service, or to make money from it. Can a messaging aggregration app enable subscriptions in a user friendly way (like WhatsApp), or the display of adverts (which might be necessary to fund free services)? App developers often consider their UI to be a core part of their service and a major differentiator against other services.
This is not the say that aggregation is a bad thing in all cases. All the mobile OS's support aggregation to some extent, such an integrated contact lists. But in my opinion going too far with intergation tends to solve fewer problems than it creates.
Other platforms may have hundreds or thousands of contact management apps but that isn't necessarily a strength. It could actually be a weakness. Sometimes, I wonder whether they specifically develop core apps and services with feature gaps to encourage 3rd party development.
I doubt that's the case, but even if it is, is that a bad thing? No one company has all the best ideas; allowing space for others to try new things can be a great strength.
Is Windows Phone on par from a feature to feature basis? Yes and no. It may actually be more complete than other platforms in some areas. Meanwhile, competing platforms fall back on their platform's gaps by saying, "There is an app for that".
Any platform will have gaps. Even if fully supported all current services (which is impossible), new ideas and requirements appear all the time.
Microsoft could improve key features like the People Hub by opening up service aggregation to other third parties. To do that, they would probably need to break out the People Hub as an app. Then, they could update it for other service feeds from Instagram, Disqus, etc...
I agree that is an interesting direction and I am curious to see what Microsoft come up with. But how do you integrate all these different feeds? Does it even make sense to do so? Are the concepts behind them, and the type and volume of material they carry compatible enough to make that an advantage over separate apps?
Are features important? Yes but they aren't everything. I just wonder whether we are asking the right questions. PERSONALLY, I would rather see more service integration and fewer apps. I realize that the vast majority of people equate apps to functionality but it is just stupid to have 5 different chat service apps. To me, a differentiator is platform level integration for services.
Then it's good that we have a choice of mobile OS.
Look at OneDrive on Windows 8. Imagine how powerful it would be to have third party Explorer level extensibility for other cloud service providers. Then, create extensibility for searching other cloud services as well as OneDrive. That may seem counter intuitive but if anything, it would encourage MORE 3rd party development. Inherently, that increases platform adoption and so on.
Strongly agree. I really dislike the way Microsoft don't allow a level playing field for other cloud services on WP and W8. That's also very limiting for the whole industry.
Unfortunately, something like that will never be accurately represented in a feature to feature comparison. Changing the dynamic for mobility should inherently include ease of use and service integration. Apps have and should have a place in the future but they can also be a crutch. If you flip the equation on it's head, you could argue that the, "app gap" actually refers to platforms that need third party app development to fill the gaps in the native platform.
Do people really have a problem using multiple apps for the same 'function'? Taking messaging apps as an example again, aggregation is based on the idea that they are all inherently equal and the same. Even if that was true, I don't think that's how people typically use them. As I said, even my different e-mail accounts are used for different purposes, and for sure I use Facebook messaging, WhatsApp and SMS each for different purposes, or different people, or in different situations.
This might just be me, of course.