Windows Phone Thoughts: Forrester Releases Survey on Brand Trust; Microsoft Near Bottom

"Research mavens Forrester Research, known for almost always recommending against the early adoption of any new technology, have released the results of its semiannual survey on how much we trust well-known consumer electronics brands...Going by the results of the study, the biggest winners were Bose, Apple, and Dell...At the other end of the spectrum was Microsoft, which was included due to its presence in the gaming console market. By a long shot, the software giant scored lowest on both dimensions. The score is a measure of consumer apathy and/or dislike towards the entire Microsoft product line rather than reflective of any distaste for the Xbox. Forrester thinks the score means that Microsoft could be headed for trouble."



Ars Technica reports on the Forrester report, and I've got one word for Microsoft: Ouch. 8O Despite security improvements in recent Microsoft products, the average user experience is, if anything, more frustrating, thanks to spyware and software complexity (... and ActiveSync). In my opinion, Microsoft will have to decisively solve the spyware problem with Vista to begin to rebuild this image, and they've not done themselves any favors by allowing another Christmas season to pass with yet more XP boxes in the hands of consumers. Of course, branding is not just about quality: witness Bose at the very top of the chart. Looks like Microsoft has both product and PR work cut out for them. Microsoft does have the resources to pull through this, so we'll have to keep on watching.