Today, the domain pleasefixwindowsphone.org will expire, but guess what: that's totally OK, because it's no longer relevant!

One year ago, I had become somewhat frustrated as a Windows Phone user who had adopted this platform from the very beginning (an HTC Mozart was my first Windows Phone, which is still in use by my mom btw).

I had a feeling that Windows Phone as a platform was moving forward too slowly, lacking features compared to other smartphone platforms and essential apps were simply missing. That's what caused me to write this rant of a blog post and set up the website pleasefixwindowsphone.org.

[The original web site can still be found using this URL http://pleasefixwindowsphone.azurewebsites.net]

Luckily, these problems are a thing of the past now. Windows Phone is moving forward at a nice pace, the feature gap to other platforms has closed and all the major relevant apps have arrived. With this gained traction, Windows Phone can focus on its core strengths, like its superior usability and user interface again, convincing more people to move onto this platform.

Windows Phone and its ecosystem have gained a lot of traction recently and I see more and more Windows Phones and happy Windows Phone users emerge around me.

So, what has changed exactly during that year?

Updates

First and most importantly, updates are coming in more frequently now. Especially the Preview for Developers program has made it really easy for developers, enthusiasts (and thus their friends and families) to gain access to new features quickly. This was especially important for the recent Windows Phone 8.1 update, which delivered a bunch of highly requested features (e.g. Cortana, a notification area, separate volume controls, ...).

Interfaces / SDK

The Windows Phone operating system started out as a very closed down platform with limited access to device features providing only an abstract programming model. This made a couple of use cases for apps simply impossible. But with the recent updates giving access e.g. to NFC, the Bluetooth Low Energy profile or improving the notification subsystem things have improved greatly in that area.

Apps

Fortunately, all major apps (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, ...) are available on Windows Phone and also the quality of these apps is really good. But what's more important is the fact that these days more and more companies see the necessity to also provide a Windows Phone app now, which wasn't the case a year ago.

The most recent and prominent example for this is - of course - FitBit. I have been waiting eagerly for their app for almost a year now and it finally made its appearance on the Windows Phone Store.

Uber is another great example of an app that arrived recently and has been missed on Windows Phone by many people until then. This one was considered a deal-breaker by many, preventing them from making a move onto this platform. Well, not any longer.

Quizduell, is a popular quiz app in Germany and Austria and has been requested by Windows Phone users vigorously. This one also arrived in the last couple of months.

So generally speaking, there is definitely a very positive traction in the Windows Phone ecosystem noticeable and it is moving forward at a fast and steady pace.

If things play out the way they should, we are currently witnessing the critical pebbles, triggering a huge Windows Phone avalanche.