Microsoft fighting to release WP8 in time for Christmas; it’s bad news for consumers  

I’ve heard the same thing, and despite what you believe, Microsoft fighting to get the software for Windows Phone released in time for Christmas is a very, very bad thing.

The Verge has heard, and I’ve confirmed independently that Microsoft is having issues with adapting the NT Kernel to the new chipsets involved with Windows Phone 8, and their schedules are suffering. The software is buggy and crashes a lot right now, which explains why Nokia wouldn’t really let anyone touch the devices at their event last week.

However, Tom assures us that Microsoft plans on having the product out and delivered to OEM’s in time to have handsets on the market by the end of November.

My problem with this is, that if Microsoft is having issues now and it’s this buggy now, what kind of quality can be expected on the “final” handsets? It makes me wonder if features will be abandoned for future updates (creating the same issues that Windows Phone 7 had at launch), or if they’ll be in there but unstable, unusable, or worse, half baked.

Microsoft has set a big task for themselves, to deliver to the market something that Android and Google could only dream of creating; a consistent, stable experience that works across handsets in a way users expect.

They really do have the biggest chance of taking on Android or even the iPhone, but by forcing themselves into tight deadlines to deliver like this, especially if they are having so many issues, I am worried the company will deliver a half-finished Windows Phone and taint the branding that they’ve worked to hard to obtain.

I don’t think it’s worth rushing the product just to get it out in time for the holiday season. Not having your devices on the market is not worse than having half-baked devices in consumers hands. Nobody wants a phone that crashes or is missing critical functionality.

Take your time, Microsoft. Windows Phone 8 has a chance.
Don’t jeopardize it.