Microsoft turns to consumers to shape Windows Phone 8

Now that the Mango update is out, and its future descendants Tango and Apollo are (presumably) under construction, exactly what Microsoft will add to its Windows Phone platform next is a perfectly fine thing to speculate upon.

But as it turns out, we might have a better inkling as to what is coming than we initially supposed. Microsoft has put together a suggestion platform, and is soliciting information from the ‘crowd’ (remember when that was a hot term?) as to what it should include in the phone line in the future.

The company calls it “your chance to play engineer and possibly even influence the future of Windows Phone.” According to the team, it “lets [one] steer feedback directly to the folks who actually design and build Windows Phone.” We want to make a joke here about the Windows Phone team running out of ideas, but that would be distasteful and, probably, incorrect.

What is more likely is that the Windows Phone project is at something of a crossroads. Mango, taken as a whole, filled out the operating system to what might be called its natural size. Things that were obviously missing or broken were added or fixed. What to do next, now that the DNA of the product is set, is a completely different task.

And therefore, we presume, Microsoft is turning to its fans to make sure that its coming product choices are on the mark. This is what is currently leading the charge:

If all of those features were added, it would tot up to an incremental, and not ‘numbered’ release, but it would be a quite popular one. Exactly how the company plans to use the information that its tool gathers is unknown, but it will likely weigh its internal opinions against the external results, and align as possible.

For now, vote and submit as you wish. Your voice may be heard.