Windows Phone 7 is very good actually. Read the reviews, which have been really good. You are out of date with the times.
“I don’t see Blackberry users, iPhone users or Android users changing... to get more MS windows problems. “
Over 1.3 billion cell phones are sold every year. Out of that number, only very tiny number(approx 100 million units last year), were smart phones. By far most cell phones sold today are not smartphones. Microsoft doesn't have to take any users from iPhone/Android/Rim. All they gotta do is grab a good chunk of the vast untapped new smartphone users, moving up from ordinary cell phones.
“And frankly, what was the last MS product that was “cool” or desirable, or part of popular culture?”
The XBOX 360, which is busy clobbering the Wii and PS3 in monthly sales even as we speak?
Kinect, which will launch in November and is already experiencing very impressive pre-orders(pre-orders are sold-out in sections of the UK market for example)?
Wrong. Here are the September numbers, the most recent:
Wii - 687,000
Xbox 360 - 347,200
PlayStation 3 - 232,400
PlayStation 2 - 173,500
The Wii even surpassed the XBox 360 in total installed base a while back, despite coming out over a year later (now 74 million vs. 42 million sold). The PS3 isn't too far behind the 360 with 38 million. The recent XBox increase in sales to this high number is mainly due to a drastic price cut, not sudden overwhelming demand for the system.
Also remember that Nintendo was making money on every Wii sold from day one. The XBox only went profitable a couple years ago, and still hasn't erased the multi-billion dollar overall loss of the system since it's introduction.
“...only very tiny number(approx 100 million units last year), were smart phones.”
Are your figures worldwide figures? If so, there may be an important reason - cost. Meanwhile in the good ol’ USA...
Study: 42 percent of U.S. uses a smartphone... January 2010 - probably higher now.
http://mobihealthnews.com/6178/study-42-percent-of-u-s-uses-a-smartphone/