Apple's first iPhone revolutionized the mobile industry, popularising the model of a third-party developer "ecosystem," today considered pivotal to the success of any operating system.
Part of the reason for the limited success of Windows phones is that they support only 100,000 or so apps, compared with about 500,000 or more for Android or iPhones.
There is also the interconnection between apps and content, typified by Apple's iTunes and iCloud, which share content across devices, that acts as a powerful disincentive to switch between vendors.
Consumer perceptions of the Windows brand have been shaped by PC usage.
"Much has been made of Windows Phone emerging as the third ecosystem' in mobile. This is a huge task in itself, but Apple's and Google's entrenched positions where consumers have already invested heavily in apps and content makes switching platforms less attractive," said Ben Wood from mobile sector research firm CCS Insight.
The new phone software is similar to the Windows 8 desktop and tablet software to be released on October 26, making it easier for developers to write apps for both, and Microsoft hopes this will boost the platform's popularity.
But the Windows operating system is by no means universally popular in the PC market, so consumers will not necessarily come to the mobile phone equivalent with unalloyed goodwill.
"Consumer perceptions of the Windows brand have been shaped by PC usage. Although Windows 8 will help, there is still plenty of work required to overcome historical prejudices in the transition to mobile," said Wood.
The new Lumias could, however, benefit from the continuing decline in Research In Motion's BlackBerry, and also from a recent legal blow to the Android operating system.
A California jury decided last month that some of Samsung's hot-selling Android smartphones copied features of the iPhone, which may result in import bans and drive handset makers to put more resources into making Windows-based phones.
But for Nokia and Microsoft to exploit that window of opportunity, it must first find favor with consumers, who so far have shown little enthusiasm for smartphones with Windows software.
