Windows Phone evangelist Ben Rudolph, with endorsement from Microsoft, is asking Android users to explain their #droidrage on Twitter. That is, to explain how Android malware has screwed Android users over. If people’s stories are epic enough, Microsoft will give away free Windows Phones.
Rudolph is only giving 5 free Windows Phone to the best worst Android malware stories, so it’s not like we’re all going to get one but I love love love the marketing move. It’s a super slick way to shift the conversation from Android vs Windows Phone (if such a conversation exists) to why Android users are unhappy with their wildly popular Android phones. The thinking being that bad for Android, one of the two dominant platforms, is good for Windows Phone, not one of the two dominant platforms.
Also, as Microsoft is well aware of with Windows, branding a platform as stricken with malware plants a seed of doubt in the public. If this #droidrage movement goes wide (it probably won’t), prospective phone buyers will start thinking Android isn’t safe to use and will look towards another phone. Regardless of how real a threat Android malware is, it’s smart of Microsoft to bring it up. They can’t act like the classic market leader Microsoft here because with Windows Phone, they’re the scrappy underdog. Up next: Windows Phone vs Android commercials in the line of Apple’s Mac vs PC ads. [@Microsoft via Naked Security]