Every one of those turning points it felt as if Windows Phone would finally catch on and go mainstream, but alas it never happened. Granted, with the Windows Phone 8/Lumia 920 combo, Microsoft and company had their best opportunity. But even then, things have been slower than expected despite the award winning OS and hardware.

App counts don’t matter but so-called “flagship apps” do. Ever since Windows Phone 7.x came out nearly three years ago, the “break moment” has been anxiously anticipated. That’s the instant where things click with consumers and the phones become an accepted, viable option for people to consider when shopping—the third way, if you will.

And don’t get me started on Instagram.

Not only are these new experiences, they’re solid, quality apps that set the bar in design. There’s little disagreement that the Pandora app for Windows Phone is one of the nicest experiences on any platform.

More and more we’re seeing high profile games based on the Unity engine arriving in a timely manner and developers committing to the platform (just yesterday Digitally Imported jumped on board). It’s an exciting time both for developers and longtime users of Windows Phone who finally feel like they’re getting the respect they deserve.

Getting the message out

Combined with all of the new app momentum, we’re also seeing an even more aggressive advertising push from Microsoft, culminating in the cheeky “Wedding” commercial directed by Roman Coppola. That ad, which has garnered a massive 4.5 million views in just over a week on YouTube alone, nearly doubling the Grant Hill ad. And that ad is now in regular rotation on TV, playing on TBS and other channels on a fairly regular basis.

For all intents and purposes, it has gone viral. Why? Because it’s hilarious and is something to talk about, despite all the naysayers who suggested that Microsoft missed the point with the ad.

In addition, we’re seeing Windows Phone Challenge commercials playing before packed theaters for Iron Man 3 and other blockbuster films, raising even more awareness.

And this is just the warm up.

The Next Stage