It’s not the first time that a ‘Twitter for iPhone’ tag has given away the fact that someone is not using the device you might expect them to. Latest casualty of the telltale tag is Joe Belfiore, the Microsoft VP who fronts the Windows Phone project.
When The Verge ran a piece on it, Business Insider noticed that Belfiore used the comments section to share the reasons he is using an iPhone whilst on a 9-month sabbatical.
Given all this, he says, “it would be crazy not to” use an iPhone while he’s away.
It’s very important for me to understand products like the iPhone and Android phones, which […] represent the competition for Windows Phone […] On a 9-month leave-of-absence, I have a HUGE AND UNUSUAL opportunity to get to know these products deeply. To understand the benefits and drawbacks of a full ecosystem like Windows, Android, iOS — you have to LIVE IN IT. You have to feel its strengths and weaknesses, be let down, be delighted. And you can’t do that just “playing around” with a device for a couple of days. You have to learn the UI, upload your photos, use cross-device apps and tools… all of it.
His arguments of course make sense, and we have no doubt that many Apple execs also spend time playing with competitor devices for the very same reasons. But given the PR considerations, we imagine they take rather more care not to be seen doing so …
Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
