Forbes contributor Anthony Kosner talked about Windows Phone and its place in the smartphone market over the weekend, and he thinks there are some very strong reasons to support the ecosystem that is building up alongside iOS and Android; the underdog factor, thinking differently, making room for another, and Professor Bejan's rule of four.

That last one is new to me, so here's Kosner's summary of it:

I asked Bejan to corroborate my hunch on this and he said, “Yes, a mature technology will sweep the territory better, more completely and farther with more than one design leading the spreading flow.” So that’s what we have here with the emergence of the Windows Phone—the diversity of successful designs that leads to greater and greater market penetration for the category as a whole. I can’t wait to see who’s next.

All very good points, but they are all very academic. The proof of these (like any academic work) is in the real world and that comes down to delivering great phones and getting them into the hands of subscribers around the world. Only then will we see if these points can be applied to Windows Phone - even if it does deserve it (although we here at AAWP might be a bit biased).