This morning, the New York Times had an interesting piece about the shift in cellphone momentum away from Microsoft to Android and the iPhone. The story refers to Windows Mobile as ‘foundering,’ which won’t bring much happiness to Redmond. Of course, Microsoft already knows that they’re quickly becoming a non-player in the smartphone market.

What’s of interest beyond the basics is just how far the Windows based phones have slipped in terms of customer satisfaction. Quoting the story: “Indeed, a J. D. Power & Associates survey found that Windows Mobile had the lowest satisfaction rating among customers of any smartphone operating system. The iPhone has by far the most satisfying software, the study found. Android is a distant second, followed closely by BlackBerry’s operating system.”

“Windows Mobile scored below average on every attribute, said Kirk Parsons, director of the study, especially in ease of operation, speed and stability.”

That was my experience — I had two Motorola Q phones fail. They tended to lock up frequently, and one had to be replaced. I was on the Verizon network, which was very good, but when the iPhone came out the thought of having something designed to work well with a Mac, and something that had a certain well-thought-out elegance was just too much of a lure.

Microsoft owned the smartphone market for years, so it is a mystery to me why they fell so far behind. The entry of Android, and especially the new models, is welcome competition. Most cell phone makers are migrating to the Android platform, which doesn’t require licensing fees. The iPhone design isn’t for sale to anyone, and seems to be doing just fine. Apple could fall into the same somnambulant stupor that Microsoft seems to be in with smartphones, but the Android offerings should keep them scrambling. We’ll all benefit from that competition.