Windows Mobile dropped into a vanity project category after it accounted for a limping 1 percent of total operating system usage in 2016. The bulky 99 percent was shared between Android and Apple iOS.

To recall, early generation smartphones were dominated by Microsoft but it wasn't able to hold the commanding lead after Google and Apple made their own second-generation smartphone OS. These two created a disruption by incorporating third-party applications and social media services in their respective platforms.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is now scrubbing the surface to re-introduce Windows Mobile into the market by building closer ties with Web 2.0 services. While the initial plan apparently flopped, Nadella still hoped to tap key indicators like developer support and customer viability to revamp Windows Mobile's appeal.

The problem that Windows Mobile is facing to truly make a successful comeback is lack of third-party support. There is a very limited sphere where the OS is moving and only Microsoft's web services are supported. Developers too are behind its demise when they found better ties with Android and iOS and stopped making apps for Windows.

While the launching of Windows 10 on mobile is a significant move for Microsoft, the company is slow to incorporate native apps on the platform. Last year, users got brokenhearted when they saw that Windows 10 mobile didn't actually make smartphone versions of the most appealing desktop apps. At any rate, there are new ideas that tickled the interest of developers like inter-usability of PC and smartphone apps, Forbes reported.

Given the above circumstance, observers conclude that Windows Mobile isn't done yet. There is a good chance that Pocket PC-turned-smartphones can make a comeback provided that Microsoft can capitalize on the dimming interest. What high-end users really want to see in their smartphones are enterprise and business tools that only Windows can offer for now. If so, Microsoft can live up to its promise that Windows phones are the most productive devices on the planet.