Windows Phone has an app problem, but don't tell that to Microsoft

"We went into a market where there [were] two very different ecosystems. You see what Apple is doing, you see what Google is doing. There are very different approaches, and we didn't think that either was quite right. We saw an opportunity for a third, and that's what we've done."

Market share is one indicator of success, he continued, but for Microsoft the hope seems to be generating a robust ecosystem, not claiming the top spot.

"Are you growing in more countries in sales? Are you growing the number of quality apps that people are looking for? Are you increasing customer satisfaction? Are you getting more partnerships, more innovation?" McGee asked. "All of those things are happening for Windows Phone."

Microsoft isn't content to play third fiddle, mind you, but Lieberman admitted the system has some catching up to do even if it is providing a differentiated OS option.

"What we've done is delivered something very different from what other folks have," he said. "We have a whole differentiated offering that gives people an interaction model that they can't get on any other platform."

Personalizing is key to the Windows Phone plot, he explained, as is the ability to access information users want faster than on other platforms.

"By far we're the most personal phone."

For all its plusses, there is still an glaring line drawn by OSes that have come before.

"From a time-based perspective, we launched our phone in 2010 and competitors had really shifted the paradigm around 2007, so there's a time delta there," Lieberman continued.

"[However], I think we have clearly defined ourselves as a third player in the ecosystem right now."

Never 100%

Pandora launched for Windows Phone 8 last week, fulfilling a promise made by Microsoft to bring the music app to life back in October.

Getting the app is a score for the platform, and it's able to take advantage of the filter features of Kids Corner to keep objectionable content out of youngsters' ears, but the absence of a major app like Instagram isn't helping Microsoft much.

Though he avoided specifics, McGee hinted that it and other popular applications could one day find themselves on Windows Phone.

"It's a work in progress," he said. "We're adding hundreds of titles every day. We find the majority of Windows Phone customers are buying the apps they're looking for, and they've gotten a great experience on Windows Phone.

"There are additional apps that we would love to add, and we're talking with a lot of folks."

Microsoft has a decent cache of exclusive content, he added, giving Windows Phone users experiences completely unique to the OS. And of course, nobody's perfect.

"At this point we feel that we've got just over 90 percent of the apps that people look for on both competing platforms," McGee said. "Those that we don't have, we've got our eye on. We'd love to bring those over as quickly as we can.

"But nobody has 100 percent of anybody. Nobody has every app that we've got. Apple doesn't have all the apps that Google has and vice versa. So it's important to calibrate for what's right for the platform.

"But taken as a whole, we feel we've got a good percentage of the sigfnificnat apps on other platforms as well as apps that behave better and differently on Windows Phone that you can't get anywhere else."