The only reason Google didn't put their apps on WP was because they were having a stupid feud with MS. That, and why bother doing something that could potentially strengthen a rival platform.
If you think Android gained steam because of exclusive Google apps -- apps that aren't even exclusive anyway since you can find most of them on iOS -- then you're wrong. WP also did have exclusive MS Office apps for quite some time by the way. Something you'd think would be quite a big deal in the corporate world.
MS are doing more right today than they have for quite some time, so I'm not sure what you're talking about here.
Do you realise how different the company is today compared to how it was back then? I do agree with you somewhat that the position of the XB1 has obviously played some part of this, but if you've been following how Nadella has transformed the company since he's been in charge, and the sort of things that Spencer's been saying for nearly two years now, you'd know that this isn't just some sort of panic reaction by MS. Again, I'm sure the XB1's position has maybe forced their hand a little -- personally I didn't think the Win 10/Xbox crossover would happen to this degree until next gen -- but don't let the decisions a company made nearly a decade ago influence what you think of their decision today. As hard as that might be for certain people.
