1) Let's start with the interface which didn't completely copy iOS like Android and BB did.
2) Live Tiles - which neither Android or iOS have
3) Nevermind Android or iOS don't have live tiles, you can also make the tiles small, med, or lg depending on the app. Again, something neither platform has.
4) Built in feature Data Sense which conserves your data usage and lets you know which apps are using the most data. Not available on Android or iOS
5) Built in support for Office. Available on both android and iOS - but for a fee though.
6) 41 megapixel camera? Oh yeah, only available on a Nokia WP8 handset.
So yeah, if you actually look at the features and benefits of WP8, you'd see that stuff too. Most people just write it off, but I give them cred since they didn't just jump on the iOS bandwagon. They really built a separate, independent OS that stands on its own. You can't say that about Android.
1) "Different" is insufficient. The UI on my cable company's DVRs is much different from my TiVo DVRs, but that makes it "stand out" in much the same way a rusty nail sticks out of an old board on the ground ready to stab your foot.
2&3) An anti-feature. One Android actually has, unfortunately, adopted to some degree.
4) I don't know how it "conserves" data usage, but both iOS and Android absolutely do tell you how much data each app uses, and iOS at least lets you disable cellular data usage for specific apps.
5) An increasingly irrelevant office suite. Couldn't care less.
6) A marketing gimmick for the uninformed. Packing more pixels into a smaller sensor only goes so far when your optics are hamstrung by a fixed aperture and the need to fit in a pocket.
This all are nice-to-haves, except for the impressive camera.
See.
iPhone: a sleek, compact, highly integrated, fashionable-statement smartphone vs large clumsy geeky devices.
BB: corporate-controlled employee smartphone vs employee-controlled smarthpone.
Android: $300 smartphone vs $700 smartphone (and if you fancy to produce your own, you can join for free).
Each is a solid, obvious deal for some large market segment. For efficient adoption, WM needs a deal like these, large and unique. Yes, good MSO integration, and other types of (MS-centric) corporate integration, security features, etc might be it. The niche of corporate-friendly smartphone is a bit vacant with BB's demise.
The killer feature of Blackberry was keyboard and excellent corporate user support.
The killer feature of Android was openness and much lower prices.
What makes WM stand out? They need it.