Despite its best attempts to capture a slice of the smartphone market, Microsoft on Tuesday announced that it has officially terminated support for Windows Phone 8.1, ushering in the end of an era where the PC-maker sought to directly compete with Apple’s iPhone and Android-powered devices, which have since created a smartphone duopoly. Never really much got into Windows Phones, I think the biggest turn off for me besides the vertical scrolling between screens was lack of apps compared to Android or even Apple. I wonder how much longer Windows Phones are going to last as I am sure Microsoft’s…