Microsoft spokesperson clarifies report of limiting number of WinMo phones
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jan 16th 2009 2:41PM
posted Jan 16th 2009 2:41PM
The Windows Mobile world got shook up a little earlier this month when Microsoft's VP of Marketing for WinMo said that the company was looking to cut back on the total number phones out there in order to "be more focused," but it now looks like that may not entirely be the case. According to TamsPPC, a spokesperson from Microsoft Austria has relayed the message that while Microsoft's stepped-up efforts to work with its partners may well result in fewer phones, "the implication in The New York Times that Microsoft will limit the number of Windows Mobile devices is not accurate." So, it seems that Microsoft isn't exactly throwing a firm number out there, but it also seems like it won't be too upset if fewer substandard phones make it to market.
YES!
Shit, I better start reading the actual post before commenting.
Actually I agree with you -- Yes!
Specifically, WinMo is overextended to a point where MS doesn't seem to be able to control the user experience any more. Any carrier is free to lock the navigation (Verizon), lock the connection settings (ATT), add crapware (all of them), dream up ridiculous charges for using software that should be free (Pandora, Music ID AKA Shazam) etc. etc.
So MS really does need to work much closer with its partners (the carriers) to keep them from screwing stuff up for their customers.
Having said that -- at the same time, they need to work really hard on improving their OS. Their partners only contribute about 20% of the suckage to WinMo -- the rest 80% is all MS's own doing. (Don't get me wrong -- I'm a dedicated WinMo user because I have business needs and it meets them the best, but that's no reason to not call a spade a spade -- and WinMo needs an overhaul). Looks like they're doing that with WM7 - so even though improvements are a long way away, at least they are in the pipeline..
Funny thing -- even as a WinMo user, I actually think I owe a gratitude to the iPhone here. Apple+ATT have managed to give the carriers a different view of how they need to view the software on the phones they sell. I don't think MS will ever be in a position where it can control the user experience to the extent that Apple does, but perhaps that level of control won't be necessary. Time will tell. In the meantime, the competition just gets fiercer and fiercer (cue the Palm Pre) so they don't have a moment to relax until WM7 comes out..
@TheAxMan: Definitely agree with you! Took the thoughts right out of my head.
Tired of the carriers adding bloat and charging all types of 'additional content' on phones. And making the interface sometimes spectacularly ugly. Sometimes the hardware makers do so too, but most of it is the carrier's fault. I'm still surprised Apple managed to get AT&T to not kill its first phone.
Yeah, MS has a lot of catch-up to do to make WinMo more consumer-friendly in its own merits, and not the hardware makers implementations. Buddying up more closely with the hardware makers should have been thought out years ago, but at least it looks like their headed in that direction. Microsoft makes some awesome technology, and they could put out something much, much better and still make something a bit more original, rather than just trying to be an exact iPhone clone. Perhaps WM7 will just be catch-up, and WM8 might be where the real innovations start. But if MS keeps going the same route by adding a few new features, then I can only see it going downhill. MS usually doesn't give up without a fight.
Never believed it.
No, Microsoft can't play hardball with it's partners. It's a shame actually - a WinMo properly designed (not adapted or "optimised") for a touch screen would have been nice, along with a proper touch SDK and apps designed for large on-screen controls.
Microsoft just can't say no. That's why they're still selling Windows XP. Get some chest hair, Microsoft - tell those OEMs that it applies to that their products simply aren't good enough. Otherwise the already tarnished Windows brand is going to deteriorate under the weight of poorly designed and technically inferior hardware. That would be a real shame, because lots of their products are actually quite good.
"No, Microsoft can't play hardball with it's partners." - KarlW
I'm sure Microsoft's PlaysForSure partners would agree. :|
you mis-spelled 'substandard' - is that ironic?
The iPhone Nano's auto-correct dictionary isn't the greatest.
@eggothewaffle: guess he should try a different device for use with iph... oh... right.. yeah.. there's only 1. isn't this terrible news, limited device numbers to like, 20+?
Spell checking never was a perfect art. For instance, My spell checker keeps replacing "nog" (typo of not) with "no", "anglr/angyr" (typo of angle/angry) with anger, hence:
"no" so fast, "no" at all, "no" necessarily, viewing "anger", "anger" friends..... it made me look like a 2yo for crying out loud.
@Like_A_Glove:
Btw, I thought "viewing anger" was pretty funny. Ought to be used more often.
IMO i think this is such a bad move. If was was one of the companies limited to how i create the handset, i would just switch to Google OS or even symbian.
What is google os? you mean android?
I think it's an excellent move. A more focused approach is exactly what WinMo needs to make the user experience with the OS better, now that there are so many options in the market.
Wow... All of those phones look alike...
Wow. Really? Can you explain, for example, how the Samsung Full Qwerty Candybar looks like the Samsung Touchscreen next to it looks like the HTC Qwerty Landscape Slider in the bottom right?
For the untrained eye that is.
The sarcasm is strong with this one. At least I hope so.
@Canis_Minor
Easy - they all have pickup / hangup buttons, as well as screens.
Lt. Obvious just got a promotion!
cell phones is a growing market now. many competitors now. apple, blackberry, blueberry and much more
Those blueberry phones are really clutch.
Is there such thing as a Win-Mo device that is NOT substandard?
If so I have yet to see it.
I thought you were banned?
He's totally right. The smartphone market was Microsofts to own the last 3-4 years. Blackberry was the "Apple" with their expensive, trendy business service. Palm has been on life support for the last 5 years, and Symian had no mindshare. Microsoft had a phone by nearly every maker, on every carrier. 3 years ago MS was counting the bucks to set down their next motel on blue.
iPhone has whooped them ALL... not just one MS phone.. but nearly all the MS smartphones put together. And people USE their iPhones to surf the net, play music, and watch video and they BUY apps for their phones in droves. The sales numbers 3 years ago and the market momentum was Microsoft's baby to lose.. I'm stuck with an older MS/Sprint phone (quite nice- wifi, 2G internet, Bluetooth, touch screen, media player? outlook email) for work and it's awful compared to an iPod Touch. The screen is fidgety and items hard to select without the stylus. the screen is packed with useless Win 95-style UI elements and a drop down "start menu" (on a 3" screen?) because the pre-canned CE apps all have to work on 25 different screen sizes. The phone makes calls and has lasted thru two other employees, but every other feature is extremely hard to find and difficult to use with the little stylus/pointer thing. I would not buy this phone for myself, it's horrible to use.
Touch and iPhone are slick.. the features are less, but smooth like butter. You pick it up and want to touch it and for the most part it does what you'd expect, before even reading any manuals. Frankly I like the UI of the classic iPod as the peak of music players... I could use any classic or nano without looking 75% of the time inside coat pockets, can't do that easily with the touch screens... no tactile feedback.
haha
It would be nice if these companies could release one good phone instead of a few dozen really bad ones. It really needs more focus and especially before the next windows mobile gets released. I might actually be interested in a new WinMo version phone... but not if they are designed like any of these.
Try an HTC you might be surprised how nice they are
If all you are worried about is features and looks then think hard about the Diamond or Pro. They are beautiful and have beefy hardware.
I love the Touch and have nothing but positive things to say about WinMo.
So...they will be focusing on a small number of handsets?
thanks for making valuable use my screen real estate engadget
It's funny that MS is the selective one considering it's WinMo why all of these phones suck. Look at HTC and their TouchFlo 3D interface - great until you actually have to use WinMo.
These partners should be limiting the amount of Windows they use not the other way around.
Haven't you heard? Most of them have announced that Android is in their plans.
HTC could hardly wait.
That is my point. Why is MS getting selective when it's the manufactures that should get selective? MS is the one that sucks.
I have the BlackJack II by Samsung - originally came with WM6 and I upgraded it a few months ago to WM6.1. I'm actually quite happy with my little work horse. The most useful feature is its voice recognition (think MS/Ford Sync for your phone) and text-to-speech. Imagine driving with your Bluetooth earpiece in... you get a text message and actually hear it read to you by the phone. Throw in native support for Word, PowerPoint, Excel and One Note, PDF viewing, turn-by-turn navigation, the list goes on and on. I sync up my music and videos (on the removable SD card) and can last days without recharging the removable battery (take that iPhone!).
I use Android and WinMo on my Touch. I was ready to get the G1 until I actually used Android for a few days straight. Great concept - not nearly mature enough yet. If all I needed was to check my Gmail account then it would be the bomb. Other features are either missing or replicated on WinMo. With enough time Android will be really cool, I'm sure. Just not there yet.
The porblem is not wm it the chips in the phones thats the problem. It make it run slow.
What Microsoft needs to do, starting with WinMo 6.5 or 7, is have a set of requirements that make a phone "7 Capable". Kind of like Vista Capable, but more truthiness.
HUH!
I agree and synergistically spiral integrate...ok, I do not have your ability to randomly assemble words into sentences that make no sense, you must be a manager or something.
How was his comment so hard to understand?
New WinMo phones should be made "WinMo 7 Ready" just like all those PCs that were sold just before Vista came out.
I will say though, upgrading your OS on your phone is much easier than a PC considering there are (with few exceptions) no peripherals. It's really just up to the third party software developers to have versions of their apps that are compatible with new versions of WinMo.
It was always easy for me with my HTC devices. Upgrading from WM5 to WM6 was cake on my old AT&T 8525. The upgrade to 6.1 was easy on my Tilt. Tricky part was getting the timing of the "bloatware" removal right.
I'm guessing all they meant was that they're going to be a bit more picky about what handsets get approval for using WinMo, or something like that.
Microsoft is trying to learn form its own mistakes on the past. They remember what they did with vista, created an OS and so wanted to make money off it they certified laptops and PC to be Vista ready only to find out that ppl got pissed that the hardware that they certified it to run on could not run it and everyone wanted XP.
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Now its the Mobile verison which I have one of those m99i (MiPhone, iPhone clone for China) running WinMobile 6.1 which has the slowes processor to run the OS, it truly should not be running WinMobile.
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Is it too late? yes and now. For WinMobile 6.x its too late, I am sure they are trying make WinMobile 6.5 and 7 be place on hardware that ppl will like and not have the experience of Vista running on hardware that simply can't run.
They pissed there pants once and there trying not to do it again.
what samsung phone is that in the top right corner?
def. not a blackjack, epix, or saga.
WM is a total POS. The best thing Microsoft can do is buy out Palm, and NOT touch it! The last thing they need is another house of cards.
What is better, the Moto Q9c or the HTC PPC6800? I am stuck on US Cellular and can't decide between them.
http://www.uscc.com/uscellular/SilverStream/Pages/b_showphone.html?zip=61270&mkt=605970&tm=0
They should be less worried about the number of phones that will run WM, and instead "be more focused" on making an OS that phone manufacturers can work with so they don't have to create their own GUI to run on top. This would allow them to "be more focused" on their hardware, rather than software that covers up that oh so stylus friendly WinMo.
I like what WinMo is capable of but MS's idea of what the GUI should be is way off. Hopefully, with 6.5 or 7, that all changes. Preferably 6.5.
They probably are. But it's not just the interface, it's also the user experience that matters. When you have a bunch of WinMo phones out there, it can be hard to support each and every one. For instance, the Pandora application for Windows Mobile ONLY works on a few select phones. Not fair to people who buy phones with WinMo and their phones aren't supported. It'd also make it easier for the developer too, so they don't have to spend a lot of time working with all types of hardware for WinMo, like touchscreens, non-touchscreens, CPU, accelerators, etc. all are taken into account.
The less devices out there, might be better in the end. As long as a company can produce one GREAT device, that's what matters more.
It'd be better than Microsoft creating their own hardware, watch their former partners buddy up with Android and see it take off. I'm quite sure the hardware makers would rather make sure their WinMo phones don't die in sales.
Bring on the iPhone clones
I know everyone will agree that main reason winmo is tanking so hard so quick. Is due to the introduction of iPhone . Another victim of the revolutionary . The American people have spoken, ok u can start sending hate mail now., dee dee deee!
Microsoft may try spinning this whatever way they like, but it's pretty obvious that it's not them becoming more selective but rather manufacturers dropping WM in favor of more capable mobile operating systems. Motorola and HTC are just two examples that come to mind.