MWC day one: the Empire strikes back
By Nilay Patel 
posted February 16th 2009 7:30PM
posted February 16th 2009 7:30PM
- As expected, Windows Mobile 6.5 brings some much-needed interface enhancements to the table along with the Windows Marketplace app store and My Phone syncing, but some longstanding issues remain -- the biggest one being that it still doesn't support capacitive touchscreens. We spent some time with it, and while we're impressed with the new lock screen, honeycomb app launcher, and browser, it's obviously just a paint job -- it's still kinda laggy and the media features haven't been changed at all.
- The Palm Pre is going to have full Flash support. So will Windows Mobile, S60, and Android, according to Adobe. BlackBerry and iPhone users are still out in the cold.
- HTC launched the Touch Pro2 and the Touch Diamond2, which are super-evolutionary in the best possible way. Both are incredibly slick and well built, feature some nifty new calling features and UI tweaks, and will be upgraded to WM 6.5 for free when the time comes.
- The hardware highlight of the show so far has to be the Samsung OmniaHD, which can capture and play back 720p video. S60, 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, yeah yeah -- it's a phone with freaking HDMI out. What more do you need to know?
- Huawei had the only new Android handset we've seen on display. Only it wasn't so much a "handset" as a "non-working hunk of plastic." It'd be cool if it was real, but it's obvious to us that Microsoft wanted this to be its party, and those kids from Googletown weren't invited.
- LG launched the Arena KM900 featurephone and the GM730 WinMo phone, both with variants of the S-Class UI. We'd be interested if the GM730 ran it as well as the Arena, but it doesn't. Way more intriguing: the GD900, which sports a super-cool transparent keypad.
- LG also made a splash by announcing a deep partnership with Microsoft: WinMo is is going to be LG's "preferred" smartphone OS, and it's committed to launching an incredible 50 Windows Mobile devices through 2012. See what we mean by Microsoft's party?
- Nokia forgot to launch the 8.1 megapixel N86 at MWC, instead unveiling it in Singapore. Hey guys, we're all in Spain -- you know, where the E55 and E75 launched?
- Acer came to this gunfight with a spoon, launching four me-too WinMo 6.1 phones -- two of which most likely can't be upgraded to 6.5. We wouldn't take 'em if they were free.
- Sony Ericsson showed off a vapor-y Symbian Foundation phone with a 12.1 megapixel camera codenamed the Idou. It's pronounced E-Do, and by the time you'll be able to buy one we don't think you'll be interested anymore.
- Garmin-Asus let us play with the Linux-based nuvifone G60 and WinMo-based nuvifone M20. They're slick and have solid GPS features, as you'd expect. But why did they make us shoot the demo in a moving car?
- There might be a HTC G2 called the "Magic," and it might be coming to Vodafone. There might also be an Android-powered LG KS360. There might also be no chance in hell these two are at MWC.
- We spotted a GSM Palm Pre with a Vodafone SIM card, which could mean everything or nothing. But it exists!
P.S.- Remember, if you're not loving all the MWC news, there's a special RSS feed just for you. Seriously though -- this stuff is pretty sweet.
In most people's eyes?
Most people don't even know Android exists, whereas more people have at one point or another either owned or seen a Windows based phone.
My Favs(In random order):
1.Pro2, and Diamond2
2.Idou
3.Samsung
I love all 4, any of those should be good enough for anybody.
I probably wont be getting any of those though, since they'll be terribly expensive(Unless they come to $200(With contract of course))
The Touch Pro 2 looks awesome. AT&T better pick this up.
Looking forward to SPB Mobile Shell 3.0 as well. This has been a heck of a show for MSFT and WM so far.
Damnnnnnnnn That's a lot for just one day. I can't believe all of that was just for one day. Wonder what the remaining days will look like?
Possibly a MWC 2009 journal could be written ..........
I'm assuming Mr. TG01 is waiting for the last laugh huh..? Well, come on in the show has started... although you might have to re-dress that 1GHz new comrade with the latest 6.5 goodness....
"the Empire strikes back"
=)
Just want the earbuds, but will take the Zune too!
Biggest disappointment:
No Tegra phones announced YET...... unless NVIDIA's show wasn't today.
So does anyone know what's on the itinerary for tomorrow??? Are there LG and Motorola press conferences scheduled maybe?
Rumours of an LG phone review late this month are going on, don't know how much true is it. Lets hope the phone is a good one. LG is a cheap vendor, so we can't expect much, but its really doing well in terms of performance.
Best MWC news:
Android is getting a TEGRA PHONE!
Having an Android phone would be really sweet, Google is a company that has all the world loving that Microsoft should in the 1º place have if it wasn´t so prepotent, monopolist and make hassle free OS´s.
"monopolist"
Yes, because obviously pretty much every phone runs Windows Mobile. Right?
I hate it when people use the term incorrectly.
more like nokia strikes back
It's Symbian alliance OS strikes back.
The weird honeycomb interface thing actually looks almost awesome in real-world use. I think it's the background that makes it look so cool.
the empire came through and kicks ass! looks like that topaz/diamond2 will be my next phone. omnia hd isn't winmo so it's out of the game. that's ok because i'm sure there will be an oled touch screen winmo7 next year. topaz will get me by until then.
i think i might soon become a winmo fanboy if they keep this up.
Great changes! Though they need to learn not to put that tiny "X" in the corner.
As a user of WindowsCE and its incarnations since v1, I have to say that this offering by Microsoft is totally lame. 6.5 is just a bandaid on a huge problem. THe problem is this OS hasn't evolved since PPC2000. There shouldn't be such a thing as a 10 year plan in the mobile OS world. Every time I see the windows flag in the upper left corner it just screams cheap and dated. You can slap as many skins as you want, but until you rid yourself of this monolithic OS, it will still feel like 2000.
I'm disappointed that Adobe isn't putting out full Flash support for Blackberry yet, but they are on several other mobile os's. Starting to wonder if I should have held off buying my Bold.
Today made my iPhone look out dated so I fired up winterboard to change as much stuff as I can...it was a sad day indeed.
once again engadget shows it's anti symbian bias, im not saying symbian stole the day but the E55 and E75 look like great devices and the samsung omniaHD is the device of the so how so far due to it's feature set and amazing screen and the sony idou with that 12MP camera also the touch interface on the iduo looked pretty good and it was resistive so perhaps resistive screens are going to catch up to capacitive a bit.
For all the MS drones waiting for the Empire to Strike Back in mobile OS, it won't happen.
Governments are wise to MS business tactics, consumers want real choice and companies like Google have deep enough pockets.
Android, Blackberry, iPhone and Symbian thank God we have real choice!
There's not any changes that need to occurr to Windows Mobile for capacitive screens to be used. ODMs just choose not to use them. See http://justanothergeeksite.com/wordpress/2009/02/can-windows-mobile-support-capacitive-screens/ for more details.
more like the empire has gone mad. This is nothing more than the same old crap with and insane way to position the application icons. And yet everyone is all over this like flys on 8@#* .....