In an interview given to
Forbes, HTC CEO Peter Chou spoke pretty candidly about the widespread desire for an Android version of the
HD2, and says the phone won't be finagled thusly. "Technically, we could make the HD2 an Android phone, but I have to take care of Windows Mobile," said Chou, after which we imagine popped in a stick of Juicy Fruit and didn't offer to share any with the rest of the class. Of course, this doesn't rule out a handset with similar specifications to the HD2, like the
Dragon, matching DROID's push toward Android 2.0 and modern hardware, but it seems to imply that at least it won't be called "HD2," and probably won't look much like it either. Chou did admit that Windows Mobile innovation has been "a little slow" and that interest is declining, and says HTC is "working hard on these kinds of products to get excitement about Windows Mobile back." He didn't hold back on Google, however, saying that some of its actions can be "destructive" but that "we've worked with Microsoft for 13 years ... I also believe we can work with Google for a long time."
[Via
SlashGear]
posted Oct 29th 2009 11:41AM
Officially, royally, pissed!
Oh, and that image of him popping in Juicy Fruit made me bust out laughing literally, lol.
Take care of WinMo...yeah the same way they have been taking care of you....Driving your profits straight into the ground...
Don't sweat it. Actually, this is good news as it confirms that the hardware is totally capable of supporting Android, which means that it's only a matter of time before some hacker release a custom Android build for it. Just keep your eyes on xda-developers.
Its Microsoft's responsibility to get the excitement about Windows Mobile back!
@Chao_Sama
Who do you think was taking care of HTC before Android came out?..
Yeah WinMo built HTC to where it is today. Give WinMo a chance.
No biggie, we'll be able to boot android on it eventually - whether HTC or MSFT wants you to or not.
What's the big deal...?
Enjoy your Dragon.
*shrugs* What's new? HTC has always been a bunch of class 1 assholes. Take care of Windows Mobile? Unless he's talking euthanizing WM then his priories are SERIOUSLY fucked up. 6.5 is still a pile of shit and that is with firsthand experience. Another company needs to come out with better handsets and put up some real competition against these assholes.
You believe this Douche? take care of winmo? Just like they did when they didn't put proper drivers on certain handsets. http://www.htcclassaction.org/ Take care of winmo my ass! Ofcourse had this been an open OS some1 else could of written those drivers I suppose...
Well I'm officially excited but mostly because this means HTC won't just be dumping development on Windows Mobile and leaving existing users to rot. Hopefully they'll make Touch Flo 3D even better integrated-it's pretty comprehensive but the bizarre duality of having both the underlying windows mobile GUI and Touch Flo makes things pretty confusing and there are still a ton of bugs to iron out on their latest phones. Nonetheless Windows Mobile still has tons of potential and really the only glaring issue right now is the lack of a cutting edge web browser but that's going to change.
@iDavey
I have two sets of replies for your comment. First I was equally pissed that a beautiful phone with superp specs as the HTC HD2 is going to have Windows Mobile 6.5. But like other tech lovers I know that technology evolves.. Take a look at Apple which was considered junk back in its days both by consumers and investors. Or look at palm. People thought it was going to die over two years ago because the iphone and other high tech phones were coming out and it was still using its old Palm OS. This companies have evolved their technology. Microsoft's problem was that it was too focused on its main market which is its Windows operating software. But now that it has realized that people are more mobile and into cellphones, it has shifted a lot of its attention into its Windows Mobile, and money I may add given its huge wealth, to advancing it and innovating it. Give windows mobile a chance and I guarantee you you will be happy with it.
The Second part of my answer is that I just got my HTC HD2 last week, and I am thrilled with it. The windows mobile, if you're still not happy with it is actually well masked away in the user interface. It would be difficult for a novice user to tell its winmo until they see or press the winmo start button. Other than that most of the main features have been made really amazing by HTC. And the speed on it is amazing. I have been playing with it for days and I haven't been disappointed once. Plus holding it and using it in your hand feels so incredible that the youtube videos and photos don't do justice. I would recommend you get one. I have gone into the start menu and have found all the windows mobile features pretty useful and better than the old versions.
Lastly, give windows mobile a chance. Microsoft made a mistake innovating so slow but now that it has realized its mistake, coupled with its huge bank account, I'm confident they will catch up in a short time.
I'm waiting for the 1st Android 2.0 phone with
-WVGA
-1GHz (or even 800MHz) process (Snapdragon or other)
I thought/hoped that was going to be from HTC.. but maybe my $$ will be spent elsewhere.
Hopefully this Nov 3 announcement from SE will satiate yours (and mines) thirst for this kind of handset.
Xperia X3/X10/Infinity, whatever it's gonna be called...you're our last hope.
I pray the rumored 16GB onboard memory is true also.
Yes. You can get a Samsung Moment... while the Moment to get an HTC with those sepcs comes.
Can you mention at least one tangible benefit that Android offer over WinMo?
Actually...WinMo and Android are very much alike (hence why many see WinMo, not Apple, as being Android's number one competitor.
I, personally, prefer Android because it gives you a more desktop experience with movable icons for apps and widgets.
Stock WinMo doesn't give you that. And the best implementation of WinMo is currently from TouchFlo and Sense.
@iDavey,
Thanks for your reply. In fact, WinMo is far more robust when it comes to UI. Check SPB Shell for WinMo homesreen abilities - it can do everything Android is and much more. Underneath, though, WinMo is much more mature and feature-rich platform. Android is now trendy and not because is offers any advantages for the users. It is merely The Cool Thing now. Unfortunately, MS neglected the platform for years. The part where it really failed is marketing: MS simply failed to promote it. As a result, this superior OS faded away under pressure from inferior but more heavily promoted Android.
@Soccer Mom
How can you say that WinMo is better at UI when you name a replacement for the built in home screen? That's like saying my Pinto rocks because I dropped a Ferarri engine in it. The fact that WinMo can be customized like that makes it an acceptable platform, but Android can as well.
If you want a tangible benefit of Android over WinMo, then here's mine. The entire system is completely customizable to the point of being to write my own entire operating environment. For me, a plus. Maybe not for you, but cell phones are personal decisions anyway.
@Soccer_Mom:
Capacitive screens (now, not on some unspecified future date), responsiveness, stability, useful marketplace, and finger-friendly UI. Just for starters. I just switched from WM to Android and I couldn't be happier with the change, it's like night and day.
i'd like those same specs but with a keyboard...
@Soccor_Mom
Notice I said "Stock WinMo"
I know very much about WinMo capabilities, was my first smartphone OS (I'm no newb)
It's just that from out of the box, Android has more. And with Android 2.0...even more.
Like I said...they both are really the same, has the same capabilities.
The end point boils down to preferences. Mines is the desktop like ability of the stock, vanilla Android.
Something that is only seen with Android and Maemo at this point.
@LunchBoxG4,
Android homescreen is customized by manufacturers. Vanilla Android is just as exciting as Palm was back in 1998. What you see is purpose-build custom screens, which is not much different from what Omnia, HTC Manila or SPB offers. It is a common mistake to take custom UI and compare it to vanilla UI of the competition. I don't know about the operating environment - I don't think 99.9999% of users would really care. As for the apps running on the system, WinMo has by far richer support.
@Brett,
Capacitive screen has nothing to do with the underlying OS. WinMo supported capacitive for years, however OEM didn't. Cannot blame OS for the shortcomings of the hardware manufacturers. Responsiveness is a matter of the CPU speed, and since Dell Axim 51 WinMo was quite responsive and quick. Stability - it is as stable as other OS, I didn't see it hung once. Useful marketplace - did you see Handango? It's been around for years, offering quality software, unlike junk-filled iTunes App Store. Finger-friendly UI was one of the shortcomings of the OS, unquestionably. It is fixed to some degree by add-ons, like Manila. In fact, I lost stylus a year ago and never really need it. At the same time, WinMo UI offered precision unavailable on other platforms. All ported games, like Sim City ran fine on WinMo and unusable on iPhone. I too switched recently, but to iPhone, and quite unhappy with the choice. The only reason for the switch was the capacitive screen, which feels a lot more natural than resistive. I cannot wait for WinMo 7 to come out and decent hardware, which has been holding OS back so far.
Cheers!
@mike
I'm waiting for the 1st (any OS) phone with:
- WVGA 4.3in.
- 1GHz (or even 800MHz) process (Snapdragon or other)
- CDMA to go with my 15$/m unlimited data
I'm dying for an HTC HD/HD2 that works with my carrier (Telus).
by the time some manufacturer makes that exact handset(and a carrier makes it affordable) it wont even be the sought after tech anymore lol.
My suggestion: try using a device first, THEN critique the specs as if you know anything.
winmo isnt nearly as awful as people make it out to be, its just PDA software that hardware makers insisted putting on phones. Most smartphone hardware on the market seems underpowered for it(though thats changing) and microsoft would at least SEEM to be hard at work on an OS designed from the ground up to be on a smartphone in their WinMo 7.
WinMo = Fail!
I'll be saying the same to you when your heel starts hurting.
Fully agreed Windows Mobile is at the moment a complete dissaster, with android slowly taking over, almost every device coming out that would of ran windows mobile/ce is now running android, I give it late 2010 and windows mobile will be finished forever!
oh and if vaporware Window Mobile 7 gets released thing might change who knows its been in the works since early 2007 and still no release date!
@Ocean
Late 2010 has been stated for a while now as the release date. We won't get anything official until at least a couple months before release.
You're also a moron for thinking WinMo will die. More WinMo devices are being sold now than in the early days, even though market share is down...quite simply because the market size has increased exponentially. So they are a) making more money for development from direct sales than before and b) it has a much higher potential than before, so it will see even more money thrown it's way, which is something Ballmer indicated is happening with WM7. (Something about them totally screwing up WinMo in the first place, and a need to reclaim lost ground).
Also, the WinMo core, WinCE, powers devices you use all the time without realizing it. Everything from gas pumps to ATMs to cash registers. Full blown windows mobile sees a lot of use in ruggedized devices in industry..barcode scanners, mobile terminals, etc. It will be around a long time.
@Kamokazi: Just to support his statement, I work at a retail store, and the RF units we use to make price tags, look up products, batch print signs, etc. are all powered from a windows mobile handset, and I peeked at the specs and they were surprisingly not that powerful, but for business those specs fit in just right =)
I hope the Touch Pro 3 is this thing with a keyboard!
hahaha yea some bulge that would be. You'd be explaining to alot of people about whats in your pants o.o
I already have to explain about the bulge caused by my huge peni-
Oh, right. I see what you did there
Chou did admit that Windows Mobile innovation has been "a little slow" and that interest is declining, and says HTC is "working hard on these kinds of products to get excitement about Windows Mobile back."
Translation: MS had best get its butt moving or there will be one less WinMo manufacturer.
I highly doubt that HTC is going to be going anywhere anytime soon. They have moar money stored up than you or I can count.
@Christian - that post is not meant to imply HTC will be going anywhere. Just that if Windows Mobile does not become a desired and modern mobile OS, HTC will cease building hardware to run it.
Maybe they are considering picking up Symbian or Maemo in 2010-11. That would put the cat amoung the pigeons...
@Dansus: Switching from WinMo 6.5 to Symbian would be like switching from WinMo 6.5 to WinMo 5. Nokia should just give Symbian up (or at least only use it for their low end non-touch phones) and move to Maemo.
I guess im stuck with the iPhone...
Now please down rank me cause i mentioned the iPhone and your all idiots.
Done, and done!
"your all idiots."
My all idiots what?
I think his call dropped....
@tikiteko
Zing..
All your idiots are belong to Apple!
The poor man is only saying the HD2 won't be Android.... he is not saying that another phone, with another name, with another, but same or similar specs won't be coming with Android.
WinMo is still my favorite Mobile OS - yes power-down-rank me if you want. I am also happy to see the growth of Android, but chill dudes... Don't hate the poor man. He is not closing the door to Android, it will just be another kind of phone. I personally think it is better to have a phone that was designed with Android in mind that to have one that was designed thinking on Windows and just have Android mashed into it.
Why do you keep saying he's poor?
and your android picture fully shows your support for Windows Mobile!
He must be poor since he cant afford anything other than a 528 ARM11 for 90% of the phones hes pushed out this year.
My guess is that he has to say that because:
1. Ballmer called and (demanded) asked for exclusive rights to the HD2 model, because of all the excitement over the device.
2. Next year he will just swap the plastic HD2 shell and move the buttons around and call it the ADHD2 with android 2.1.