Editorial: Engadget on Windows Phone 7 Series
By Nilay Patel 
posted February 15th 2010 10:00PM
posted February 15th 2010 10:00PM
Josh:
The most astonishing thing about Windows Phone 7 Series is how completely it's managed to obliterate its Windows Mobile roots. Let's just be crystal clear about it: this is unlike anything the company has ever done, both in distancing itself from its past, and in the clarity of its vision. From the floor to ceiling, 7 Series is just a very new operating system with very new ideas about how users should be involved with their devices. What people should recognize is that the Windows Mobile team has made a huge gamble that upending its ailing OS was the only solution... and from the looks of things, that gamble has paid off. But this isn't a battle already won -- it's a battle yet to be fought. There's still much we don't know about this OS, and plenty to be concerned about when it comes to turning what looks nice in a demo into a daily use smartphone. There are huge questions to be answered. How are notifications handled? What kind of SDK will be made available to developers? How rigid will the user experience guidelines be? What is the real story on multitasking? Will the phone support third party browsers, email clients, or messaging applications? Can hardware manufacturers differentiate their products enough? Will the basic phone experience be useful to enterprise users or others looking for a workhorse and not just a pretty face?
Honestly, those are just a few of the questions I have -- but I also continue to be impressed with Microsoft's fierceness of conviction on this platform. If the company can hew close enough to its promises and deliver on the tall order it's set out for itself, then hope for Windows in the mobile space is far from dead. It's about to be reborn.
Chris:
Let's be clear: Microsoft had no other option than to come to Mobile World Congress this year with a scorched-earth, ground-up rewrite of Windows Mobile, because anything less would've sent a very clear message that the company was -- for all practical purposes -- officially ceding defeat in the white-hot smartphone war. Actually, scratch that -- they needed to fundamentally reimagine the platform altogether, and amazingly, they seem to have managed to pull it off. For a company as steeped in its history and set in its ways as Microsoft tends to be, don't underestimate what a powerful realization that is.
To borrow a terribly-overused cliche, Windows Phone 7 Series is just crazy enough to work. |
What's most interesting to me are the parallels to last year's announcement of webOS; once again, a legendary mobile brand is reinventing itself in a bid to capture (and perhaps eclipse) its former glory, and in doing so, brings an authentically unique concept to the table. It's a dangerous play, of course, because you're banking on your brand's weight alone to carry you -- you're breaking compatibility and burning bridges with apps, customers, developers, and partners, which means you need to create a truly breathtaking product. It's got to be enough to shock and awe regular people -- not just geeks, enterprise fleets, or Engadget editors -- into signing up en masse and believing in your story and your ecosystem. Anything else would be regarded as a failure.
Do I think Windows Phone 7 Series has what it takes to capture the public's hearts and minds? That depends on countless factors, some of which are out of Microsoft's control -- hardware partners need to step up (and I firmly believe some of them will), the marketing message has to be right, and carriers need to throw some weight behind the devices they sell -- but my early impression is that this whole thing has a fighting chance. It's beautiful, it's unique, and frankly, it's a little crazy. To borrow a terribly-overused cliche, it's just crazy enough to work.
Anyhow, win or lose, I firmly believe Microsoft did the right thing -- what'd happen if more companies threw pride out of the window and took a billion-dollar chance once in a while?
Thomas:
Wow. My reaction to Windows Phone 7 isn't some manufactured corporate slogan -- it's the intense relief in knowing that Microsoft finally gets it. After years of disappointing Windows Mobile 6.x releases, the idea that Microsoft just announced an OS that can actually sex up an already bodacious handset like the HD2 (or HD3 by the time it's released) is almost unreal. The fact that vendors will soon ship devices on multiple carriers around the globe that instantly flatten the Xbox and Zune silos simply can't be happening. But it is. Hearing Microsoft repeat like a mantra "a mobile phone is not a PC" is certainly reason to celebrate.
The entire Microsoft Mobile crew at the launch event seemed to share my relief, visibly immersed in the moment and the hearty back-slapping gestures of commendation. Even hardware partners were legitimately excited (not apologetic) to be involved with Microsoft's latest mobile platform. At one point, after most of the press had left, a group of senior Microsoft execs were huddled on the ground in a circle enthusiastically reading the world's reactions and chuckling loudly. It was great to see. Fortunately, for all the well deserved celebrating that Microsoft will be doing tonight, it seems acutely aware of the task before it. Let's hope they can ship the promise -- we've been waiting for this kind of platform integration from Microsoft for a long, long time.
Sean:
I wanted Microsoft's next OS to be great. I wanted them to succeed in this market -- or rather, to show us they were capable of something as amazing as other current smartphone OSes. Chris and I have run Windows Mobile well into the earth on more occasions then I can remember, but I never felt we were being unfair. It was broken for the devices it was meant to run on, the experience was much less than it could have been, and bottom line was simply unworkable for many users.
The proof is going to be in use, and no matter how beautiful Windows Phone 7 Series is, failing to deliver day to day usability will likely see it fail from the start. |
The Windows Phone 7 Series launch actually surprised me -- not just Microsoft's rethinking of its mobile platform, but the mood in the room. At several points during the launch, execs, partners, media, and all the other folks piled in with us applauded and cheered, there was genuine excitement in the room. Phone 7 Series has the makings -- or certainly looks to have -- to be something unique and cool, but we've just not seen enough yet to really form much of an opinion. The proof is going to be in use, and no matter how beautiful it is, failing to deliver day to day usability will likely see it fail from the start. The mood amongst all the other editors here in Barcelona was cautiously optimistic; I think Microsoft can make a serious go of this, now lets hope they can ship us something amazing.
Nilay:
First things first: I think what we've seen of Windows Phone 7 Series is gorgeous. As a longtime admirer of the Zune HD's interface, I'm thrilled to see it hit Microsoft's phone OS, and I'm even more curious to see how its elements and ideas are built out over time. But let's pause for a gut-check here: Microsoft's really good at building buzz on day one, but it's long-term execution that counts, and 7 has a long way to go before it becomes something more than just an Xbox and Zune featurephone. Apps are what make a smartphone "smart," after all, and Microsoft didn't address them at all, instead saying that users shouldn't have to pop in and out of apps while using a phone. That's a nice sentiment, but it's not reality -- at some point you're going to open that browser or camera app or email app and you're right back to square one. What's more, exposing glanceable information on the homescreen isn't quite the revolution Microsoft is making it out to be -- Motorola and Sony Ericsson are trying to do the same thing with Blur and Timescape, HTC has long been famous for its Sense and TouchFLO 3D WinMo skins, and hell, you could even argue that Palm's aiming at the same goals with Synergy and webOS. What's going to count is how Microsoft manages to bridge the gap between glanceable information that fits neatly into Windows Phone 7's hubs, and apps that demand more than just a casual look -- we saw a very pretty Office pane, but you'll notice we didn't see any Office apps. How does editing a Word or Excel file work if you're not "popped into" an app? What happens if you get an email while you're editing that file? You're going to have to pop out, right? What if you want to listen to Pandora while you get all this work done -- how do you do that without third-party multitasking?
Oh, but I have even more questions. We know there's going to be Xbox games, but the 360 is a fixed platform -- is the same true for 7? Zune HD games look pretty amazing running on the Zune's Tegra chip -- are they going to run with the same graphics performance on the Snapdragon chips dictated by Windows Phone 7? Vice-versa? What about other chipsets -- are we going to see OMAP4 and Tegra 2 devices? If the hardware specs are so tightly locked down, how will hardware manufacturers differentiate their products? I can keep going all night, really. I'm sure we'll find out many of these answers at MIX next month, and I'm sure many of our assumptions will be totally upended by the time actual 7 Series devices ship at the end of the year. But for now my excitement for Windows Phone 7 Series is mostly about Microsoft's courage in dumping the old to make way for the new -- yes, I'm hearing a lot of great ideas, but ideas don't make a product. Great artists ship, after all.
Microsoft has managed to get me interested in a mobile operating system by making it more Zune-like. Imagine saying that two years ago. |
Don:
Microsoft has managed to get me interested in a mobile operating system by making it more Zune-like. Imagine saying that two years ago.
Paul:
In many ways, I think webOS paved the way in my mindset for a phone more focused on "tasks" than "applications," but it still relies on an application metaphor to get there -- blurring the lines with its excellent implementation of multitasking. Microsoft is taking a much more revolutionary approach with Windows Phone 7 Series, at least in theory. The crossing of social networking and media streams has been done by numerous phone OS "skins," but never been so tightly integrated into the core of a major OS like this. I love the idea of working with my contacts and media in such a way, but there's just one problem: this usually falls woefully short of being truly usable in practice. Microsoft has convinced me that its heart is in the right place with its scorched earth approach to this new OS and liberal borrowing of well-loved Zune / WMC elements, but it has a ton of work to do in convincing me that it can actually pull it off in the sublime manner required to make this my next phone.
My other big question, and one that's rather related to the question above, is the idea of third party development. Microsoft is hinting at a sort of "extensible" framework, where developers might be able to augment these task hubs instead of compete with them. They can talk about the evils of jumping in and out of apps all they want, but that's exactly how you use the IE app that's so prominently displayed on the home screen. The goal in mind for me is to have all the application capabilities of a vibrant app store and a well-fed developer community presented in the integrated, beautiful way that Microsoft demonstrated in its core OS hubs. Maybe a pipe dream, but if I'm only getting this sort of velvet-glove UI treatment in the "right sort" of first party apps, I'm going to get tired of Windows Phone 7 in a hurry.
Sure, it looks cool, but will Mikey up in Accounting like it? |
Tim:
Just a few months ago I was about as dedicated a WinMo fan as you could find, but when Android 2.0 and the Droid dropped I couldn't turn a blind eye to the competition any longer. We'd been hearing promises of Windows Mobile 7 for ages and, with nothing shinier than 6.5 on the immediate horizon, I jumped ship. Any regrets after seeing today's formal reveal? Not really -- well, maybe a little. Yes, it's gorgeous, and yes, it's what I and everyone else though MS should make (a Zune with a phone) but now I have plenty of questions and some lingering concerns that this franchise reboot has thrown away a few too many key aspects. Am I still going to be able to whip up something in Visual Studio and have it running on my handset in minutes? Am I still going to be able to get actual work done? Is this a phone that a business professional can really be productive on? For me, Windows Mobile's key strength has been its suitability for day-to-day professional life -- serving up presentations, editing Excel spreadsheets, syncing with Exchange, remoting into servers -- and I have to wonder just how well Windows Phone 7 Series will fit the bill in that regard. Sure, it looks cool, but will Mikey up in Accounting like it?
Ross:
From the onset, Microsoft should be commended for pulling off a gorgeous UI that manages to be something new altogether, a very bold move given what we've seen from the company prior. "Background pausing" or whatever still isn't multitasking, but the amount of social networking integration goes a long way to assuage those pains. Throw in Zune integration and I'm certainly excited, but until I see some compelling apps (notably on the Xbox front) and actual devices, or at least until I can hold it in my own hands to play, I'm not yet sold.
Richard Lawler:
While seeing Microsoft's new mobile OS with a slick interface is nice, I can't help but be a bit sad to see the Windows Mobile that first caught my eye and brought me to Engadget left by the wayside. The customizable skins and interfaces, copy and paste, multitasking and install methods that gave me so much control over my experience are gone under the new model. A method that allowed for both customization and an improved UI experience was the triumph I hoped for but as it stands simply following the pack, even with some well-executed integration of Zune and Xbox features, isn't enough to pull me away from WebOS yet. There's still some selling left to do before I believe the new way of doing things brings enough to the table to justify what we've sacrificed -- until someone jailbreaks it of course.
Microsoft finally seems to have figured out what my technophobic mom did just a few months ago -- PC-like interfaces don't work on pocketable devices. |
Joanna:
However embarrassing it may be, my reaction to Windows Phone 7 has to do with my mother. A Windows Mobile user since version 4.0, my mom was forced to give up her failing HTC Tilt last fall, and was urged by her colleagues to go for Apple's iPhone. Having used an antiquated mobile operating system for years, her discovery of the iPhone, its operating system and applications was extremely interesting and not to mention hilarious to watch -- I actually taped them. "Wow, my Windows Mobile phone couldn't do that!" she said while taking notes in her iPhone's "cool" spiral notebook-looking pad. "Well, of course it could," I told her. "You just didn't know where to look in all those menus." Her reaction was the same when it came to listening to music or using maps on the iPhone. Microsoft finally seems to have figured out what my technophobic mom did just a few months ago -- PC-like interfaces don't work on pocketable devices. Sure, we could knock Microsoft for not having something sooner, but the Redmond bunch showed us today that it not only has a handle on what modern-day mobile user experiences should be like, but that it's doing more than just catching up to the Apples, Palms and Googles of the world. I'm fairly confident that if my mom's HTC Tilt was replaced with a Windows Phone 7 series phone today that the discovery process would be just as interesting to watch. Nope, this doesn't look like my mother's Windows Mobile anymore.
Darren:
Look, I like the idea of Windows Phone 7 Series. The name is entirely too long, of course, but I really dig what Microsoft is trying to do here. I recall a conversation with the staff two years ago at CES, and we all agreed that Microsoft could really make strides in competing with the more modern mobile operating systems if it would just throw backwards compatibility to the wind and start from scratch. I still can't believe it actually did just that today, and I can't help but pass out kudos where they're deserved. That said, I'm still not sure Microsoft is going to be able to regain the market share that it has lost to Android, webOS and iPhone OS (among others).
The fact is, Microsoft's mobile operations are viewed quite negatively by those who follow the mobile segment, and it has a long, long way to go before people begin to associate the company's mobile OS with something that's innovative, quick and fantastic to use. In our demo today, clicking on a home tile didn't lead into the place you wanted to be (People, we'll say) without first going through some flowery animation. That's cute on video, but that's another inefficiency I don't want as a power user. Microsoft is also at a disadvantage when it comes to committed users that are already neck-deep in apps that they've purchased and honed for their existing platform. When you're already invested in an ecosystem, it becomes ever harder to pull out and switch to something completely different (see: owning eight Nikkor lenses but lusting after a Canon body). I'll still need to toy around with a Windows Phone 7 Series device before making a final call, but can I say I'm optimistic that a significant quantity of existing iPhone, BlackBerry, webOS and Android users will suddenly drop everything and flock to Microsoft after today's presentation? Nah.
As an iPhone user, I'm 100 percent accustomed to the lack of multitasking, so it's not really a dealbreaker for me. |
Laura:
I've had a serious phone problem for at least the past year. After a roughly six month sojourn with a BlackBerry Bold, I returned to the iPhone. I'm not completely satisfied with it, though it's proven to be the best fit for me thus far. My last full time Windows Mobile device was a much-loved BlackJack -- and it was retired a long time ago, to be sure. While I'm attached to my phone for all of the work-related things it needs to do, I'm also a sucker for simplicity and elegance. And, to be honest, I've been desperately searching for a viable iPhone alternative for a long time -- partly because of its horrific call quality issues, and partially out of boredom, if I can be candid. So... is a Windows Phone 7 device for me? I haven't touched one or seen the interface in person, so there are a lot of unanswered questions for me, and I'm not a Zune user, so that facet of it doesn't pull me in immediately. Certainly Xbox integration is a massive draw, and what I've seen of the interface looks as enticing as anything I've seen in a long time. As an iPhone user, I'm 100 percent accustomed to the lack of multitasking, so it's not really a dealbreaker for me. If I sound unsure -- well, I am. I don't warm up to new devices quickly, and I'll have to spend some quality time with the software and hardware before I know if one of these devices will be for me. That said, I'm excited for myself -- and for the mobile space as a whole, which I think will definitely benefit from this new addition into the smartphone space.
Vlad:
My first reaction upon seeing the leaked home screen screenshot was "yes!" The angular monochromatic icons screamed minimalistic efficiency and gave me precisely the info I would want most readily accessible -- calls, emails, and messages -- with additional space available for me to insert other favorites. A total win then? Well, to be honest, the more the onion was peeled back the less enthusiasm I had. It turned out that the blocky icons were riddled with animations -- ones that apparently you can't turn off -- and moving between screens is accompanied by grand sweeping transitions. To be sure, those are sexy transitions that can grab attention with their novelty, but I can imagine them wearing thin when all you really wanna do is access an item that's buried under a few transitioned layers. My reaction therefore is one of ambivalence -- Microsoft clearly went out of its way to throw a bone to the minimalists out there, but couldn't help itself and also animated a bunch of things that diehards like myself might have preferred to see remain static. Ergo, the new OS seems to hang precariously between the two extremes -- it's not as flamboyant as Sony Ericsson's UX skin for Android, but neither is it sufficiently stripped down to satiate the true enthusiasts of functionalism. Solution seems to be an easy one though -- throw in a few more UI customization options, let the hippies color up their calendars and the business types switch off all the fancy stuff, and you should have no trouble shifting a couple hundred million copies.
Whats this? Josh and co. praising a Microsoft product? Its a breath of fresh air!
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE REAL ENGADGET EDITORS!?
@ramifications comes at a price tho, I imagine Jobs is going to ask for their secret Apple decoder rings back.
@ramifications so praising a good microsoft product is ok but other good products should not get praise? sigh
a good product always gets praised on this blog, accept it already
@ramifications
Don't kid yourself, they're praising it only because it's different. They perceive it as more iPhone-like. They feel vindicated because it's so different from the current WinMo, which they've spent years railing against, even though it outclasses their favorite device in all but superficial aspects.
I'm a huge WinMo advocate and I'm taking a wait and see approach with WP7. The UI doesn't seem radically different to the tiles that Sony Ericsson used on the original Xperia. The Zune UI and focus on Facebook and social networking seem a little like pandering to me, but I admit, those aren't my primary reasons for using a smartphone, so maybe I'm not the target audience. It could be an interesting OS, but the lack of even a basic dialer app on a smartphone OS at its big launch is concerning to me. I guess we'll see what happens over the next several months.
@Ducman69
i thought thoose were from steve job's mother's gravestone and are unknown about by steve to have been stolen
@University of Pi they are worries
@ramifications My God.... A new day has come! Microsoft has been blessed with the favor of Josh Topolsky! Steve and Bill can die in peace!
@flipflop
Good products should always get praise. I was pointing out how its nice to see a Microsoft product (especially in the phone dept) being praised by Engadget. Haven't seen that in awhile. And I think it deserves it. Despite the lingering questions, WinMo7 has alot of potential.
Welcome to the Galactic Republic, Engadget. May the Force be with you !
@ramifications
God I'm so sick of you Apple haters...
GO TO ANOTHER WEBSITE IF YOU HATE ENGADGET SO MUCH....
@ramifications
I am very happy to see this although while I see a lot of praise about Microsoft taking this gamble forgetting its past. Many of the editors are worried about how it is straying so far away from the old windows mobile and asking questions about whether it will be able to do this or that in terms of for business users, not just the everyday user. If you are so excited about the big M's new approach to the windows mobile platform, why do you keep asking about if it can do what it used to?
I understand the concerns but it seems like some people are being very contradictory.
Anyway I am very excited for WS7P and I think Microsoft will be able to innovate a lot in the smartphone industry, keep (re-invent) the tools needed for business aspects as well as pleasing the everyday user.
^^^
Maybe because those are valid questions?
Josh in particular brings up a lot of valid concerns. Is there going to be an App Store?
What about multitasking? All the Apple haters and Engadget trolls love to bitch at Apple about not having multitasking (although they neglect to provide any concrete examples of when it would be useful).
Yet MS and Ballmer and Co get on stage announce a VERY NICE looking OS but they fail to provide any details about whether or not it will support multitasking.
Yet no word of complaint from the Engadget Trolls/Apple Haters.
Typical hypocrisy. If you have such hatred for Apple and the fact that Apple has dedicated customers that favor Engadget as their site then GO ELSEWHERE.
@ramifications they made something worth blessing what did you expect.
@dwboston1 I too have my reservations about the new WM. I am, or was until today, a big fan of WM because of the easy UI customization, plethora of business class 3rd party apps, alternate browsers which did both the full, and mobile web well, the ability to purchase apps from multiple places, and the 4" VGA screens that have been available for over 5 years now.
I will reserve final judgement until the specs are finalized, and I have a chance to play with one. I like the current standard WM interface customized with utilities such as Pocket Plus, and I multi-task applications daily. I have tried the slicker UI shells for WM, but usually end up back with the standard UI utilizing Pocket Plus enhancements. From my perspective, the pendulum has swung way too far in the direction of how pretty, and slick the UI's are vs. does the device do what you want easily, quickly and reliably. It seems that no matter how feature deficient a device may be, and how many more steps it takes to perform a task, it is ok with the tech press as long as there are multiple animated transitions, and it looks "cool".
I know MS felt they had to make a major change to keep pace with the more modern over-hyped phone OS's. IMO, they went too far, and threw the baby out with the bath water, Based on the limited info available, the things I liked about WM such as multi-tasking, and customizable UI's have been discarded for extensive social network integration, and slickness. I know I am probably in the minority, but I am disappointed with this release.
As indicated above, I will reserve final judgement until the specs are finalized; however, based on the initial info available, this long time WM fan (over a dozen WM PDAs / Smarphones) may switch to another platform, probably Android since the iPhone is too limited for my needs.
@TheRogueFFAngel
Maybe you didn't read my whole response or maybe you misunderstood what I meant to say I agree that those are questions that need to be answered.
"Typical hypocrisy. If you have such hatred for Apple and the fact that Apple has dedicated customers that favor Engadget as their site then GO ELSEWHERE."
-Where did you get that from my response I was simply stating that it some of whats being said sounds a little hypocritical. I'm trying to have a conversation about this as a whole not saying anyone is wrong or right given the amount of unanswered questions. So before you get all worked up and decide you know where I stand just think about what I originally said...
@jimtravis
I agree with you very much and am using a G1 for now(rooted with Super Fried Donut 1.8) and it's great for me.
@TheRogueFFAngel
I must have missed the announcement where MS said that they were detailing EVERYTHING in their presentation this morning.
Look the OS is going to be ready to roll for the Holiday season. There's another 5-6 months before we even see leaked releases of the OS. Today was meant to highlight the HUGE changes coming to WinMo - not to dive into the minutia.
That said, multitasking (or some reasonable implementation of it) is mandatory. Flash, or 3rd party browsers is mandatory. Side loading is mandatory. I could care less about multitouch or capacitive screens. As a die hard fan of WinMo there are plenty of things to like in this new version. There are also plenty of things that need to be figured out prior to release. As it stands now, I'm cautiously optimistic.
@ramifications
I think they should do these editorials where the whole staff speaks, for every big released product. It really introduces a sense of balance, and will do a lot to preempt fanboy flamewars. It makes the opinions seem human rather than churned out by a faceless blog
@dwboston1
Ah, nice to see some consistency. I am very concerned about the vertical integration and direction of WinPho 7. I think Engadget and other blogs are overly focused on the the UI - which, let's be honest, can be replicated via skinnning on Android or WinMo 6.xx. The big reboot I think Microsoft is trying to accomplish is tying their services to their mobile OS. Something they never did successfully with their desktop OS. All the reasons to hate Apple ecosystem are present with this incarnation of Windows Mobile. I would like to see tech bloggers start digging deeper about 3rd party browser, search engines, app marketplace support. I don't want to see another Apple clone.
I just can't believe all this microsoft coverage is going down on engadget of all places! its the happiest day of my life *tear* poor samsung got wrecked by all this ms publicity. at least they got an extra 12 hours of buzz before ms destroyed them. just sit back and picture wp7 on an hd2...
@TheRogueFFAngel
I could use multitasking when I'm listening to a game in MLB at-bat would like to return a text massage. Is that a valid reason to want multitasking?
I could think of more.
So anyway I'm looking at engadget today and wondering... how could the largest software manufacturer in the world reboot their mobile OS today and somehow not get even half of the amount of posts that the underwhelming iPad got the day of it's release?
On topic: This thing is sexy! I like many other people wanted the "Zune phone" as soon as I saw the Zune HD. I have the Pre now, was thinking of getting the Hero, but will now definitely wait for the newest WinMo7 phone to come to Sprint. Microsoft, I'm coming home!
@dwboston1 it's nothing like the iPhone and every bit like the Zune. It's simple and beautiful. I have an iPhone and would consider this but the challenge is to 1) make this work flawlessly and obviously keep up with the changes to occur this summer (i.e. new iPhone and upgrade(s) to Android) and 2) not butcher it with 5,000 versions or stifle it by stating that what you have is integration but not really focus on 3rd party applications... because at the end of the day integration is fantastic but people still want apps too.
We shall see this winter how it all goes down.
@sweet greggo You're starting to get boring.
@Nilay Patel
Wow, man. Just wow.
@TheRogueFFAngel
No need to be so rude, didn't engadget turn off posts for awhile over that?
Anyway: Yes, winmo7 supports multitasking, and also supports tab based browsing in ie.
Yes there will be an app store, all of this information is readily available. All of this is available in the 22 minute video that engadget posted today. So yes, in terms of raw specs, this OS trumps apple in spades. But we all know it takes more than being better on paper.
@ramifications
EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES!!
M$ has been forced to innovate!!
M$'s modus operandi is usually to copy and then use their monopoly powers to embrace-extend-extinguish,so I guess they deserve some credit (round of applause)
Time will tell if M$ can actually execute the WM7 promise but I can't help but think this is a classic case of the "Emperor's New Clothes".
@dwboston1 - "more iPhone like"... Really? Where?
WinMo 7 Series couldn't be any more different than anything Apple offers.
Just like Fergie, WinMo 7S is singing to the iPhone - "I'm So 3008, You're So 2000 and Late" !
@aeth
hehehehehehehehheheheheheheheheheh///.......n1 n1 n1 n1.>!!!!!!!!
@Ducman69
LMAO. LOOOOOL
@jimtravis
That is pretty much exactly how I feel. I think that anyone who actually learned to use WM to its full extent will be a little nervous about this new UI, whilst people who always shied away from it because it wasn't slick and pretty enough will be all over it.
I am pretty sure that while this design will capture the imagination of the mainstream, it may be at the expense of the original users who simply wanted an interface refresh and the same functionality.
@ramifications Yeah, the UI of the WinPhone 7 is refreshing, isn't? Its like its a new shift from the normal platforms we have seen in the past. I think 'simplicity' is the key here.. Reminiscing the almost windows phone 7: http://bit.ly/windows-phone-7-before
@dwboston1 yeah I'm a winmo fan too, and for me the real question with 7 is well... how will it do the things that winmo fans want, not how will it do iphone-y things. I don't care about games or media on my smartphone, i need a functional mobile office... 7 seems like it is more consumer oriented.
The writing on the wall from where I sit is that smartphones are evolving into what may be the only device once carries with them - forget laptops, mids, navs, cameras - so a smartphone OS needs to do it all, and do it all well.
Maybe MS sees this too and wanted a whole new kernal to work with which could support that budding ecosystem.
Star Trek's one size fits all 'tricorder' sure didn't prepare us for this multiplicity of OS, form factor, and device sizes...
More iPhone-like in terms of tying everything to MSFT's services and forcing a unified UI. The attraction of WinMo was the ability to customize. I'm not interested in a locked-down smartphone experience.
So is your shtick.
@jimtravis
I agree with you. It seems I too am not the target audience. I don't use Facebook, Tweeter or XBOX live. I just want a customizable phone with great 3rd party apps, multitasking etc. It seems they have taken everything that I liked about the OS away and substituted it with full Facebook integration! Why cant social networking come with 3rd party apps so only people who want it can install and use it!?
its win. enough said.
@skyblaze as long as they have the hardware to back it up, which i am sure they will, this seems to be true.
...and it's a testament to Microsoft's work. I guess they werent just being lazy for the past couple years :)
@ramifications
I really love the direction MS is going in. I am happy that through increased competition with Google, Apple, and Linux (from a server stand point) MS has picked up their game recently. I hope the increased competition continues to make the best of all companies (and communities) involved.
@ramifications Correct! Both Windows 7 and now Windows Mobile 7 exculpate Microsoft for any mess they may have done in the past years - well that is if you think Vista was a mess. I really have no problems with Vista from the day I installed it to the day I upgraded to 7.
I like don's.
The big problem, however, is that Windows Phone 7 Series won't be out until the end of the year. That's arguably too far away for it to make a big difference.
I mean, by then, we'll see at least a new iPhone, and at least (10 months / 3 months ) iterations of Android releases and flagship hardware (seeing that the flagship hardware is changing fast enough to actually make that a valid approximation).
That's a lot of other things going on before we even see the *first* 7 Series phone.
@Nerdtalker
I disagree. If the first devices do, in fact, launch at the end of the year, this will not seriously harm Phones Series 7's at worst, and it may actually help it. From a retail perspective, the end of the year is the best for sales given the Black Friday to Christmas sales rush. Furthermore, if the generally good buzz continues, I assume they'll be consumer interest as the world's largest OS manufacturer is finally make a consumer friendly mobile OS that I am sure will also be business friendly, as well.
Also, it has the benefit of seeing newer iterations of competing OS's as it'll be in the position to tinker its OS accordingly.
I hope it OWNS...and has legacy support for WinMo apps. I'm really excited for Phone Series 7.
@Nerdtalker
I actually agree with some of what you said. At the end of the presentation, I honestly hoped that Microsoft was gonna do what Apple did with the price of the iPad (turned out to be $500 base price, instead of the commonly assumed $1000) and say:
"You know what? All of the competitors, analysts, and blogs are saying a release at holiday 2010. I say, 2 months from now, there will be 3 flagship phones, ready for the consumer."
That said, I think this will still be a very relevant OS even at the end of the year.
@3rdman
2 months would have been nice, but the lack of detail (glaring black holes) in certain areas of the presentation shows it's probably in an alpha or beta stage of development.
@Nerdtalker
I'm not sure it is considering that, a few bits and bobs aside, iPhone OS hasn't changed massively over the last year or two and Symbian is only just overhauling itself now after years.
@Nerdtalker: I have to disagree, since every prediction of smartphone market saturation is 2013 at the earliest (globally about 25-30% right now).
That means that 70% of the potential customers don't own any kind of smartphone yet. LOTS of room for each of the competitors to make their play.
@derX
Is this really true with phones? Don't most people pick up a phone when their contract runs out?
In my case, the contract runs out in June. It's going to be brutal waiting for another 5 months before we can even sniff at what a production level version of 7 will feel like.