Windows Phone 7 Series will have themes... sort of
By Nilay Patel 
posted March 16th 2010 11:11PM
posted March 16th 2010 11:11PM
posted March 16th 2010 11:11PM
powered by gdgt
Microsoft Windows Phone 7
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@Ambient80 How so? What phone OS out there comes with 100 different themes for it's phone? Changing a wallpaper doesn't count, or simply changing text color. I don't see how this is any different then most phones. I theme my Pre all the time, but that isn't official Palm stuff, it is homebrew. I am guessing WM 7 will end up with it's fair share of homebrew.
@Ambient80 What's wrong with Vista?
@Kunta Kinte
Yeah. This Microsoft bias is just too much. They should rename the site WINgadget.
Wait...
Can you theme it to not look so busy?
And enough with all the Windows seven nut swinging.
@Kunta Kinte Why would they pay Engadget to focus solely on 7 series' flaws. Next post... 7 series runs crysis but it lags
Is it just me, or has Windows phone 7 just seem to have gotten less attractive within the last 24 hours?
@jordanbiffle
It definitely isn't just you.
Let's fight this!
Guys this take like 2 seconds, just do it please:
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/7seriesphoneboycott/
Petition Message:
Windows Mobile:
Function: Extremely capable OS
Form: Dense, outdated user interface.
Windows Phone 7 Series:
Function: OS crippled by a lack of basic features
Form: Intuitive, modern user interface.
Microsoft has selected form over functionality and that is a decision we can not and will not support with our own monetary funds. Microsoft, you\\\'re decision to neglect basic features such as...
- an open file system accessible to the user
- copy + paste
- true multitasking
- true customization
... has resulted in our collective decision to boycott all
future Windows Phones until the above issues are addressed.
@Kunta Kinte For the LAST TIME: http://www.engadget.com/exclude/microsoft!!!
Lack of themes is no big deal for me. The only customization I care about is being able to change the background wallpaper. But even that isn't deal breaker for me. Copy/paste on the other hand..
@R
"Title updated as Microsoft only confirmed current builds do not include the functionality and that future builds before RTM may include copy and paste."
I'd much rather have tons of themes I'll never use. Geez, I was pretty stoked when I saw it streaming Netflix and really excited to see the Zune interface. Now I can't copy/paste which I rarely do and no themes?! What am I gonna buy to use for a month and a half now?!
*end sarcasm*
Not trying to bash anything here, but every time I see a post on WinMo7, I get less and less and less excited.
This should simply be called xbox live phone and that's it. It would sell as a portable game console with a phone. I am not sure why they even need to bother with zune and the rest. No one cares about zune.
The geek market is not worth it. I just read that till date only 135k nexus one phones have been sold. That fewer than ipad pre orders in one day! Msft trying to please geeks ain't gonna sell them many phones.
The droid sold well because it's sold as a projection of ones man hood. The iPhone is the entertainment phone, the blackberry is the email phone....palm is a geek phone. That's why it fails. Worse yet, verizon made it into the uncool womanly phone. WP7S has an identity crisis. Zune is not a positive brand.....
It's all about the identity. I think the best option is to go for xbox live - all out. It's the gaming phone.
@jaffreywali
-- I care about the Zune. People that actually use the Zune generally love it. My Zune is used about 90% of the time, 10% for my iPod Touch.
-- BB has sold so well because of corporate support. At my company (300k+ employees) we are only allowed to use BB devices. They are common due to policy not because they are loved. BB is literally our only choice for mobile email.
-- Palm not selling well probably has a lot to do with being released on Sprint for the first year. The Pre Plus is old hardware now and I doubt it does much on Verizon.
-- WinMo has a dedicated fanbase. My problem is that they are alienating that fanbase. The gamble is that MS can peel off a larger chunk of the consumer market without losing their enthusiast base. I don't think they can do it though.
-- What MS should have done is quite simple - turn all the standard settings to the consumer level (no multi-tasking, no side cab installs, limited themeing) but give power users the ability to turn those capabilities on. For those that don't tinker they get a great out of the box solution (something that current WinMo lacks). For power users they can still customize to their hearts content. Now that would be a win/win device.
To paraphrase Jon Stewart...
The Woodstock that is Mix10 just took Engadget commenters from "Wild Trip :) " to "I'm freaking out mannnnn... :("
If the windows 7 home page was any good then I would not care about themes, but the Windows 7 home page is awful & ugly so no 3rd party themes (bad mistake) then Windows Mobile is losing 1 more customer
why use a white theme with an amoled device? Amoled saves power when the screen is black.