I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Android BBQ in Austin and asked at one of the seminars what the developers and the rest of the folks in the room thought about the upcoming release of the Windows 7 Phone. Basically everyone roared with laughter and had outright dismissed Microsoft with shouts of “KIN” and “Zune”.
Once things died down I wanted to clarify that they would have to pry my EVO from my cold, dead hands, but some things to consider with this new Windows 7 Phone OS:
- It’s going to be on every major carrier
- All the high-end manufacturers will be launching phones for it (HTC, Samsung, LG…)
- Microsoft will NOT just give up a share of the business market. With RIM falling, this OS looks like it could pick up the slack.
- What kid wouldn’t like to be able to sync with their XBOX 360 like this phone can?
- ZuneHD interface built in? It puts all Android media players to shame.
- Also – keep in mind – while folks with Apple computers at home tend to stay with Apple phones, people with PCs now have a legitimate high-end device they can go to besides Android now.
These are just some of the things that, to be honest, concern me more than the iPhone. The iPhone – yeah it’s a nice device, but it’s static and only changes once a year and has one design and right now one carrier. The Windows 7 Phone – that could theoretically put a dent in the Android market share.
I am anxious to see what Gingerbead brings to the table, and if Google brings the reputed updates to the Marketplace at that time. Hopefully the increased competition will make things even better. To be honest, disliking Apple is too easy. A new competitor in the mobile arena will definitely liven things up quite a bit.
Now if Microsoft does buy Adobe – all bets are off:
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Im not concerned windows phone 7 doesnt even multi task.as long as there are android devices that can be rooted I dont think m$ is a big threat to google.theyll both get a little more then a third of the smart phone market with apple and rim splitten the remainder.
People that buy Apple phones – there’s just no arguing with them. They have their heart set on an iPhone. Bad reception? No problem. Faulty design (glass backing)? No problem. No flash? No problem – Lord Jobs says I don’t need it and he is like, a demi-goddontyaknow. Only ATT eh? Sigh – No problem.
People that buy Apple phones – there’s just no arguing with them. They have their heart set on an iPhone. Bad reception? No problem. Faulty design (glass backing)? No problem. No flash? No problem – Lord Jobs says I don’t need it and he is like, a demi-goddontyaknow. Only ATT eh? Sigh – No problem.
Really depends on your target market. One thing I DON’T like on Android is the way Outlook sync “works” — which is to say, it doesn’t. Not from a local Outlook. There’s Google Calendar Sync, which syncs your calendar only — and it does not do it well. It skips certain appointments, and I have not been able to determine what is different about the appointments that are skipped. And since I can’t be sure that ALL appointments transfer, I can’t rely on the phone’s calendar at all.
Plus, Google Calendar Sync doesn’t sync with the *phone*, it syncs with Gmail. I’m betting my employer would not be happy to learn I’m doing that.
Most other scenarios (contacts, tasks, etc.) require buying something like CompanionLink, but when I tried a test version it crashed on me, so I’m not ponying up the $$$.
My Vibrant will supposedly work with Kies, but evidently there’s no official support for US versions of the Galaxy S, and it’s obviously not a universal Android solution.
Now just to be clear…I hated Windows Mobile on my MPx220, and on my T-Mobile Dash. But one thing it was absolutely rock-solid on was syncing Outlook…appointments, contacts, tasks, notes, you name it.
And yes, I know that I can somehow sync my Vibrant with an Exchange server, but (A) my contacts, mail, etc. are not kept on the server; they’re all local, and (B) no way is IT going to let me connect a personal phone to the corporate Exchange servers.
I’m not going to dump my Android phone. But if I was less of a tech-geek and more of a corporate road warrior…I could definitely see the appeal to using WinMo if everything else at the corporation is Windows-based. It just makes things easier.
I’ve seen and heard that corporate office were toying with deploying with iPhone devices instead of Blackberry. If the Windows 7 Phone OS succeeds, I could definitely see Redmond doing some damage, I agree.
I still think that Android will trump all just because of their ease of modification (aka rooting), Flash support (yes – I know – Win 7 and RIM phones will have flash support down the road), but Android has it now.
I just love the community. The support you get with Android – I’ve never had that with any other phone.
The biggest appeal of WinMo is seemless Office and Windows sync, and let’s face it, most PCs are running those. On top of it, it now has added a top of the class interface, a definite dose of ‘cool’ and ‘weird’, and with a resurgent Microsoft behind it, there is no telling where it will go.
If IOS and Apple teaches us one thing, it is this: people will go for simplicity and elegance even at the expense of functionality and value for money. There is a whole Anti-Apple silent majority who is right now clinging to Android. If they have some other legitimate option, WinMo7 could have a field day.
Yes, there are some features missing, but I can be DEAD POSITIVE that the newly smartened up Microsoft would take no time in adding multitasking and copy and paste provided enough people ask for it.
Time for Android/Google to stop targeting Apple and gun for MS’s new baby.
I agree. I think Microsoft should be the new target for the reasons I cite above. I’m hoping with Gingerbread and the rumored Music Store being pushed out by Google, that this will counter this and will remedy some of these items.
Adobe Flash/AIR go a long way in bringing apps to our device and while Microsoft doesn’t have them now (they use Silverlight now I believe and I know they do not use Flash) – they were in closed door discussions last week with Adobe). Rumor has it that an acquisition of Adobe was among the options. I’m thinking that what was actually discussed was expediting the porting of Flash to their platform.
Google also needs to make sure to have a minimum spec for future device deployment to prevent severe fragmentation. They need to make a stand and when a device is released to the public it needs to be with the most current OS.
I can see how Windows Phone 7 can be a threat to android. The simplistic interface of the phone is very appealing, as well as the ability to use zune pass and play some xbox live games such as Limbo or Zuma. I am corretly a college student so I am not to concern about the outlook sync, but I the Microsoft my have actually done something right when they made this phone and releasing it just as RIM and Palm are dieing may help them quickly pick up market share, Of course I would never get rid of my Droid 2 for WP7, but I am considering buying one to use as a multimedia player/gaming device.
I love my ZuneHD and have come to the conclusion that with the lack of fanfare that Microsoft put into it (no advertising whatsoever) – that it was merely a testbed for the Windows 7 Phone. I mean, have you ever seen so much as a print ad for it? Heard a radio commercial? TV? It’s not even sold outside of the US for crying out loud.
Now look at their new phone. Really nice integration with the ZuneHD interface. They did a nice job and the ZunePass is a steal. Apple is even stealing the idea with a ZunePass-esque subscription service of their own forthcoming. It’s “magical” – [GAG]
Anyway, more competition is good. Looking forward to it. Bring it!
People that buy Apple phones – there’s just no arguing with them. They have their heart set on an iPhone. Bad reception? No problem. Faulty design (glass backing)? No problem. No flash? No problem – Lord Jobs says I don’t need it and he is like, a demi-goddontyaknow. Only ATT eh? Sigh – No problem.
regardless, its still windows. im satisfied wit it on my laptop, i dont need or want it anywhere i go. only good thing about windows phones is the ability to run android on ‘em lol thats it
eh, i’m personally not going to direct my hate toward microsoft. my resentment toward apple is mostly in its users–they’re SO dumb and incompetent, yet they rant about how awesome their iphones are without even knowing anything. i have some iphone friends who i can actually have an intellectual conversation with, and they’re really cool. ios really has some great features; it’s just its users (and steve jobs) that seriously piss me off. and i don’t feel like microsoft is going to get huge because of wp7, so i’m not going to go around dissing it. plus, htc is going to hook wp7 up with some reallly nice devices–look at the hd2 for winmo…