Windows Phone 7

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

Unlike BB, I think Win 7 can be a great alternative. However, I think MSFT needed to execute this perfectly to get people to look away from Android and Apple. Why on earth they didn't come out with one model, that was stacked, designed well, with updates right from MSFT is beyond me.

They should have taken a page from Apple, got one solid experience out there, and grow from there. Trying to take on Android at their own game right now is next to impossible, and I think MSFT has done too little to distinguish itself from them. Even if they have the better product.

Well, up until now all of my updates have come from Microsoft through the Zune interface. The major update, Mango, was available the day of its release. The change toward carrier driven updates is new, as many of the comments indicate, and definitely unwelcome.

As for why the didn't get one top end flagship product at the start a la Apple -- because they don't make their own hardware, and thus are reliant of hardware manufacturers to choose to put Windows Phone 7 on their top phones.

As to distinguishing itself from Android, the OS does that in spades, generally to very good reviews. How else is a purely OS company to do it?

[McG]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

the UI is just too simplistic for me, i find the tile layout very boring. i do like that Microsoft is uniting the OS's with Windows 8 (hopefully that will mean a tile layout for an undocked tablet, but when docked would turn into a standard Windows interface) but with Google hitting their stride with Ice Cream Sandwich i don't see the Windows phones ever making that big of a dent in the market

windows 8 is supposed to do exactly this; operate as a tablet when "undocked" and a more traditional OS when "docked". for traditional devices like laptops, i believe that the OS works as a traditional OS would work.

M$ needs to find a way to control the bloatware and hardware that other companies ("partners") feel obligated to dump onto consumers; that is the biggest problem that they have and it causes all kinds of odd behaviour from hardware OEM providers. for example, various software updates are not provided in a timely manner (and sometimes not at all) because it conflicts in some way with a specific OEM software or hardware function. this is a widespread occurrence with the android platform...but i expect with the Motorola acquisition that Google will address this better.

If M$ can find a way to control the hardware somehow, i expect that an environment that is integrated between the laptop, tablet, mobile device, server, and cloud will be very compelling in the workplace.

the biggest loser? RIM. i can see RIM being pushed out of north america due to its inability to meet any committed delivery dates, or any promised functionality in a timely manner. as a canadian, that makes me sad.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Mike F

Well, up until now all of my updates have come from Microsoft through the Zune interface. The major update, Mango, was available the day of its release. The change toward carrier driven updates is new, as many of the comments indicate, and definitely unwelcome.

As for why the didn't get one top end flagship product at the start a la Apple -- because they don't make their own hardware, and thus are reliant of hardware manufacturers to choose to put Windows Phone 7 on their top phones.

As to distinguishing itself from Android, the OS does that in spades, generally to very good reviews. How else is a purely OS company to do it?

I thought the purpose of the Nokia partnership was an opportunity to create a great phone. I mean, Nokia dumped Symbian for Win 7, so I think MSFT would have a bit of say on hardware quality. With that said, the Nokia/Win phone that just launched got very good reviews.

Problem is when you are 4th in the race, you need a game changer. This phone is not it. Blackberry had the 1st email phone, Apple had the first great smart phone, Android went no where huge until the Droid came out. These are all game changers, unparalleled hardware and software amongst peers.

I know you like your Win 7 phone. I am sure I would like them too, but why should I drop my IPhone for it? Why should someone drop their Galaxy S2 for it? The leaders match or exceed the Nokia hardware, and the Win 7 while good, is a mystery to most people.

To Joe consumer, they are just not going to risk it for same hardware and an experience they don't know about. Android came in cheap, got people to try it based on volume and discount. That traditionally was MSFT's approach, see what the did in just about every tech space they entered.

Problem is they are same price, and have no game changer phone at this point. It's too bad they are where they are, as I am sure their OS is great. However, until they get their "Droid", I think they are going to have problems getting any traction.

[Acey]

I need to buy one and play around with it for a while. Heard lots of good things, just haven't used one for more than 30 seconds.

[TorqueDog]

I have been on WP7 since October, and I upgraded it to Mango within days of getting it.

It's a great OS, I really like it. I have a Samsung Omnia 7 16GB... which is basically the UK version of the Samsung Focus.

[Bill Bumface]

I have an iPhone 4 (iOS 5) and after playing with a WP7 and an android phone recently, I find my interface feels archaic and limited. I was really impressed/surprised by both.

[old-fart]

Had a trial of a Windows 7 phone last year around Christmas and lasted about a week before switching back to my Android HTC Desire HD. Still using Android. Windows 7 I found gimicky and pretty much useless.

[Notorious Honey Badger]

Big time bump.

I dont know if its my iphones freaking slowness or the constant crashing but the Samsung phone I found for my phone with windows phone operating system is very impressive. Its fast, the tile feature set is VERY handy for techies and non techies alike because in an attempt to make the phones features accessible very quick I think MS has made it very friendly too for our moms and dads and technophobes. Very impressed with MS in this regard. Good job!

[TorqueDog]

^My work iPhone has been dragging its ass lately as well. Ever since I put OS 5.0 on it, it's been dreadful.

I think Apple is trying to tell me something... like "buy an iPhone 4S"... but the call quality is poor, so all I can hear is "Stop buying our crap".

[Notorious Honey Badger]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

^My work iPhone has been dragging its ass lately as well. Ever since I put OS 5.0 on it, it's been dreadful.

I think Apple is trying to tell me something... like "buy an iPhone 4S"... but the call quality is poor, so all I can hear is "Stop buying our crap".

Yup. 6 months ago I couldn't imagine myself using anything other than an iPhone. Now its slow and frustrating to the point where I can't imagine even considering buying another one. Samsung has won me over for their TV's, monitors, and now phones.

[Burninator]

Why do you think the Samsung won't slow down as the firmware gets upgraded over time?

[Hack&Lube]

My problems with WP7 are that there is hardly any customization, can't really multitask, it's limited to a single core, and the resolution is limited to 800*480 (no retina type high res displays until WP8).

The strange thing is some of these features existed in earlier Windows phone versions.

[psyang]

My wife actually bought a Windows 7 phone and ended up returning it for an Android phone. Her one requirement was the ability for her phone to sync email, contacts, and tasks with Outlook directly (ie. not through Exchange). Amazingly, there was no simple way to do this. One of the many steps she needed to do to even start having the ability to sync was to create a hotmail account. Even so, she never got syncing of those three things working properly.

Since she already had a gmail account, and syncing on android was more mature (though still far from perfect), she returned her Win7 phone for an android.

It boggles my mind that Microsoft has frittered away one huge advantage by not supporting syncing directly with Outlook, which Win Mobile w/ActiveSync was able to do.

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by psyang

My wife actually bought a Windows 7 phone and ended up returning it for an Android phone. Her one requirement was the ability for her phone to sync email, contacts, and tasks with Outlook directly (ie. not through Exchange). Amazingly, there was no simple way to do this. One of the many steps she needed to do to even start having the ability to sync was to create a hotmail account. Even so, she never got syncing of those three things working properly.

Since she already had a gmail account, and syncing on android was more mature (though still far from perfect), she returned her Win7 phone for an android.

It boggles my mind that Microsoft has frittered away one huge advantage by not supporting syncing directly with Outlook, which Win Mobile w/ActiveSync was able to do.

Agree that Microsoft should have done better with Outlook integration, but are you saying Android will sync “more maturely” with Outlook directly?

If not, and your wife went to Android and is just using gmail, then I totally disagree that syncing of gmail mail, contacts, or calendar are “more mature” in Android than Windows Phone 7. My google accout is my primary account, and gmail, google contacts, and google calendar are all integrated seamlessly. All I had to do was input my account ID once, and all 3 were up and running, with all of my google contacts integrated into the “People Hub”.

Another thing I’m really happy with is the Twitter integration. I only signed up for twitter just before the trade deadline as I was going to be away from TV, and was pleased to see that twitter is completely integrated without the need of any 3rd party apps. The best part is that the people you follow are (behind the scenes, by default) stored as separate contacts in the People Hub which allows you to take advantage of the grouping function – on my home screen I have a live tile exclusively for my hockey feeds, one for news, one for comedy, etc. So on deadline day I could check all of the breaking trade updates with one touch, and didn’t have to sort through all of the non-hockey updates.

Not having used Android extensively, it may have that functionality without my knowledge, but regardless, the WP7 integration is great.

[Notorious Honey Badger]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Why do you think the Samsung won't slow down as the firmware gets upgraded over time?

the particular Samsung my mom is now using is at least 2 years old (she bought an old smart phone) and had a lot of updates. still quick and nimble

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Why do you think the Samsung won't slow down as the firmware gets upgraded over time?

Because you can install a ROM that will always have the latest upgrades regardless of what Samsung does.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

My problems with WP7 are that there is hardly any customization, can't really multitask, it's limited to a single core, and the resolution is limited to 800*480 (no retina type high res displays until WP8).

The strange thing is some of these features existed in earlier Windows phone versions.

They seem to be doing really well with the Nokia lineup though.

If they play their cards right, Microsoft should be able to steal some marketshare away from RIM. If they have any left by the time W8 comes out though.

[psyang]

Originally Posted by Mike F

Agree that Microsoft should have done better with Outlook integration, but are you saying Android will sync “more maturely” with Outlook directly?

Sorry, my wording wasn't the best. I meant that Android syncing with Gmail was more mature than WP7 syncing with Outlook. That said, I liked what I saw of WP7 when she had the phone. It's too bad they dropped the ball on Outlook syncing so badly.

[Azure]

Well Outlook isn't the same as Gmail. Hotmail would be about the same.

I'm not actually sure what you mean syncing with Outlook. Outlook is just an email program that you can configure for any email.

[Notorious Honey Badger]

I synch my iphone with outlook for the calender and contacts