Anybody holding out for WM7?

[Germanguy]

I am nearing the end of the 30 day trial with my captivate. Recently, I have been seeing a slew of upcoming WM7 devices that look pretty slick. Don't know too much about WM7 but it looks like a very interesting/promising platform. How do you guys think WM7 will hold up against Android?

 

[sremick]

Windows doesn't belong on a cell phone.

Leave it on the desktops which are easier targets for sledgehammers and shotguns when it crashes.

 

[yahoowizard]

I honestly think it's going to fail miserably. Android and Apple have a pretty strong foothold, and the only way of success here is to make a phone and run Android on it. I'd put highly against any success for Microsoft.

 

[harryzwd]

microsoft is trying and apple was the first on the scene to really revolutionize the smart phone experience, but android is THE mobile operating system and evolving faster than even google imagined it would.

microsoft shouldn't even bother in my opinion...i doubt they will even really compete.

 

[wylkell]

Ignoring the religious elements (windows and shotguns), i was interested in (and waiting on) the new Windows mobile platform, but went android once i got some of the latest previews on it. Microsoft has decided it wants to emulate the "walled garden" approach that is popular with the iphone and is basically mandating everything, from where the (required) buttons all must go, to what kind of apps can be developed on it. It basically wants every vendor who builds one of their phones to make them look/interact the same. Last i heard, tethering on the phone is also a no-go, which is odd considering WM5+ all have the feature already built in. Sideloading is out, too.

The new W7 phones won't be open like android or the older WM platforms. So basically expect the same experiance as the iPhone, but with docks (sorta like the kin) instead of the iOS UI.

Of course, this was all based off of tech preview's i've read and people i've talked to. Things can always change before release. A friend of mine has already tried out a W7 phone's UI and didn't like it but that's one of those things that is going to vary from person to person.

 

[Germanguy]

So essentially the concept for WM7 is similar to the iphone and the only way to customize it is hoping for a "jailbreak" which is a cat-and-mouse game that I hated on the iPhone everytime a new firmware came out.

 

[sremick]

I apologize if my curt comment seemed baseless fanboyism. I just lack the patience at this point of dealing with Microsoft's crap (IT admin, 20 years in the field).

Microsoft is always "me too!" to every successful technology or device, but the only solution they bring to the table is to cram Windows itself or the "Windows mentality" into it.

The problem is, Microsoft thinks Windows' market share is because Windows itself is good, liked, or the best solution for the job. It's not. The truth is, Windows' market share is because of historical events, traction, and inertia/habit. When you have a new device/technology, you can't just clone those advantages into a new field and expect it to carry over.

Remember the Zune?

Unfortunately, Microsoft has a bottomless pit of money from their desktop/server/office empire to pour into something, even to the tune of billions over the years, just on the off chance that maybe it'll be moderately successful someday. Even if it means playing dirty (money can buy you friends, and big money can buy you big friends).

At the end of the day, though, Windows Mobile (aka "Pocket PC" and now as "Windows Phone") is still just the Windows mentality and "experienced" crammed onto a handheld. You have to ask yourself: how much do you really love Windows, how much of your use of it on your desktop is just because that's what you're used to or that's what most people use, and why not take the opportunity to break free of that when you have a whole new realm to use as a "clean slate"?

Remember: when you establish a relationship with your portable device, you're entrenching yourself with an entire "school of thought" and mentality. There's Apple's. There's Android's. And then there's Microsoft's. Which is heading most in the direction you want to go? Which is closest to what you want in the long-run? Which is most-likely, in its next version, to provide you with more of what you want, versus more of what the corporations/advertisers/media companies want?

When you hop on a train, the route and destination are more-important that the color of the seats or the shape of the... windows.

Microsoft has to turn this into a viable retail product that can hang with the fiercest competition in the history of the cellphone in just a few months' time, and there are some serious issues that need to be addressed. Frankly, it's a little scary. ... the industry has already proven that it won't wait around for companies to play catch-up. It's not about lapping the competition at this point, it's about just being in the race -- and if Microsoft doesn't know that by now, it may already be too late."

From: Windows Phone 7 in-depth preview -- Engadget

the experience for us felt a little too much like our time using the Microsoft KIN 2. The tiled homescreen seems a little too constrained and boxed in for us, and the non-frills design approach actually left the handset menus and navigational elements feeling bare and unfinished, rather than pure and unaltered. Not having any sort of menu for hoping back and forth between applications hampers your every day usage, and the animated transitions also start to feel old pretty fast. For a phone that was made from scratch and started on after the first iPhone was introduced, and for a phone that

 

[MrTony]

I was a WinMo user since 2002 up until I got the Captivate. I've run all sorts of custom ROMs and was really happy with the platform for the most part. The problem, as others have alluded to, is that MS is going to play the "walled-garden" game and I just won't have it. The second I read that WP7 would be locked down like the iPhone, I got an Android handset. It's been a culture shock, but I don't regret it.

 

[sickntired]

I was thinking of waiting for WM7 so I could make a more informed decision. But I didn't. I've read lots of good info on Android and made the jump from Apple. Loving it so far...

 

[myrv]

My little brother's first smartphone will probably be winmo 7. They have him hooked with promises of incorporating xbox live into it somehow.

 

[mttfrog13]

I am nearing the end of the 30 day trial with my captivate. Recently, I have been seeing a slew of upcoming WM7 devices that look pretty slick. Don't know too much about WM7 but it looks like a very interesting/promising platform. How do you guys think WM7 will hold up against Android?

wm7 will hold its own next to iOS and android. M$ has a habit of having to learn its lesson and then coming out on top. Look at windows vs mac osx, xbox vs playstation. M$ always starts on the bottom but they have so much money backing them, once they get the ball rolling they can really come out with good products. Some people will laugh, but bing is even another example but it may be too late in the game for them to win there. Even IE9 is looking good at this point.

My only problem with waiting for wm7 is that who knows which carrier the phones will be on. I will only do verizon or att, preferably verizon. Also I would have to go a month or two without a phone which is unacceptable unless I maybe get a pay as you go phone until then?

 

[mongstradamus]

I am pretty sure wm7 will be on both att and vzw , i think there were some leaked screens of an lg or htc att wm7 phone.

 

[Uzza]

hahahhahahah

(ROFLMA)

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

Sorry..(Takes a breath)

HAHAHAHAHHAHA...


HAHAHAHHAHA...

(gasps for air) No, Seriously...SorrHAHAHAHHA...HAHAHHAA

Yeah I think I will hold out for WM7, maybe even hold out for an Operating System made by the Canadian Government. Maybe it will have a special boot mode..A BOOT...ABOOT..HAHAHHAHAHHA


(edited to reduce laughter.)

 

[RavenFox]

wm7 will hold its own next to iOS and android. M$ has a habit of having to learn its lesson and then coming out on top. Look at windows vs mac osx, xbox vs playstation. M$ always starts on the bottom but they have so much money backing them, once they get the ball rolling they can really come out with good products. Some people will laugh, but bing is even another example but it may be too late in the game for them to win there. Even IE9 is looking good at this point.

My only problem with waiting for wm7 is that who knows which carrier the phones will be on. I will only do verizon or att, preferably verizon. Also I would have to go a month or two without a phone which is unacceptable unless I maybe get a pay as you go phone until then?

Is this post suppose to be funny or sarcastic? Really good products? You mean like all my friends dead 360's? Or why they left the controller market to Logitech until recently. Or Windows and it's many many issues [IT pro for 11 years now]. The PS3 is much more than the 360 can ever be just from a hardware standpoint and now they are only about 2 million behind in sales. Anyway, back on topic, I've used WinMo for years and the Captivate is my first foray into Android and I have to say it's quite an experience. Just like it was posted above the previews for the Win7 Mobile devices aren't sounding good at all.

 

[wildkarrde21]

While I'm definitely not holding out for Windows Phone 7 in any shape or form, I have no problem with Microsoft entering the cell phone space. Even if they only introduce one new innovation into the scene, that's still something the other OS's and manufacturers can work off of and possibly implement themselves. We don't want just Android and iOS (and hopefully WebOS) continually aping each other until they run out of ideas. An additional perspective (even one as narrow-minded as M$'s) is always good for consumers.

 

[ewingr]

I was on Winmo Device for several years, and anxiously awaiting Winmo7. But when they announced, all the facts outlined above (related to how it works, not the complaints about how they market, who they are, how they deal with business, or whatever) led me away. Very disappointed that there would be no / little customization; locked in like Apple; more social nework based than business user based; pretty likely that none of the existing Winmo apps (many of which are good) will work, no multitasking (What????) , etc.

I decided NOPE!

From an Android point of view, I'm a bit disappointed. There definitely is some maturation needed. But, it seems to be a juggernaut, and I am confident it will mature quickly.

No Winmo7 for me.

 

[wylkell]

The PS3 is much more than the 360 can ever be just from a hardware standpoint and now they are only about 2 million behind in sales.

Wait, why are you comparing a blu-ray player against a game console?

 

[sremick]

But doing so many things from scratch means that in a lot of ways Windows Phone 7 is more like the first version of a product than the seventh major release. Although it has won some early praise for breaking ground in some areas, Windows Phone 7 takes a step backwards in others. In particular, it doesn't support features like copy and paste and multitasking that were already part of the old Windows Mobile.

From: Behind the scenes: Windows Phone 7 | Beyond Binary - CNET News

 

[acheslow]

I don't think the people holding out for WM7 are reading this forum.

 

[norsairius]

From: Behind the scenes: Windows Phone 7 | Beyond Binary - CNET News

The multitasking is not true multitasking as you see in Android and such. It actually works like the "multitasking" found on the iPhone with iOS4, except Microsoft is actually honest enough to not call it multitasking. It works with save states as opposed to keeping applications running. Having used this functionality on the iPhone, I actually thought it was pretty good and it probably worked well to contribute to the stellar battery life I experienced when I had the iPhone 4.

I don't think the people holding out for WM7 are reading this forum.

Bingo.

However, I may be an exception. Thing is, I don't want to necessarily replace my Captivate, I'd like to look at a Windows Phone 7 device as an alternate because I'm interested in both platforms a lot.

I'm not going to just go into an AT&T store and pick up a WP7 device blindly though. I'm going to see how it turns out, try out the hardware, and see how the apps look and see if it looks like it's going anywhere.

I, for one, have heard/seen quite a few good things about WP7. Of course, people will always want to see/hear what they want to see/hear and typically anything else gets blocked out. I think the platform has a lot of promise, but it's up to Microsoft to really invest in it and push it forward, especially given the competition out there now.

Just my $0.02.

 

[SamsungVibrant]

I am nearing the end of the 30 day trial with my captivate. Recently, I have been seeing a slew of upcoming WM7 devices that look pretty slick. Don't know too much about WM7 but it looks like a very interesting/promising platform. How do you guys think WM7 will hold up against Android?

Bill Gates, is that you? Or is Ashton Kutcher trying to punk us.


Don't make me laugh, get the hell outa here bill with your silly wm7.

Only people that have half a brain purchase wm phones.

 

[alphadog00]

I think Windows 7 will be a hit. My Windows Mobile phones were great at the time - there was nothing else competing and even Palm went to Windows Mobile. The people that slam windows mobile either never used it, or installed a bunch of crap apps that made it run poorly (you can do that with Android also).

That being said, since it hasn't launched yet, waiting would be silly. There have been no reviews of the full OS or the hardware. As soon as it is released, someone else will announce something else - and then you debate waiting again.

It is just as silly as the iPhone junkies waiting in line to buy a product that has not been reviewed and then complaining when it doesn't work right.

 

[emuneee]

I eventually will probably move to WP7. But I am not holding out for what is essentially the first iteration of a completely new mobile OS. I would lose too much moving from Android 2.1 to WP7...which is almost like WP1. With that said, I think in about 12 months, Microsoft will have filled out a lot of holes currently present in WP7.

 

[danomolis]

As an IT pro for several years, I have to agree with the masses here. Windows track history on smart phones has been pretty poor. The only exception to that would be the TMobile Dash. That phone was incredible.

Remember that the 1st generation of any phone/OS normally has problems.

The reviews and buzz that WM7 is generating can't be ignored, though. I'm taking a "wait-and-see" approach.

 

[DT]

I eventually will probably move to WP7. But I am not holding out for what is essentially the first iteration of a completely new mobile OS. I would lose too much moving from Android 2.1 to WP7...which is almost like WP1. With that said, I think in about 12 months, Microsoft will have filled out a lot of holes currently present in WP7.

That's my stance too. I'll evaluate it in 12 months, after a couple of revisions, maybe 2nd gen hardware, etc. Plus I want to see the developer/ment commitment to the new platform. We know with Android (or iOS) there's 10 billion apps, and while I'm sure there will be some of the usual suspects up front (Amazon, Pandora), it's the less mainstream apps that tend to be really interesting.