Anyone else eagerly awaiting Windows Phone 7?

[MrX8503]

Well....to get 1000 good usable apps, you need an app store that has 100,000+ apps.

As for the iPhone having not many more quality apps than Android...its actually a lot more.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Well....to get 1000 good usable apps, you need an app store that has 100,000+ apps.

No. Just because it happened one way before doesn't mean it has to again.

 

[Deeko]

Well....to get 1000 good usable apps, you need an app store that has 100,000+ apps.

As for the iPhone having not many more quality apps than Android...its actually a lot more.

Not necessarily.

One thing Microsoft has been doing a lot of is courting the big name companies/apps to port to WinPhone 7. If you get the important ones, that's what matters. For example - I'll take a Yahoo fantasy football app over hundreds of no-namers attempting to wrap sports stats. Pandora over a competitor that offers sub par performance. So on and so forth. You don't have to have 100,000 crap apps to get 1,000 good ones.

 

[TheStu]

Well, one important thing that Microsoft needs to have out either on day 1, or at least can give a deadline for is to match the resources that Apple gives developers (and maybe Android too, I don't know what they do for them). Paul Thurrott of all people had a write up about it, laying out exactly what people can get for free, from Apple, before they start developing and what the developer program then gives them access to once they give Apple money. It is rather significant (tutorials, podcasts, iTunes U, huge amount of documentation, examples, sample code, all kinds of stuff).

If Microsoft can offer that, and maybe a way for developers to transition from iOS to WP7 or at least do both without having to completely re-design/re-code then they will be on the right track.

 

[coolVariable]

Considering that more and more people are unhappy with android and google is really fumbling the ball, I would say that MS has a pretty good chance.
Also: devices look nice (though the use of 3 "buttons" where there is evidently room for 4 is retarded)

 

[MrX8503]

Considering that more and more people are unhappy with android and google is really fumbling the ball, I would say that MS has a pretty good chance.
Also: devices look nice (though the use of 3 "buttons" where there is evidently room for 4 is retarded)

Dude what are you talking about? There's a lot of happy people with Android. Google has spent the time to create such an OS. MS hasn't done anything for me to believe that WP7 is going to be more successful than Android.

All MS has done was rested on their laurels and thought their ancient WinMo 6.5 would of prevailed. Now they are many years late and they aren't gonna get any slack. Their WP7 must be damn good coming out of the gates.

 

[rudeguy]

Well, one important thing that Microsoft needs to have out either on day 1, or at least can give a deadline for is to match the resources that Apple gives developers (and maybe Android too, I don't know what they do for them). Paul Thurrott of all people had a write up about it, laying out exactly what people can get for free, from Apple, before they start developing and what the developer program then gives them access to once they give Apple money. It is rather significant (tutorials, podcasts, iTunes U, huge amount of documentation, examples, sample code, all kinds of stuff).

If Microsoft can offer that, and maybe a way for developers to transition from iOS to WP7 or at least do both without having to completely re-design/re-code then they will be on the right track.

Google's main carrot they dangle for Devs is free dev phones. How many thousand of N1's did they send out for free? There is talk of the G2 being the next one they hand out.

 

[Deeko]

All MS has done was rested on their laurels and thought their ancient WinMo 6.5 would of prevailed. Now they are many years late and they aren't gonna get any slack. Their WP7 must be damn good coming out of the gates.

What? This is entirely untrue. They had a new operating system in the works - Windows Mobile 7. You might remember some of the leaked screenshots:

Keep in mind that project began development before the iPhone was released, and compared to other OS's of the time, it actually wasn't too bad looking. Then the smartphone landscape fundamentally changed, so Microsoft scrapped that project and restarted from the ground up. Believe it or not - that takes time. So since they couldn't just go years without any updates at all, they made 6.5 as a stop-gap interim solution. And frankly, despite all the bad press it gets, 6.5.3 is actually fairly solid. I prefer a stock 6.5.3 ROM to Sense on my HD2.

 

[MrX8503]

What? This is entirely untrue. They had a new operating system in the works - Windows Mobile 7. You might remember some of the leaked screenshots:

Keep in mind that project began development before the iPhone was released, and compared to other OS's of the time, it actually wasn't too bad looking. Then the smartphone landscape fundamentally changed, so Microsoft scrapped that project and restarted from the ground up. Believe it or not - that takes time. So since they couldn't just go years without any updates at all, they made 6.5 as a stop-gap interim solution. And frankly, despite all the bad press it gets, 6.5.3 is actually fairly solid. I prefer a stock 6.5.3 ROM to Sense on my HD2.

If WP7 wasn't released in 2007 at the time of the iOS Gen 1, then they rested on their laurels.

How old is WinMo? They had all the time in the world to release something before Apple did. Now that the market is changing they had to scrap their ideas and start over. I had WinMo 6.5 on my Touch diamond and it sucked.

 

[Deeko]

If WP7 wasn't released in 2007 at the time of the iOS Gen 1, then they rested on their laurels.

How old is WinMo? They had all the time in the world to release something before Apple did. Now that the market is changing they had to scrap their ideas and start over. I had WinMo 6.5 on my Touch diamond and it sucked.

All MS has done was rested on their laurels and thought their ancient WinMo 6.5 would of prevailed. Now they are many years late and they aren't gonna get any slack. Their WP7 must be damn good coming out of the gates.

What? If they didn't release it in 2007 they rested on their laurels? Do you....do you know how software is made? It doesn't grow on trees. It takes time. You don't rewrite your OS from the ground up in a week because your competitor released something that changed the market. Sure, they could have just plowed ahead with the original WM7, and it likely would have been just as ridiculed as 6.5 was. Instead, they decided to scrap it and rebuild something that fits the current market, while releasing an interim update to their current product. Apparently this offends you?

Also - the Touch Diamond never had 6.5 in any official form, and its an old, out of date phone. Not exactly the best example. Not that it matters - you would likely have hated it no matter what it was like. As you'll likely do with WP7. Haters gon' hate, as they say.

 

[MrX8503]

What? If they didn't release it in 2007 they rested on their laurels? Do you....do you know how software is made? It doesn't grow on trees. It takes time. You don't rewrite your OS from the ground up in a week because your competitor released something that changed the market. Sure, they could have just plowed ahead with the original WM7, and it likely would have been just as ridiculed as 6.5 was. Instead, they decided to scrap it and rebuild something that fits the current market, while releasing an interim update to their current product. Apparently this offends you?

Also - the Touch Diamond never had 6.5 in any official form, and its an old, out of date phone. Not exactly the best example. Not that it matters - you would likely have hated it no matter what it was like. As you'll likely do with WP7. Haters gon' hate, as they say.

Right, software takes time to develop I know that. So lets say a mobile OS takes 4 years to create from the ground up.

So....what you would do is start development in 2003 and have it ready by 2007. I honestly believe that MS would of sat on their ass if it wasn't for iOS in 2007. Since we didn't get WP7 in 2007, I believe MS started development way way too late aka rested on their laurels.

Haters gonna hate? Dude WinMo sucks and 6.5 was marginally better. I don't understand, if a company hasn't released anything ground breaking in the past decade, why would I look forward to WP7? They have to prove themselves first.

 

[coolVariable]

Dude what are you talking about? There's a lot of happy people with Android. Google has spent the time to create such an OS. MS hasn't done anything for me to believe that WP7 is going to be more successful than Android.

All MS has done was rested on their laurels and thought their ancient WinMo 6.5 would of prevailed. Now they are many years late and they aren't gonna get any slack. Their WP7 must be damn good coming out of the gates.

1. Android is 2 years old and still feels like it is beta software since so many "features" just don't work.
2. Android still can't do some things that my dumbphone in the 1990's was able to do.
3. People are sick and tired of carriers and manufacturers "sabotaging" android - you want open? Get an iPhone ... at this point it is more open than android!
4. WinMo had more (working) features than android - it was butt ugly but so far it was probably the most feature rich mobile OS out there.
5. With android you will get OS updates and ... wait ... actually you won't. I guess you only get updates with Apple (and potentially MS' WP7)

Should I go on?

 

[MrX8503]

1. Android is 2 years old and still feels like it is beta software since so many "features" just don't work.
2. Android still can't do some things that my dumbphone in the 1990's was able to do.
3. People are sick and tired of carriers and manufacturers "sabotaging" android - you want open? Get an iPhone ... at this point it is more open than android!
4. WinMo had more (working) features than android - it was butt ugly but so far it was probably the most feature rich mobile OS out there.
5. With android you will get OS updates and ... wait ... actually you won't. I guess you only get updates with Apple (and potentially MS' WP7)

Should I go on?

1. Android 1.5 felt like beta. Gingerbread should be more polished
2. iOS, Android, BB, Symbian can't do some things other phones can't do. Whats your point?
3. Complain to the carrier
4. WinMo was butt ugly and worked like trash. I don't care if it can grant me 3 wishes when it works like trash. Next
5. Android doesn't get prompt updates I agree with that.

You're point was that people aren't happy with Android and WP7 is better. This is not true because:

A: Android is selling very well
B: WP7 hasn't been released and their last mobile OS (WinMo6) was garbage.

Android is successful now.

 

[Deeko]

Right, software takes time to develop I know that. So lets say a mobile OS takes 4 years to create from the ground up.

So....what you would do is start development in 2003 and have it ready by 2007. I honestly believe that MS would of sat on their ass if it wasn't for iOS in 2007. Since we didn't get WP7 in 2007, I believe MS started development way way too late aka rested on their laurels.

Haters gonna hate? Dude WinMo sucks and 6.5 was marginally better. I don't understand, if a company hasn't released anything ground breaking in the past decade, why would I look forward to WP7? They have to prove themselves first.

My point is that they were working on something new - and something that would have been a solid entry into the ecosystem at the time they started developing it. You can point fingers and scoff at them for not designing the first iPhone - but none of the existing players did. So after the iPhone comes n and fundamentally changes the landscape, the question becomes how do you respond? They could have pushed forward with WM7, which didn't fit the new mold, or they could scrap it and start fresh. That's what they did. Of course its not ideal - in an ideal world, they'd have come up with the modern smartphone OS first. However, their response is hardly 'resting on their laurels'.

 

[MrX8503]

My point is that they were working on something new - and something that would have been a solid entry into the ecosystem at the time they started developing it. You can point fingers and scoff at them for not designing the first iPhone - but none of the existing players did. So after the iPhone comes n and fundamentally changes the landscape, the question becomes how do you respond? They could have pushed forward with WM7, which didn't fit the new mold, or they could scrap it and start fresh. That's what they did. Of course its not ideal - in an ideal world, they'd have come up with the modern smartphone OS first. However, their response is hardly 'resting on their laurels'.

Whatever WM7 was supposed to be, it wasn't released soon enough. No existing players? Correct me if I'm wrong, but what about Android? Android was in development around or before iOS, which...gives us Android today.

The fact is that MS started development way too late and by the time they were ready the market had already changed. I don't blame them for re doing their ideas according to market change, but if they would of started sooner, they wouldn't be facing this problem.

iOS - 2007
WP7 - 2011

MS has been in the mobile space for years before Apple, yet MS is going to be nearly 4 years late in releasing their WP7. Assuming iOS took 4 years to make, development would of started in 2003. Then lets assume MS didn't slack off and started at the same time. What we come to is that there is no way in hell WP7 took 8 years of development time.

When the kid in class turns in his homework late, you gotta ask when they started working on it.

 

[Deeko]

Android was in development, yes, and also drastically changed between what it was going to look like, and what it ended up being. Google and Microsoft both made different bets in 2007. Google thought this drastic new way of doing things would catch on, and immediately adjusted accordingly. Microsoft thought it would fail, and kept moving forward with WM 6.1/development on WM 7. Keep in mind, the original iPhone was not a guaranteed success. Hindsight is 20/20, but a lot of people thought it would fail. Hence, Microsoft started later than Google at the new OS, hence they're behind now.

Also, don't forget that while Android has been out for almost 2 years now, G1 owners were essentially beta testers. Android was far from a complete product until 2.x rolled around, the end of 2010. We'll know more when its released, but I get the feeling WP7 will be a lot more polished on release than Android was.

Regardless, this argument isn't really going anywhere. No one is disagreeing that Microsoft has a lot of ground to make up.

 

[coolVariable]

1. Android 1.5 felt like beta. Gingerbread should be more polished
2. iOS, Android, BB, Symbian can't do some things other phones can't do. Whats your point?
3. Complain to the carrier
4. WinMo was butt ugly and worked like trash. I don't care if it can grant me 3 wishes when it works like trash. Next
5. Android doesn't get prompt updates I agree with that.

You're point was that people aren't happy with Android and WP7 is better. This is not true because:

A: Android is selling very well
B: WP7 hasn't been released and their last mobile OS (WinMo6) was garbage.

Android is successful now.

1. Android 2.2 still feels like beta
2. WinMo could do pretty much everything. So you are happy with less functionality? I am not.
3. ... and complain the manufacturers, and the OS maker, ... too bad, that there is no need to complain with an iPhone. And if MS goes that route with Wp7, there won't be any reason to complain either. Guess android will be the only OS that stinks.
4. But it actually WORKED!
5. Prompt? I was talking about ANY upgrades and fixes.

My point was that people are unhappy with android. Sadly there aren't many other choices right now.
WP7 could be great - we will see.
WinMo was/is probably the most powerful mobile OS to date. The GUI was just atrocious!

 

[MrX8503]

2.2 is quite a bit better than 1.5, also a few Android devices have been updated to 2.2.

Like I said, I don't care if WinMo6 could grant me 3 wishes. The OS was trash, anything you wanted to do on the OS was a nightmare. If it was so great, it wouldn't be bleeding users like crazy.

Until WP7 is released, there isn't a reason for me to believe that its been a worthwhile wait.

 

[Looney]

I'm intrigue but damm they need to mke the IU a little more eye candy.
Is this 1980 ?? Colored squares ??
At least make all the squares transparent so at least you can see the background wallpaper.
I'm pretty sure the mod community will make the UI much prettier but I still don't know what MS was thinking when they decided to go with colored squares on the home page...

Aesthetics are obviously different to different people. To me, i LOVE the look of it.

 

[finbarqs]

web os can do everytihng that no other mobile phones can do! TRUE multitasking! android has the potential, but no TRUE 3rd party multitasking!

 

[MrX8503]

web os can do everytihng that no other mobile phones can do! TRUE multitasking! android has the potential, but no TRUE 3rd party multitasking!

Where is webOS now? Oh yeah, dead. People get too hung up on one feature. A successful device has to do many things very well.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Whatever WM7 was supposed to be, it wasn't released soon enough. No existing players? Correct me if I'm wrong, but what about Android? Android was in development around or before iOS, which...gives us Android today.

The fact is that MS started development way too late and by the time they were ready the market had already changed. I don't blame them for re doing their ideas according to market change, but if they would of started sooner, they wouldn't be facing this problem.

iOS - 2007
WP7 - 2011

MS has been in the mobile space for years before Apple, yet MS is going to be nearly 4 years late in releasing their WP7. Assuming iOS took 4 years to make, development would of started in 2003. Then lets assume MS didn't slack off and started at the same time. What we come to is that there is no way in hell WP7 took 8 years of development time.

When the kid in class turns in his homework late, you gotta ask when they started working on it.

The iOS released in 2007 was shocking compared to the iOS we have now. No copy/paste, no mutitasking (still doesn't really have that bar 7 "backgrounding" APIs), no MMS, no third party Apps, etc, etc. Comparing WP7 to the original iPhone OS would most likely have WP7 running away with every prize you could offer.

 

[DivideBYZero]

web os can do everytihng that no other mobile phones can do! TRUE multitasking! android has the potential, but no TRUE 3rd party multitasking!

BlackBerry OS.

You're welcome.

 

[MrX8503]

The iOS released in 2007 was shocking compared to the iOS we have now. No copy/paste, no mutitasking (still doesn't really have that bar 7 "backgrounding" APIs), no MMS, no third party Apps, etc, etc. Comparing WP7 to the original iPhone OS would most likely have WP7 running away with every prize you could offer.

WP7 doesn't have copy/paste or multitasking either.

 

[DivideBYZero]

WP7 doesn't have copy/paste or multitasking either.

Doesn't it? When did you last use it?