Has MS announced the next generation of Windows phones?

[evident]

I'm planning to upgrade in April (when my contract expires) and i'm really drawn to the wp7 platform. Think they will be releasing new phones from now till then? Do you guys think they are a viable alternative now to iphones and droids?

 

[TheStu]

If they ever get around to updating the platform then it will absolutely be a viable alternative to Android and iOS. It also needs more apps, like Pandora.

But at this point, it has been out for about 2-3 months, and there not only haven't been any updates, but also no announcements about when they will be coming. Which is a little lame.

 

[gsaldivar]

But at this point, it has been out for about 2-3 months, and there not only haven't been any updates, but also no announcements about when they will be coming. Which is a little lame.

My sentiments exactly.

Microsoft is sorely mistaken if they think they can succeed on autopilot in this market...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. As much as I use, love and sell Microsoft products - I think the time has come for Ballmer to step down and let someone else lead the company.

 

[darkewaffle]

I'm hoping they get on top of getting other providers up and running, I'm interested in some Win7 phones on Verizon for me to check out.

 

[Nebor]

We were supposed to get the 1st update in January, and still have no idea when it's coming...

 

[evident]

meh, i might just stick with my dumb phonefor a little while longer then.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

im pretty excited about wp7 as well. android is buggy and rough and googles software engineering is second rate to apples and microsofts. wp7 phones are also cheaper than androids when purchased without a contract. if verizon had wp7 i would have bought one already. once they update wp7 i think it become more competitive in the market

 

[Majic 7]

For some reason they think they can get by with a SP1 like schedule. I can wait since now I have basically no problems. Did for the first month or so, but I adjusted to the phone and haven't had a single issue for two months. But if MS wants to compete they need to adjust to the market, more business useability, more updates, less concentration on the social BS. A SuperKin just won't cut it. Your right about Ballmer, gsaldivar, the first time I saw him bouncing around an auditorium stage like a spastic marionette I was dumbfounded that an idiot that like could be in charge of billions.

 

[Deeko]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. As much as I use, love and sell Microsoft products - I think the time has come for Ballmer to step down and let someone else lead the company.

Why? They are still recording record revenue and profit, Windows 7 is a smash success, Office 2010 is doing very well, the xBox 360 is doing very well, the Kinect is one of the fastest selling consumer electronics products of all time (8 million in 60 days), Windows Phone 7 has been very well received, even if its not rewriting the sales record books.

Microsoft has had some troubles in the Ballmer era, but the past few years they've certainly righted the ship and are doing very well.

If they ever get around to updating the platform then it will absolutely be a viable alternative to Android and iOS. It also needs more apps, like Pandora.

But at this point, it has been out for about 2-3 months, and there not only haven't been any updates, but also no announcements about when they will be coming. Which is a little lame.

They haven't given a date yet (and the original rumors of january have seemingly ended up false), but the next update has been announced content wise - it will bring universal copy/paste and significantly faster load times for 3rd party apps.

 

[Nebor]

How about custom ringtones? Microsoft hasn't even mentioned the issue, so it's not likely to be implemented in the first update. What an embarrassment that is.

 

[TheStu]

Why? They are still recording record revenue and profit, Windows 7 is a smash success, Office 2010 is doing very well, the xBox 360 is doing very well, the Kinect is one of the fastest selling consumer electronics products of all time (8 million in 60 days), Windows Phone 7 has been very well received, even if its not rewriting the sales record books.

Microsoft has had some troubles in the Ballmer era, but the past few years they've certainly righted the ship and are doing very well.



They haven't given a date yet (and the original rumors of january have seemingly ended up false), but the next update has been announced content wise - it will bring universal copy/paste and significantly faster load times for 3rd party apps.

I don't care if they announce that the first major update also brings the ability to transform it into a rocket ship. There are minor bugs that they could have shipped fixes for in the past few months, and they just haven't. They have been very tight lipped about it, and it is kind of embarrassing.

 

[Nebor]

I don't care if they announce that the first major update also brings the ability to transform it into a rocket ship. There are minor bugs that they could have shipped fixes for in the past few months, and they just haven't. They have been very tight lipped about it, and it is kind of embarrassing.

Is rocket ship capability something you value highly in a phone? Would that be controlled via some sort of bluetooth remote?

 

[dougp]

I don't care if they announce that the first major update also brings the ability to transform it into a rocket ship. There are minor bugs that they could have shipped fixes for in the past few months, and they just haven't. They have been very tight lipped about it, and it is kind of embarrassing.

Isn't Apple the only mobile OS company that releases subversions?

Even then, I haven't had the little nuances on my Quantum that I had on my 3GS - there are some rather awkward quirks. I really wish MS would embrace the iOS style of notifications though, but I'm not sure what requires a notification structure on their end compared to WP7.

 

[tdawg]

I'd love to see an updated hardware model come to Verizon, but I'll likely move to WP7 when it becomes available on Big Red anyway. The current hardware specs result in a very smooth and pleasing experience.

 

[TheStu]

Is rocket ship capability something you value highly in a phone? Would that be controlled via some sort of bluetooth remote?

The point I was making was that Microsoft can announce all the major upcoming features they want, but A: they need to actually ship some updates first and B: let us know when the hell the next ones are coming.

I really don't want to have to bring any other company into this, but let's just say that other companies put out small updates to fix little things before the first major update came out, and Microsoft has little things that they need to fix, and need to fix now, and the phone was released in mid November. Since then we have heard 'copy and paste coming Q1 '11' and that this data usage bug is someone else's fault.

Apparently wifi cuts out if the screen is off, and the marketplace updates things, but maybe not because 5 minutes later it says 'hey, you have more updates, you know the ones you just downloaded'. The built in apps refuse to launch and you have to reboot the phone to get them to work again, the media player doesn't have landscape mode, the built in YouTube app is a complete joke, the browser needs improvement, and I could go on.

There are dozens of little things that must be fixed, and to lump them all in with larger updates that are coming in the indefinite future is unacceptable.

 

[dougp]

The point I was making was that Microsoft can announce all the major upcoming features they want, but A: they need to actually ship some updates first and B: let us know when the hell the next ones are coming.

I really don't want to have to bring any other company into this, but let's just say that other companies put out small updates to fix little things before the first major update came out, and Microsoft has little things that they need to fix, and need to fix now, and the phone was released in mid November. Since then we have heard 'copy and paste coming Q1 '11' and that this data usage bug is someone else's fault.

Apparently wifi cuts out if the screen is off, and the marketplace updates things, but maybe not because 5 minutes later it says 'hey, you have more updates, you know the ones you just downloaded'. The built in apps refuse to launch and you have to reboot the phone to get them to work again, the media player doesn't have landscape mode, the built in YouTube app is a complete joke, the browser needs improvement, and I could go on.

There are dozens of little things that must be fixed, and to lump them all in with larger updates that are coming in the indefinite future is unacceptable.

You want wifi to be on when the screen is locked? I think that's more or less MS trying to conserve battery use. They should give you an option though - have you tested it with Slacker? I thought if something was using wifi and you allow it to lock, it will stay on it? I dunno though.

The update bug, well - are you trying to update trial apps? I've never had an issue with updating anything other than trials. Also, never had issues where built-in apps don't launch - but I can also say that it's not exclusive to WP7. The YouTube app does suck - but that's not something you could exclusively blame them for, but supposedly there's a full app coming. I wish you could port the HTC one though.

 

[Nebor]

This discussion has veered wildly off course from phone\rocket ship synergy.

 

[TheStu]

You want wifi to be on when the screen is locked? I think that's more or less MS trying to conserve battery use. They should give you an option though - have you tested it with Slacker? I thought if something was using wifi and you allow it to lock, it will stay on it? I dunno though.

The update bug, well - are you trying to update trial apps? I've never had an issue with updating anything other than trials. Also, never had issues where built-in apps don't launch - but I can also say that it's not exclusive to WP7. The YouTube app does suck - but that's not something you could exclusively blame them for, but supposedly there's a full app coming. I wish you could port the HTC one though.

I want the phone to use free wifi before it uses the 3G connection, even if the screen is locked, I have a 2GB/month plan. I got the information about the wifi-lock screen issue from Paul Thurrot.

This is both trial and paid apps that keep saying that they need updates. And I get the no launch problem predominantly with the Zune player, the marketplace, and sometimes the games hub. Third party games sometimes don't launch, but I just have to go out and go back in and they usually do.

The HTC one is just so much better, the problem is that if you get sent a YouTube link, it wants to open in the Microsoft player, and I don't know of a way to get it to not do that.

This discussion has veered wildly off course from phone\rocket ship synergy.

I take full responsibility

Though speaking of rocket ships and phones, isn't it a little crazy to think that the phone in your pocket is probably more powerful than every onboard computer on every ship that has been in space, combined? (This is based on potentially out of date information that said that the Space Shuttle was using a bunch of 20 year old computers for control)

 

[Nebor]

I want the phone to use free wifi before it uses the 3G connection, even if the screen is locked, I have a 2GB/month plan. I got the information about the wifi-lock screen issue from Paul Thurrot.

This is both trial and paid apps that keep saying that they need updates. And I get the no launch problem predominantly with the Zune player, the marketplace, and sometimes the games hub. Third party games sometimes don't launch, but I just have to go out and go back in and they usually do.

The HTC one is just so much better, the problem is that if you get sent a YouTube link, it wants to open in the Microsoft player, and I don't know of a way to get it to not do that.



I take full responsibility

Though speaking of rocket ships and phones, isn't it a little crazy to think that the phone in your pocket is probably more powerful than every onboard computer on every ship that has been in space, combined? (This is based on potentially out of date information that said that the Space Shuttle was using a bunch of 20 year old computers for control)

I don't keep my phone in my pocket, due to my fear of booster jet related burns to my nether regions.

Also I hate when I have to restart my phone to get Zune player to open. WTF.

 

[dougp]

I want the phone to use free wifi before it uses the 3G connection, even if the screen is locked, I have a 2GB/month plan. I got the information about the wifi-lock screen issue from Paul Thurrot.

This is both trial and paid apps that keep saying that they need updates. And I get the no launch problem predominantly with the Zune player, the marketplace, and sometimes the games hub. Third party games sometimes don't launch, but I just have to go out and go back in and they usually do.

The HTC one is just so much better, the problem is that if you get sent a YouTube link, it wants to open in the Microsoft player, and I don't know of a way to get it to not do that.

I understand what you're saying, and I think we should get control of whether wifi is used during a locked screen. Is there any updates on what they're changing for that?

No idea what to tell you about your app situation though, I haven't seen much about people complaining about updates getting processed nor have I had apps lock up ... actually, I won't lie - I've had the marketplace freeze twice since I've had my Quantum.

Also, yes it does suck you can't specify a default app - but even iOS doesn't do that

 

[TheStu]

I understand what you're saying, and I think we should get control of whether wifi is used during a locked screen. Is there any updates on what they're changing for that?

Also, yes it does suck you can't specify a default app - but even iOS doesn't do that

I haven't heard anything about an upcoming fix. The only thing that I have heard was that Microsoft acknowledged the existence of the problem, and that it was the fault of a third party

No, it iOS doesn't let you change the default on anything (IIRC), but at least its YouTube app doesn't blow massive chunks.

 

[Deeko]

There are improvements to be made, and I'm looking forward to the updates, but all in all, its been a pretty stable platform. I think people need to remember, for comparison purposes, just how bad some other platforms were when they started. I had a G1 on launch day...I'm well aware of the growing pains of a new platform - and really, a lot of them weren't fixed until Eclair, which was over 15 months later (and the G1 never got).

Its a part of the double edged sword of being an early adopter. I'd rather they take a little more time to get it right, than rush fixes out the door that might cause more problems themselves.

 

[TheStu]

There are improvements to be made, and I'm looking forward to the updates, but all in all, its been a pretty stable platform. I think people need to remember, for comparison purposes, just how bad some other platforms were when they started. I had a G1 on launch day...I'm well aware of the growing pains of a new platform - and really, a lot of them weren't fixed until Eclair, which was over 15 months later (and the G1 never got).

Its a part of the double edged sword of being an early adopter. I'd rather they take a little more time to get it right, than rush fixes out the door that might cause more problems themselves.

At the end of the day, I am happy with my purchase. The UI is slick and fast, the typography and iconography are exciting in a way that the industry has lacked since iOS came out, and it shows so much promise. The hardware is fast and capable, and it boots incredibly fast for a smartphone (which is good considering how often I have to reboot it).

But, I still would like to hear something, anything from Redmond saying 'Yea, there are bugs, yea we are working on them, we will be updating on X date'

 

[dougp]

At the end of the day, I am happy with my purchase. The UI is slick and fast, the typography and iconography are exciting in a way that the industry has lacked since iOS came out, and it shows so much promise. The hardware is fast and capable, and it boots incredibly fast for a smartphone (which is good considering how often I have to reboot it).

But, I still would like to hear something, anything from Redmond saying 'Yea, there are bugs, yea we are working on them, we will be updating on X date'

Will this make you happy?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/01/windows-phone-7-phantom-data-leaker-unmasked-as-yahoo-mail-fi/

 

[gsaldivar]

Will this make you happy?http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/01/windows-phone-7-phantom-data-leaker-unmasked-as-yahoo-mail-fi/

The last sentence of the original blog says it all:

I realize I’m just stating the obvious, but there’s no reason, and no excuse, for this information to not have been provided earlier.