Also, do any of the carriers allow tethering without a plan? Sure you can get away with it a little bit, I am sure that if I had ever been in a bind I would have jailbroken my old iphone, installed PDAnet and then tethered it to my laptop. Hypothetically of course. But strictly speaking, don't all major US carriers (read: the ones that carry WinMoPho) require a plan?
Also, do any of the carriers allow tethering without a plan? Sure you can get away with it a little bit, I am sure that if I had ever been in a bind I would have jailbroken my old iphone, installed PDAnet and then tethered it to my laptop. Hypothetically of course. But strictly speaking, don't all major US carriers (read: the ones that carry WinMoPho) require a plan?
hanoverphist
Diamond Member
- Dec 7, 2006
- 9,867
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i use my phone for a lot of things throughout the day. apps are pretty important to me for work as well as messing around. i maybe have 9 apps that i couldnt live without, and im sure they are all on the big 3 markets. IMO, the app argument is BS. some people like to use it as a gauge, but really its useless info unless they were missing something huge like pdf reader or something like that.
notposting
Diamond Member
- Jul 22, 2005
- 3,498
- 33
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I guess I am looking at it from a different perspective than a shareholder. As a consumer and customer, they could be doing a lot better in their integration of services. I am often left with the feeling that the right hand doesn't even know about the left hand in that company. Especially when using some of their lesser used features...media center, windows home server, windows phone, revamping sky drive this summer to completely bork the picture gallery usability...it's frustrating when you see the Apple camp making sure "it all works together".
It is understandable to some extent...but it's just an overall trend there. And as far as profits etc go...the corporate inertia may not always be there.
Deeko
Lifer
- Jun 16, 2000
- 30,213
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Do you remember a few years back when Apple started running the "There's an app for that" campaign? The insinuation was "wow, look at how many apps there are for the iPhone! There's an app for EVERYTHING!"
Ok....now that we've got that picture clear, do recall that the iPhone app store had about 70,000 apps at the time. At the rate they're going, it won't be that long until Windows Phone gets there (they keep touting that its the fastest growing app store ever).
I realize that 70,000 < 500,000. But back when Apple had 70,000, you had an app for everything, didn't you? You really don't think that a large quantity of the new apps since then are duplicates ore largely useless?
The WP7 market is rather good at this point. Its still lacking a few things, but not much. There is very little that I have on my Vibrant that I don't have an equivalent for on my Venue Pro. And the things that I'm lacking - a notable example is an ESPN fantasy football app - I can easily do in the browser, so not much is lost there.
And to whomever asked, yes, there is a decent GChat app now. Better than IM+.
Well app count is only 1 part of the problem, they actually have to be good for them to be worth anything.
70k apps was years ago, today is 2011. 2011 approaching 2012 is a different time.
70k apps was years ago, today is 2011. 2011 approaching 2012 is a different time.
poofyhairguy
Lifer
- Nov 20, 2005
- 14,612
- 318
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I don't know about that. I just did a test to see if the apps and games I use the most on both iOS and Android are on Wm7. Out of my 8 most used apps, only 2 are on WM7. Out of my 6 most played games, two are on WM7. And these are all VERY common and very popular apps:
Netflix – Yes
ESPN Fantasy Football – No
Quickoffice – No
Google Earth – No
Evernote – Yes
Tango Video Chat – No
Splashtop –No
Plex - No
Cut The Rope – No
Chuzzle – No
Plants vs Zombies – Yes
Fruit Ninja – Yes
Samurai II – Vengeance – No
Dungeon Defenders - No
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Notably missing is penta-band HSPA from both of these handsets. I hope that's not an indicator of things to come from Nokia.
Deeko
Lifer
- Jun 16, 2000
- 30,213
- 12
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Again, though, two years ago 70,000 was enough to say you had an app for, and I quote, "just about everything". Are you saying that wasn't the case?
A) Why would you need QuickOffice when you have, ya know, actual Office?
B) Not sure where you looked, but I know for sure that Plants vs Zombies is there, and I'm fairly certain Tango is as well. I haven't heard of the others so I can't really attest.
C) Like I said earlier, there is generally an equivalent. There might not be the exact same app as there is on another platform, but there will be something that can accomplish the same task.
Also, something to consider is that Mango added a TON of stuff to the SDK that will likely bring in more developers. For example, video chat...pre-Mango didn't have it, Mango does. Or local database support, background processing, socket access, so on and so forth. Its already had an impact in that area, WhatsApp didn't come to the platform until Mango.
poofyhairguy
Lifer
- Nov 20, 2005
- 14,612
- 318
- 126
Interesting. I didn't know that about Mango. Also you were right, Plants vs Zombies is there I missed it because the market calls it PvZ. I wasn't trying to criticize WM7, I was more just curious.
Thanks for the info.
No idea why you'd need Quickoffice. . . WP7 has MS office built in, which includes Excel, Word, Powerpoint, SharePoint, SkyDrive, and OneNote.
Evernote's official app has been available on WP7 since July. Plus you can use SkyDrive and OneNote to do a lot of the things Evernote does.
Tango Video Chat is available on HTC's new Titan and Radar WPs. I thought I read that it will be coming to other phones eventually. Anyway, we will soon be getting Skype integration now that MS owns them.
Plants vs. Zombies has been available for WP7 for a long time, complete with Xbox Live achievements
Edit: oops, Deeko beat me to some of this
Deeko
Lifer
- Jun 16, 2000
- 30,213
- 12
- 81
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/26/tango-video-calling-service-for-windows-phone-mango-set-to-roll/
What do you know, they just announced Tango for Windows Phone today.
What do you know, they just announced Tango for Windows Phone today.
You know what app is missing? An official Dropbox client.
As for the N900, I don't know where its US success is supposed to come from. What it looks like, with its horribly unmemorable name, small pentile screen, lack of FFC, and single-core guts, is the ultimate $100 phone (on contract- I did say US). You know, budget design sexy for the masses. We've already seen that a premium camera isn't really going to drive American Nokia sales - assuming it's actually better than the SGS2 and i4S cameras - and the "you don't NEED dual cores for the stuff you actually do" argument screams budget.
I don't know if Nokia and Microsoft are going to be satisfied with selling in this lower-middle space, but that's where they are.
As for the N900, I don't know where its US success is supposed to come from. What it looks like, with its horribly unmemorable name, small pentile screen, lack of FFC, and single-core guts, is the ultimate $100 phone (on contract- I did say US). You know, budget design sexy for the masses. We've already seen that a premium camera isn't really going to drive American Nokia sales - assuming it's actually better than the SGS2 and i4S cameras - and the "you don't NEED dual cores for the stuff you actually do" argument screams budget.
I don't know if Nokia and Microsoft are going to be satisfied with selling in this lower-middle space, but that's where they are.
50,000-100,000 apps that are actually good?
Do you have 50,000-100,000 apps on your iPhone/Android phone at the moment? No. Then you don't need a marketplace of that size.
When there are stores of 300,000+ apps, the vast majority of them are going to be very pointless and single-purpose. I absolutely refuse to believe that there are more than 40,000 unique tasks that you perform on a regular basis.
If WP7's marketplace had 100 apps it would be perfectly fine if those 100 apps covered everything that needed to be done.
They do, but I'm certain they wouldn't prevent certification of a DropBox app. There are several fully functional unofficial DropBox clients. There's even a Google Search app in the marketplace, so they're not restricting you to Microsoft services.
EDIT: Also, everyone should probably be made aware that "Windows Mobile 7" does not exist. The last official release of Windows Mobile was version 6.5.3. Windows Phone 7 is a platform that is entirely unrelated to Windows Mobile 6.5.3 (or any previous iteration). WP7 features, appearance, software, and APIs are entirely unrelated to Windows Mobile products.
Windows Mobile is related to Windows Phone in the same way that Microsoft Works is related to Microsoft Office. The two products may both possess the "Windows" branding (or Microsoft in the case of Works/Office) and serve a similar purpose, but the underlying functionality and code base are entirely unrelated.
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Sheep
Golden Member
- Jun 13, 2006
- 1,275
- 0
- 71
While I agree that the insinuation of "only" 40k apps is completely asinine, an app store with 100 apps isn't going to cut it at all. Why? The apps you use and like to use are different from the ones I use which are different from the ones the person sitting next to me on the train uses. If I don't like the one variation of a music player or an RSS reader available in that list of 100 apps, I'm pretty much screwed.
There are HUGE differences between 100, 1k or 10k apps, but by the time you get to the 40k vs. 50k vs. 100k or more, those differences are a lot smaller because odds are you'll find most of what you need in an app selection of 40k.
I haven't used Dropbox, but it sounds like SkyDrive does basically the same thing.
As for the Lumia 800. . . every review of the N9 and every hands-on of the 800 that I've seen gush about how great the hardware looks and feels. Many have even said that the screen is on par with Samsung's SAMOLED+. To characterize it as a budget device is simply wrong.
Windows Phone won't even support dual-core until mid-2012 with the Apollo update, and it simply isn't needed for WP7. WP7 is blazing fast and super responsive. See BGR's hands-on of the Lumia 800 for example:
http://www.bgr.com/2011/10/26/nokia-lumia-800-hands-on/
An official Google Voice app just isn't likely. Google has every desire to be a roadblock for Microsoft's platform. The "official" YouTube app on WP7 is only a plugin for the Zune player that allows it to play FLVs because Google wouldn't grant Microsoft the rights to produce a robust YouTube app. There are third party alternatives for YouTube, of course.
As for Google Voice; there are several third-party clients available.
- Aug 23, 2003
- 25,375
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Not sure if this has already been said, but the reason why a high volume of applications is important has to do with percentages.
When it comes to innovative ideas, there is no reason why programmers developing for one platform are inherently more innovative/talented than those developing for another. Especially considering that today's app/market model means programmers can instantly/digitally publish their applications directly to a platform.
Assuming that 10% of apps/developers are innovative/well-coded and worth buying, having 500,000 total apps means 50,000 quality apps. Having 50,000 total apps means 5,000 quality apps.
A larger volume of quality apps also means more quality apps per category. More quality games, more quality RSS readers, more quality financial apps, etc.
It also means a higher probability of a "must-have" app presenting itself. Angry Birds is one example of a game that sold phones, but we also have apps like Siri...overlooked/underrated, but now considered a game-changer.
When it comes to innovative ideas, there is no reason why programmers developing for one platform are inherently more innovative/talented than those developing for another. Especially considering that today's app/market model means programmers can instantly/digitally publish their applications directly to a platform.
Assuming that 10% of apps/developers are innovative/well-coded and worth buying, having 500,000 total apps means 50,000 quality apps. Having 50,000 total apps means 5,000 quality apps.
A larger volume of quality apps also means more quality apps per category. More quality games, more quality RSS readers, more quality financial apps, etc.
It also means a higher probability of a "must-have" app presenting itself. Angry Birds is one example of a game that sold phones, but we also have apps like Siri...overlooked/underrated, but now considered a game-changer.
EightySix Four
Diamond Member
- Jul 17, 2004
- 5,122
- 52
- 91
IMO, the biggest change WP7 is going to see in the next year is the release of Windows 8. The ability to recompile your app to support WP7 with minor changes to the code will be huge for the app store.
This is very true.
On the other hand, Windows Phone has a ton of built-in functionality that you'd need 3rd party apps for on the other OSes. E.G. Office, SkyDrive, OneNote, Facebook chat, MSN chat, barcode/QR reader, Twitter client, music search (think Shazam), local scout (think Poynt), Skype (soon), etc.
They're not equivalent. Dropbox works with EVERYTHING. Sky Drive is just another iCloud: a worthless ecosystem lock-in.
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