T-Mobile Employee says "WP7 in unintuitive, and it sucks. Get MyTouch 4G..."

[finbarqs]

So I was in t-mobile the other day, and the girl at the counter says "Why would you want a WP7? I've used it and it's not easy at all. It's counter-intuitive. I've already had a few customers returning the phone saying the same thing"

So I asked her "What phone would you recommend?"

She replied "mytouch 4g, it's faster, and it's better in every single way."

Now I walked away from the store confused, because she didn't once mention copy & paste, and multitasking. From what I gather, people generally like the phone, just didn't like the fact that it didn't have those options. And probably doesn't have a whole sleuth of apps.

So, I guess I can safely say, since T-Moible is against WP7, (or just that one store) do you think WP7 is DOA? I remember when the Palm Pre first came out, and I've received a similar response at different stores, where they would say "Nobody likes the Pre, get yourself an Android".

 

[hanoverphist]

sales staff make money for selling. they will usually say whatever they need to say to sell you something. mebbe they saw you as "on the fence' and hoped pushing one phone over the other would get you closer to pulling the trigger and buying a phone. i dont listen to sales people opinions too closely, they are rarely unbiased or totally truthful.

 

[Bateluer]

While the WP7 phones are still very young, seems like most publications note it as a good foundation. Android is a much more mature and polished platform, and it doesn't kill SD cards.

The MT4G is a nice phone, seems like a lot of people at XDA like it. I think it looks pretty good in every color but white.

 

[Deeko]

T-Mobile is a pretty big Android carrier. They had the G1, the Nexus One, and supposedly the Nexus S. Google has a pretty tight relationship with them, and from what I've seen so far, AT&T has been much more receptive to WP7 than T-Mobile.

So, I guess I can safely say, since T-Moible is against WP7, (or just that one store) do you think WP7 is DOA?

Come on...really? Does every isolated incident have to amount to a doomsayer moment - has American media trained you that well? One salesperson at one location of the smallest US carrier not liking the device does not mean an operating system is doomed to failure.

 

[pm]

I agree with Deeko. One salesperson saying something doesn't mean anything other than that one salesperson has an opinion.

(true story) I was in Best Buy looking at laptops and the salesperson there said that the build quality of Asus laptops is generally better than Dell laptops. But based on this I wouldn't infer that Best Buy as a company is down on Dell, or even that the salesperson is correct about that assertion, or that Dell as a company selling laptops is going down.

 

[Bateluer]

AT&T has been much more receptive to WP7 than T-Mobile.

His Holiness would be knocking on their door if they offered more than token receptiveness to Android, so they have to go pick up WP7 devices. AT&T doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize their iPhone exclusivity, and carrying a full range of Android devices will anger His Holiness, and potentially cause them to lose the iPhone. Without the iPhone, AT&T has nothing going for them.

Microsoft has a lot of clout and money they can pump into WP7 as well, never forget that.

 

[Gooberlx2]

So, I guess I can safely say, since T-Moible is against WP7, (or just that one store) do you think WP7 is DOA?

No. I suspect the largest complaint right now is going to be the lack of available apps, like you mentioned. Then on to various missing features since the OS is still in its infancy.

Like hoverphist mentioned, the reps get commission on their sales, and I'm guessing the mytouch 4g is more expensive.

 

[finbarqs]

yeah... I'm currently at the end of my contract, (never signed for the EVO 4g) and i don't really like the android platform. I mentioned before, that it's just too convoluted, and it's too slow. Personally, I've never seen a WP7 device, but I'll say right now (being on my second EVO 4g) that the screen is having some sensitivity issues.

Anyways, I'm not gonna go into "why I don't like the android platform" or "why I hate my EVO" but I'm looking for something new, and fast. Speed is the key. I'm not talking about 3G/4G speed, I don't really care about that. Though I live in an area where I get almost full 4G Bars (Socal), i rarely use it because of how badly it drains the battery. But rather, I would like a very good touch interface phone, that supports EAS.

Though I'm skeptical about WP7, I'm in favor of it, because I had a friend who worked on the WP7 development team (he was on the email team). I remember when I first pre-ordered the EVO, I was super excited. The guy at Radioshack then decided to show me HIS EVO after I pre-ordered the thing, and I almost wanted to cancel my order, just mainly because of how "choppy" and "slow" it looked compared to the droid incredible (which I assumed was the same phone, except the AMOLED, the Form Factor, and the FF Camera).

All in all, I'll reserve my judgement until I've the opportunity to mess with it... It's just I loved the Pre (mainly because of WebOS) and I couldn't believe how many people bash it...

 

[kaerflog]

All in all, I'll reserve my judgement until I've the opportunity to mess with it... It's just I loved the Pre (mainly because of WebOS) and I couldn't believe how many people bash it...

Because the hardware suck @ss ??

 

[Gooberlx2]

Because the hardware suck @ss ??

Really, it does. If the Pre had been released on hardware that wasn't slow or broke all the time, it would have done better. It really lacked effective advertising and multiple carriers from the start too.

 

[finbarqs]

I don't know if this is in the official WP7 thread, but a lot of people are saying WP7 is FULL of bugs. I'm not so certain what bugs they're talking about, but they're insistent that it's Microsoft's Windows Vista to the phone market.

 

[Deeko]

I don't know if this is in the official WP7 thread, but a lot of people are saying WP7 is FULL of bugs. I'm not so certain what bugs they're talking about, but they're insistent that it's Microsoft's Windows Vista to the phone market.

i think a lot of people are twisting "features it doesn't have" into "bugs". These are very different concepts. WP7 doesn't do everything at this point - but generally, what it does it does very well.

 

[Nebor]

i think a lot of people are twisting "features it doesn't have" into "bugs". These are very different concepts. WP7 doesn't do everything at this point - but generally, what it does it does very well.

Yeah, once I got the SD card business sorted out, mine has been rock solid. No application crashes. It does do this thing where it flashes the "charging" icon after you've unplugged it. Supposed to be fixed in the first update.

 

[finbarqs]

what about the bing map search thing? I saw a video on it, and supposedly doesn't work.. if you try to search on bing maps...

Update** Tried it out in person at the T-Moible store (HD7) and WOW... I really really wanted to get rid of my EVO 4G!!! Geez this thing is FAST! well for the most part, it's unbelievably smooth... The only time it really lagged, is when I tried editing an excel worksheet with a pie chart in it. And, I didn't know how to edit the cell! That seems VERY unintuitive.... completely!

 

[Deeko]

I haven't had any issues with searching in bing maps, no.

 

[rudeguy]

there are probably spiffs on mt4g right now.


/thread

 

[preslove]

there are probably spiffs on mt4g right now.


/thread

You taught me a new word. Upon reading the wikipedia definition of "spiff," I agree that this is the most likely reason for the OP's anecdote.

 

[VashHT]

I traded my mytouch4g for a HD7 this weekend lol, the salesmen there didn't even know that it had a different OS than the HD2. So far I am liking it quite a bit, there are a couple things I miss from android (mostly just turn by turn nav), but I'm not regretting it at all so far. I showed it to my friends who all have android phones and every single one said they love the interface, so I don't know what was up with that salesperson, she must just be afraid of learning anything new. Some people are like that, once they learn one thing they just can't change it up without headaches.

In my experience most phone salespeople barely know anything about these phones outside of the marketing bullet points they have to memorize, I don't put too much stock in their opinions.

 

[Rustican]

I got to play around with the Samsung Focus and i am really liking the interface and layout. I think there is some very good potential there once the OS matures.

Surely there is more than one TMobile store/booth near you. Have you tried asking other reps what they think about the WP7?

 

[TheStu]

there are probably spiffs on mt4g right now.


/thread

There absolutely are spiffs on it. When I was working at RadioShack (pre-iPhone) whatever the hottest phone was at the time had the highest spiffs. It was usually a Sanyo or Samsung phone that had the highest if there were two at the same time, but past that, it was whatever was hot.

 

[Bateluer]

I traded my mytouch4g for a HD7 this weekend lol, the salesmen there didn't even know that it had a different OS than the HD2. So far I am liking it quite a bit, there are a couple things I miss from android (mostly just turn by turn nav), but I'm not regretting it at all so far. I showed it to my friends who all have android phones and every single one said they love the interface, so I don't know what was up with that salesperson, she must just be afraid of learning anything new. Some people are like that, once they learn one thing they just can't change it up without headaches.

In my experience most phone salespeople barely know anything about these phones outside of the marketing bullet points they have to memorize, I don't put too much stock in their opinions.

Have you considered that they've built their 'mobile life' around Google's services? Gmail, Maps, Android Market purchases, etc? Depending on how much you've vested into a device, switching becomes harder the longer you're with it.

 

[rudeguy]

You taught me a new word. Upon reading the wikipedia definition of "spiff," I agree that this is the most likely reason for the OP's anecdote.

spiffs make the sales world go round. They generally get paid on on your next check instead of having to wait for commissions to roll around. There might be a contest on the my4g too. It could also be that the salesman was new. In fact, I'm positive he was either new or just sucks.

You never degrade a product to promote another.


Back on point:

OP WP7 phones are fine if that's what you want. Android phones are fine if they offer what you want. Go play with them, read the reviews and tell the salesman that if he wants to debate, you'll gladly compare e-peeners with him.

 

[VashHT]

Have you considered that they've built their 'mobile life' around Google's services? Gmail, Maps, Android Market purchases, etc? Depending on how much you've vested into a device, switching becomes harder the longer you're with it.

Well that doesn't really have anything to do with how intuitive the interface is, which is what the employee was talking about. I have no problem with people doing that, part of the reason I wanted to get a WP7 is because I have a zune HD and a zune pass already. The employee was saying the interface on WP7 is total garbage and counter intuitive though, and in my personal experience it's been the complete opposite and I used android phones for a while before switching. I don't think android is hard to use either, but I personally prefer the metro UI.

To the OP though I would only recommend WP7 if you don't mind being an early adopter and have the patience to wait for some promised features (like flash, C/P, turn by turn nav and more apps).

 

[TheStu]

Well that doesn't really have anything to do with how intuitive the interface is, which is what the employee was talking about. I have no problem with people doing that, part of the reason I wanted to get a WP7 is because I have a zune HD and a zune pass already. The employee was saying the interface on WP7 is total garbage and counter intuitive though, and in my personal experience it's been the complete opposite and I used android phones for a while before switching. I don't think android is hard to use either, but I personally prefer the metro UI.

To the OP though I would only recommend WP7 if you don't mind being an early adopter and have the patience to wait for some promised features (like flash, C/P, turn by turn nav and more apps).

Turn by turn is a promised feature? Ooh. Flash, meh I lived without it on the iPhone and have ClicktoFlash installed on all my computers, but C/P (which I know is coming), turn by turn, and some more of the apps that I am used to from the iPhone (NetNewsWire, Kindle, Stanza, Pandora spring to mind), and a better YouTube app (or rather, a real YouTube app instead of the crap that it currently is) are on my current shortlist.

 

[arod]

I don't think ms has confirmed it but they released turn by turn nav for windows mobile 6.5 a few months ago so its pretty logical to assume it will come to wp7 as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BJlv6doAJY