What does it take to push WP7?

[Puddle Jumper]

It might work for some but the fact that there are so many custom launchers and roms tell me to many android doesn't "just work". If it did there would be no reason for them to exist imo.

I equate all wp7 devices with the nexus line from google but wp7 but wp7 has more form factor choices than just the few models that have gotten the nexus name. If I were to ever go android the nexus is the only line I would even consider.

That's called choice and if you see it as a bad thing then WP7 is perfect for you.

I don't see WP7 as offering that much more choice than iOS, at least Apple offers several different performance options and gives you a high res screen on the 4 and 4s, all WP7 offers is low res and midrange hardware packed into different cases.

 

[Dominato3r]

For me it doesn't. I've got a nexus s, and despite being a phone from Google its horrible for the simplest tasks.

The damn thing won't even let me browse Facebook and be in a Skype call with out force closing.

I've kinda come to the conclusion that rather than marrying hardware and software, Android is a dick waving content of who can get the highest super clocked xyz chips, etc.

 

[s44]

LTE... I don't quite understand the point yet. Isn't HSPDA+ (or whatever) already at like 14Mb/s down as it is? How much bandwidth do you need on any mobile device? Particularly one like WP7 or iOS where it isn't like you can't download any old file you want.

It's not just the theoretical speed: it's the load and latency. AT&T HSPA is overloaded in NYC and presumably other urban markets. Verizon EVDO is slow. Both have subpar latency.

Tethering my Prime to my LTE Nexus is just transparent, just like working off home wifi... Wherever I go. Pretty great.

 

[arod]

That's called choice and if you see it as a bad thing then WP7 is perfect for you.

I don't see WP7 as offering that much more choice than iOS, at least Apple offers several different performance options and gives you a high res screen on the 4 and 4s, all WP7 offers is low res and midrange hardware packed into different cases.

What you call choice I call an excuse for masking flaws. We will just have to agree to disagree on that point.

To me the 2 most important features by a huge margin of a phone are battery life and screen size (not resolution). IMO screen resolution is the most overhyped feature of this entire smartphone race. Screen type (super amoled) and quality are FAR more important than screen resolution. You will almost never tell the difference between wp7 and anything else in real world conditions (ie not holding the phone 2 inches from your eyes to see the pixel structure). I never notice my focus's screen pixels in real world use and even have a friend with the titan and its the same way. The one thing I do notice when seeing iphones is how small that screen looks compared to other phones even if it has more resolution.

It's not just the theoretical speed: it's the load and latency. AT&T HSPA is overloaded in NYC and presumably other urban markets. Verizon EVDO is slow. Both have subpar latency.

Tethering my Prime to my LTE Nexus is just transparent, just like working off home wifi... Wherever I go. Pretty great.

To be fair though we really don't know if LTE will actually be any better.... right now its not saturated with hundreds of millions of devices. You would think they would have designed it better to handle load but until you see most phones on lte we won't actually know. I suspect it will get much slower and have much more latency when its load approaches what the current 3g networks have.

 

[EightySix Four]

I guess I just have a different approach when it comes to my gadgets, I know exactly whats under the hood of my car, phone, and all of my PC's.

Knowing what is under the hood and putting too much value on it are two different things. I know all the specifications of my car, but if you offered me a car that has 100% of the performance of my car (straight line, handling, road feel, features, etc.) I don't care if it has 50hp or 400hp. IMHO WP7 has at least the same amount of performance as any stock Android or iPhone, and has an equivalent feature set, but I actually prefer the interface... so it's a win for me. But to each their own

 

[Red Storm]

IMO screen resolution is the most overhyped feature of this entire smartphone race.

Not at all. On my Nexus (720P), I can browse the web in landscape without needing to scroll sideways 99% of the time, the whole page fits AND is readable. That is a big difference in ease of use. This is not possible on lower resolutions, so you have to scroll both up & down and right to left.

 

[Deeko]

Not at all. On my Nexus (720P), I can browse the web in landscape without needing to scroll sideways 99% of the time, the whole page fits AND is readable. That is a big difference in ease of use. This is not possible on lower resolutions, so you have to scroll both up & down and right to left.

That has as much to do with the Nexus' screen size as it does resolution. Every phone on the market is capable of zooming in / out to get a page on the screen. Sure - having a low DPI means that small enough text will be blurry, but just because that DPI is there doesn't mean you'll be able to read it if the text is sharp but too small to read.

I'm not saying that extra DPI isn't a good thing, just that it doesn't automatically mean you can read websites zoomed out. Unless you have really good eyes, anyway.

 

[Red Storm]

That has as much to do with the Nexus' screen size as it does resolution. Every phone on the market is capable of zooming in / out to get a page on the screen. Sure - having a low DPI means that small enough text will be blurry, but just because that DPI is there doesn't mean you'll be able to read it if the text is sharp but too small to read.

I'm not saying that extra DPI isn't a good thing, just that it doesn't automatically mean you can read websites zoomed out. Unless you have really good eyes, anyway.

Oh I know, it's the bigger screen plus the increased resolution that make it much better. I'm just saying it's not an insignificant feature.

 

[runawayprisoner]

For those who want a simple bulletproof interface and OS, there's iOS, if you want a very customizable (and powerful OS) there's Android.

Unless one of them really screws up, Windows has virtually no chance.

And if they want to increase marketshare, they need to heavily subsidize the phone, and the OS, give the OS away for 2 years, and give the carriers a $50 subsidy on each phone sold.

I'm not so sure iOS' interface is bulletproof. There are still instances where it feels just a tad bit too outdated, even compared to apps in the same ecosystem. Take MobileSafari's interface as a prime example. Google search bar takes up 1/3 of the left side on the address field until you tap on it, so you can't see the whole address at any give time. Plus the color theme is completely out of touch with the rest of the whole OS, and to top it all off, going into Reader mode is like going into a whole different app.

That's just one example. There are many more "inconsistencies" with iOS' interface that I think Apple should fix (urg, try Notification Center!). That same interface has stuck around for... 5 generations of the phone already. Some tweaks are necessary now in order to make it look more modern.

And I'm saying this because I know Apple can get down to it. They did fix the interface of the iPad version of iOS in just 2 iterations of the OS. Somewhat... But it was done anyhow, and there's no excuse to avoiding the same tweaks on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The same thing can be said about Android, and more. Customization is something I don't think you can find in just about any Android handset. It also depends on whether the user actually knows how to customize the phone. I don't think "set this as the current launcher" is an apparent built-in prompt in Android, and it doesn't appear until someone downloads or installs a new launcher, but if the user doesn't even know what a launcher is... well, you get the idea. At least the Android team is not afraid of trying out new interfaces, and I applaud them for that. Apple can learn a thing or two. They are playing it too safe.

But that's to say, I think MS definitely has a chance in the race, but they are too stubborn with Metro to move on. They are also not trying too hard to increase market presence. I can't recall the last time I saw a good Windows Phone ad that could precisely tell me why I would want a WP7 phone over an iPhone, or an Android phone. I also can't recall the last time I saw a billboard with a WP7 phone superimposed, but I have seen plenty of iPhone and Android.

That's why I said carriers and manufacturers aren't the problem. But it seems someone at MS is too hard-headed to see...

 

[s44]

I can't recall the last time I saw a good Windows Phone ad that could precisely tell me why I would want a WP7 phone over an iPhone, or an Android phone.

The guy at his kid's soccer game was a decent ad. But I'm not sure making the OS seem everyday utilitarian is a great move when the competition is promising Unicorns and The Future.

And do overscheduled non-tech parents even make their own phone decisions? Don't they farm this decision out to salesmen or more early-adopting friends/relatives? WP7 definitely hasn't won over many in the latter constituencies.

 

[runawayprisoner]

The guy at his kid's soccer game was a decent ad. But I'm not sure making the OS seem everyday utilitarian is a great move when the competition is promising Unicorns and The Future.

And do overscheduled non-tech parents even make their own phone decisions? Don't they farm this decision out to salesmen or more early-adopting friends/relatives? WP7 definitely hasn't won over many in the latter constituencies.

For the uninformed, ads are the best way to go by. That's why you see so many Android phones being bought. "Hey, it's got a dual-core thingy with gigs of memory and you can expand it, plus a 4" screen"

While I'd agree that non-techy are more likely to go to relatives, I don't think that's the majority of it. Marketshare is won mostly by good marketing, and I'm sure we can at least agree that iOS and Android do a much better job at marketing than Windows Phone 7.