Windows Phone 7 Series

[destrekor]

engadget

This is Zune Phone folks.

If you like ZuneHD, and imagine a phone built around it (or a phone that includes every aspect of the ZuneHD)... this is your phone.

Microsoft won't build them, but manufacturers will be following a very very specific list of instructions - certain CPUs, GPUs, touch screen resolution, physical button layout, etc.

This is what Microsoft has needed. It will be interesting to see it's Apps support. Gone is multi-tasking which I don't know what the hell they were thinking.. though apps will have push-notification so new updates for apps can happen in the background and you'll be notified, but the apps won't chug along unless you have it open.

I wonder to what degree that will be the case. Will music play while you use the browser? Music while texting?

Me, I just don't know. At this point Android has become everything I ever wanted and more (of course, with the loss of support due to hacks, though it was the best phone I ever used prior to tinkering around).
But I :heart: my ZuneHD. Wouldn't trade it for anything. As much as I've made a lot of comments about having two separate devices, so that I can listen to music and use phone without having to worry about depleting battery life... having a phone with complete Zune integration, allowing me to use the Zune Pass on my phone, sync it with a cradle, and have it at the ready... it does sound awesome.
Of course, developer support will be necessary. Oh, and LTE - won't upgrade to a new phone until LTE is in my region.

So the platform has time to prove itself, and developers will likely have quite a bit of time to get apps a'cookin'.
And the strict platform control will have a significantly awesome impact on developer support. Won't have to worry like the Android market, though with the Android market it still works out just dandy imho.

 

[erwos]

Lack of multi-tasking is seriously bleh. One of my primary uses for my WinMo phone as it is is GPS. That said, I'm enough of an Xbox Live and Zune whore that I'll almost certainly wind up with this next time phone upgrades come rolling around (as you said, for LTE!).

Now, what I'd really like to see is Microsoft just hand us a ROM of Windows Phone 7 to put on the Zune HD. That would be pretty awesome.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I just watched a demo video and I'm impressed as hell.

Apple is eventually going to get it's ass handed to them, when you're a front runner, everyone has a target and something to copy.

Microsoft really needs to come up with a different name though.

Something like "7 Series" would work.

 

[MedicBob]

It does look very nice, but I want "hands on" time with one before I decide.

 

[Phobic9]

It does look very nice, but I want "hands on" time with one before I decide.

Same here and these aren't launching until holiday season of this year. A lot change change between now and then (obviously).

 

[hanoverphist]

It does look very nice, but I want "hands on" time with one before I decide.

same here. i also want to be able to play solitaire while on hold on the phone, as well as listen to music while i do other tasks like check email/ texts and such. also, if there is no file explorer and ability to save email attachments to the memory for transfer to a laptop, ill stick to wm6. other than those few features, i really have no other reqs for a phone. oh, the browser will have to be leagues above the current zuneHD browser. you cant even save images youre browsing on that sucker.

 

[R Nilla]

Just when I thought I was getting close to figuring out what fancy new smartphone I want...

Mobile Xbox Live has definitely piqued my interest.

 

[Phobic9]

Just when I thought I was getting close to figuring out what fancy new smartphone I want...

Mobile Xbox Live has definitely piqued my interest.

If they could get XBLA games on a device such as a phone... wow.

Granted, this probably won't happen but I can dream right? MS was touting the ZuneHD's gaming abilities but we haven't really seen much there. Hopefully they'll do a lot more for Windows 7 phone.

 

[ViRGE]

The focus on Facebook and XBL seems like it would be Kryptonite for corporate users, which is still the biggest base of Windows Mobile users.

And I'd really like to hear something about the OS's underpinnings. Is it still the CE kernel? Or have they chopped down NT and ported it to the phone?

 

[FerraraZ]

Like the others said, it looks nice but I need a hands on. I want to know more about the developing platform

 

[jpeyton]

Microsoft was smart to build this effort on top of the already popular Zune/XBL ecosystem.

Sign me up.

Android will be huge, but I think this is the first major threat to the iPhone. Android lacks the polish (Zune HD interface), app/music/video store (XBL/Zune marketplace), and a rigid enough set of hardware requirements to make sure the user experience stays consistent. All things that Win7MobileSeries has.

 

[Demo24]

To be honest I'm not overly impressed by it. I think the UI is kinda 'meh' really. I sure hope the color scheme is changeable. However nothing I see yet is convincing me to leave any other OS.

 

[dwell]

Too little, way too late. By time this thing ships iPhone 4.0 will be out and most likely Android 2.5 or 3.0. Nobody in any considerable volume cares about Zune or XBL intergration. The number of iPhones sold last year alone is more than the number of active XBL users.

Credit to Microsoft from trying but they should have stepped up two years ago.

 

[akugami]

I just watched a demo video and I'm impressed as hell.

Apple is eventually going to get it's ass handed to them, when you're a front runner, everyone has a target and something to copy.

Bad assumption. Everyone had a lot of time to "copy" the iPod but we all know how that has turned out. This also makes the assumption that the iPhone doesn't incorporate any changes that competitors like Android and Windows 7 Mobile and it also makes the assumption that Apple doesn't come up with any other changes.

 

[A5]

The focus on Facebook and XBL seems like it would be Kryptonite for corporate users, which is still the biggest base of Windows Mobile users.

The Office and email apps look really good from screens, and you know this thing is going to have better Exchange support than anyone else. This is still going to be a pretty good business platform.

 

[R Nilla]

Neat hands-on demo over at Channel 9 -- 22 minutes of walkthrough.

 

[BigSmooth]

It looks pretty cool. I definitely like the style of the Zune HD interface and this obviously takes a lot of cues from that. As a heavy Google services user, I wouldn't take this over Android (which I really like), but building on the Xbox and Zune communities is a smart idea for MS.

I am surprised, however, that they're announcing this SO far in advance. Gizmodo pointed out that this announcement effectively makes current WinMo phones lame ducks for the next 9+ months. Plus, I think the early announcement gives competitors a lot of time to respond and make their own improvements based on 7 Series early feedback.

 

[jpeyton]

Too little, way too late.

I guess Apple is all there is and all there ever will be.

In reality, Apple has 20% of the worldwide smartphone market share, but they will never license out their software nor will they break free of AT&T in the US. That creates a hard cap for their potential.

Microsoft already has:

Carriers: AT&T, Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange, SFR, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telstra, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone.

Hardware: Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC, HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm.

The inclusion of Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint alone is 170 million subscribers Apple doesn't have access to.

 

[dwell]

I guess Apple is all there is and all there ever will be.

And Android, and RIM, and Palm, etc.

In reality, Apple has 20% of the worldwide smartphone market share, but they will never license out their software nor will they break free of AT&T in the US. That creates a hard cap for their potential.

And you know this for fact? I'll wager Apple announces iPhone 4.0 on Verizon 4G before Windows 7 Series ships.

Microsoft already has:

Carriers: AT&T, Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange, SFR, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telstra, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone.

Hardware: Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC, HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm.

The inclusion of Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint alone is 170 million subscribers Apple doesn't have access to.

Apple is on many of those providers in the EU. And with all those choices in carriers and hardware, Winmob tanked anyway.

A pretty OS and device means little for actual marketshare. Ask the Zune HD.

 

[TXAngel08]

The only reason I don't just own an iPhone is because I refuse to use AT&T.

If this comes out for Verizon, I'll be on it in 5 seconds flat. Currently our family has Blackberry Curves, but I'm ready for something better (and the Storm isn't it).

As someone else said, it is all about the apps. "There's an app for that" has become an important smart phone tag line.

 

[TXAngel08]

The inclusion of Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint alone is 170 million subscribers Apple doesn't have access to.

Amen... I'll NEVER go back to AT&T. Bleh!!!

I would already have 2 iPhones in our house if they were on Verizon... I can't imagine AT&T is paying Apple enough money to keep millions of their phones off the market, but what do I know...

 

[jpeyton]

And Android, and RIM, and Palm, etc.

Palm has one foot in the grave. Android will see huge adoption, but because of it's open-source nature it will lack the polish of iPhone OS and Win7MS.

And you know this for fact? I'll wager Apple announces iPhone 4.0 on Verizon 4G before Windows 7 Series ships.

iPhone OS 4, absolutely. Verizon? Nope. You think AT&T is spending billions this year upgrading their network just so they can lose their cash cow exclusivity? What about Sprint and T-Mobile? Carrier exclusivity never made sense to me; all carriers can provide fast pipes for smart phone data and voice. Win7MS will have hardware on all major networks and 170 million more potential customers.

Only proves what a piss-poor job they've done so far if Apple and Google came out long after Microsoft and have taken a considerable chunk of the market from them. A pretty OS and device means little for actual marketshare. Ask the Zune HD.

People also said "too little, way too late" about the XBOX after Sony sold 120 million PS2s. One generation later and the XBOX 360 is #2 worldwide ahead of Sony and arguably the best overall game console on the market. And gaming was just a 'pet project' for Microsoft.

The best part of this announcement is simply the fact that MS is serious about their mobile OS market again. They aren't going to overtake the market overnight, but 5 years from now I think we'll be seeing a completely different landscape in the mobile OS marketshare. With more hardware and carriers, Win7MS should easily catch up to Apple in terms of marketshare.

 

[dwell]

Palm has one foot in the grave. Android will see huge adoption, but because of it's open-source nature it will lack the polish of iPhone OS and Win7MS.

Winmob has one foot in the grave as well. Win7MS is at best Hail Mary attempt for Microsoft in the mobile space. Same deal as the Palm Pre.

iPhone OS 4, absolutely. Verizon? Nope. You think AT&T is spending billions this year upgrading their network just so they can lose their cash cow exclusivity? What about Sprint and T-Mobile? Carrier exclusivity never made sense to me; all carriers can provide fast pipes for smart phone data and voice. Win7MS will have hardware on all major networks and 170 million more potential customers.

You think Apple is spending billions on R&D for iPhone, iPad, etc to be limited to one carrier?

People also said "too little, way too late" about the XBOX after Sony sold 120 million PS2s. One generation later and the XBOX 360 is #2 worldwide ahead of Sony and arguably the best overall game console on the market. And gaming was just a 'pet project' for Microsoft.

The Xbox 360 has a measly 6M unit lead over the PS3 and that's with a year head start and at times a 1/2 the price delta. Nintendo has sold more Wiis sold than almost the 360 and PS3 combined. Microsoft coming out #2 is more of a testament to Sony's failures than Microsoft's successes. Unless of course selling half as many units as the leader is considered a success. And what kind of "pet project" takes over 8 billion dollars in loses over its lifetime?

 

[erwos]

Winmob has one foot in the grave as well. Win7MS is at best Hail Mary attempt for Microsoft in the mobile space. Same deal as the Palm Pre.

The big difference is that Microsoft, unlike Palm, has:
1. Massive cash for marketing and development.
2. Pre-existing and deep relationships with almost every major phone manufacturer.
3. An ecosystem of products to integrate into.

Consider that WM has seen very little in the way of upgrades for the past few years, yet STILL maintains a higher market share than Android - and for a long, long time, had more than the iPhone. Counting Microsoft out when they've just displayed some amazing technical prowess with the Xbox 360 and the Zune HD seems, well, insane.

Maybe you're one of those guys who has a hate-on for Microsoft, and while I can understand that, people who underestimate them in the long-term tend to find themselves VERY surprised.

 

[dwell]

Consider that WM has seen very little in the way of upgrades for the past few years, yet STILL maintains a higher market share than Android - and for a long, long time, had more than the iPhone. Counting Microsoft out when they've just displayed some amazing technical prowess with the Xbox 360 and the Zune HD seems, well, insane.

Xbox 360 is a marginal success and the Zune HD is an outright failure (Microsoft *ever* going to offer sales numbers for the HD?).

Maybe you're one of those guys who has a hate-on for Microsoft, and while I can understand that, people who underestimate them in the long-term tend to find themselves VERY surprised.

We've overestimated them for the past 10 years and the best they could muster is a distant second-place video game console and a new name for Windows Vista SP3. Apologies for not having a lot of faith in MS at this point.