Windows Phone 7 |OT|

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"I wonder if there are any new indie games? Let's check the Top 25. "

Xbox Live, Xbox Live, Xbox Live, Xbox Live, Xbox Live, Xbox Live...
 
I find it interesting here in the US (assuming this is the OEM's decision) that I've seen tons of advertisements for the cheap phones (HTC Radar and the Samsung Focus Flash), but they have chosen to not advertise the high end devices (HTC Titan and Samsung Focus S).
For Nokia it's more than just an advertising campaign for their new phone though. By having a huge and flashy campaign with a high-end product it sends a message to the customers that Nokia is back in full force. Or that's at least what they hope to archieve.
 
I find it interesting here in the US (assuming this is the OEM's decision) that I've seen tons of advertisements for the cheap phones (HTC Radar and the Samsung Focus Flash), but they have chosen to not advertise the high end devices (HTC Titan and Samsung Focus S).

My feeling is they want to position the phone as "entry" level smartphone and assume people that go for high end are those that really want Windows Phone anyway.

I gave my old Focus to my son and he has tons of fun with it. Incidentally one of his friend has a Windows Phone so he is pretty excited about it.
 
its pretty clear that fragmentation is such an overblown and nerdy topic. No one really cares except for the 5% of people who visit forums and tech sites every day and in everyday use it has very little effect when apps and games work on a wide range of versions. This should be very clear to Microsoft of all companies.


Beyond that, sure, Android is a "familiar" OS and WP7 is not. To use this as your main arguing point as to why the product hasn't so far succeeded is as shortsighted as they claim Charlie to be in his article. The "windows" name in association to a phone is also not a boon to its popularity (which to be fair, the article did touch on).

What MS did prove is that you can't have a Apple/Google model hybrid. If MS wanted the level of control they have over carriers and manufacturers they should have brought hardware in house. It was a valuable lesson as people were wondering if such a mesh of roles could exist. Apple sets the rules and gets the ability to market their product wherever and however they want. MS is (mostly) letting carriers or phone manufacturers handle their phones, but the MS model isn't really beneficial to either party so there is little reason to push. The Google model lets carriers do what they want with the phone, lets manufacturers basically guarantee obsolescence, etc.

That being said, lets see where WP is at after Q1 of 2012

edit. Also, crying about not getting enough advertising and marketing push is sooooo 2006/7 Sony fans and should be met with just as much ridicule as that did

I am not sure how overblown it is. Average Joe and Jane definitely do not care about update, they just want phones that work and do what they want it to do. I know the three people I know that end up with Androids have mostly complain about battery life and the "confusing" UI as far as setting (too many option for them).

I don't think it's so much that they didn't get advertising money but more of how the money is being spend. Microsoft just plain suck at selling stuff to consumers, they always sell products to corporate, middle-ware people but rarely direct to consumers. They don't know that what they should spend money on was on the people that actually selling the phone. It's mind boggling how their premier carrier have no clue about the phone and most will just steer you toward droid or iPhone. I am sure the silly "windows" tag doesn't help. A guy I work with was surprise that Microsoft still make "Windows" phone.
 
I've been lusting for a WP7 phone for quite some time, but refrained due to worries about the ecosystem and the future of the OS. Well, now my dad went and bought a Lumia 800, and I finally got to spend a few minutes with it. Utterly beautiful and sensationally smooth. Goddamn, I want this.

But what about
-Skype?
-Instagram?
-YouTube?
-Dropbox?

Are there any news regarding the future of those apps? Any working alternatives?
 
I've been lusting for a WP7 phone for quite some time, but refrained due to worries about the ecosystem and the future of the OS. Well, now my dad went and bought a Lumia 800, and I finally got to spend a few minutes with it. Utterly beautiful and sensationally smooth. Goddamn, I want this.

But what about
-Skype?
-Instagram?
-YouTube?
-Dropbox?

Are there any news regarding the future of those apps? Any working alternatives?

1) Skype - Probably going to be a highly touted feature if we all had to guess of the next MAJOR update aka Apollo which is rumored for maybe sometime this summer.

2) Instagram - Maybe try the web version? There are some clones on the marketplace however.

3) Youtube - Depends on what your asking. I mean you can already watch youtube videos.

4) Dropbox - Nothing as of yet. Skydrive is built in though, and we've had an interesting debate on how dropbox will fare if Google, Apple, and MS have their own stuff built into their OS and other things like OSX and Windows.
 
1) Skype - Probably going to be a highly touted feature if we all had to guess of the next MAJOR update aka Apollo which is rumored for maybe sometime this summer.

2) Instagram - Maybe try the web version? There are some clones on the marketplace however.

3) Youtube - Depends on what your asking. I mean you can already watch youtube videos.

4) Dropbox - Nothing as of yet. Skydrive is built in though, and we've had an interesting debate on how dropbox will fare if Google, Apple, and MS have their own stuff built into their OS and other things like OSX and Windows.

The thing with Skype really bugs me. They canceled the MIX11 demo last minute, did a private demo of the app in September or October and we never heard of it again. I can't believe they canceled the app for the upcoming Apollo integration, especially when older devices are left out. Okay, not saying older devices won't get Apollo, but if it's the case, then it would be really shitty for the customers.

A YT app is only important, when you want to download videos. The mobile site works really well in IE9.
 
The thing with Skype really bugs me. They canceled the MIX11 demo last minute, did a private demo of the app in September or October and we never heard of it again. I can't believe they canceled the app for the upcoming Apollo integration, especially when older devices are left out. Okay, not saying older devices won't get Apollo, but if it's the case, then it would be really shitty for the customers.
Isn't the main issue the lack of front-facing cameras? They probably decided an app isn't worth releasing without phones. Might as well push off release until it's integrated in the OS, and the cameras are part of the spec.
 
Isn't the main issue the lack of front-facing cameras? They probably decided an app isn't worth releasing without phones.

The new phones are available since October/November and all of them have a FFC (well, except for the Lumia, but fuck it). No reason to hold it back any longer.
 
The thing with Skype really bugs me. They canceled the MIX11 demo last minute, did a private demo of the app in September or October and we never heard of it again. I can't believe they canceled the app for the upcoming Apollo integration, especially when older devices are left out. Okay, not saying older devices won't get Apollo, but if it's the case, then it would be really shitty for the customers.

A YT app is only important, when you want to download videos. The mobile site works really well in IE9.

they are going to drag it out to Apollo? that's what 9 months according to the roadmap? Have they specifically said anything that would hint at that?

I'd of thought Tango being a better release point i.e. hitting the price point they want with a decent feature set, guess it depends on how much synergy they want with the Win8 release if it's a Tango or an Apollo feature.
 
they are going to drag it out to Apollo? that's what 9 months according to the roadmap? Have they specifically said anything that would hint at that?

I'd of thought Tango being a better release point i.e. hitting the price point they want with a decent feature set, guess it depends on how much synergy they want with the Win8 release if it's a Tango or an Apollo feature.

The purchase wasn't complete unitl October, that is far too little time to do something as major as integrating video chat into the OS. Not to mention, I think we should keep our expectations of Tango in check, it is 2012's NoDo.
 
they are going to drag it out to Apollo? that's what 9 months according to the roadmap? Have they specifically said anything that would hint at that?

I'd of thought Tango being a better release point i.e. hitting the price point they want with a decent feature set, guess it depends on how much synergy they want with the Win8 release if it's a Tango or an Apollo feature.

I don't think they'll wait for Apollo. There's definitely a Skype app and I was hoping for a reveal at the US "relaunch", but I think CES might be the better event, for obvious reasons ...

Either way it's stupid that it's still not out.
 
1) Skype - Probably going to be a highly touted feature if we all had to guess of the next MAJOR update aka Apollo which is rumored for maybe sometime this summer.

2) Instagram - Maybe try the web version? There are some clones on the marketplace however.

3) Youtube - Depends on what your asking. I mean you can already watch youtube videos.

4) Dropbox - Nothing as of yet. Skydrive is built in though, and we've had an interesting debate on how dropbox will fare if Google, Apple, and MS have their own stuff built into their OS and other things like OSX and Windows.

Well, one of the main reasons I love Dropbox is its device independence. I use it all the time for group work.
 
I am not sure how overblown it is. Average Joe and Jane definitely do not care about update, they just want phones that work and do what they want it to do. I know the three people I know that end up with Androids have mostly complain about battery life and the "confusing" UI as far as setting (too many option for them).

I don't think it's so much that they didn't get advertising money but more of how the money is being spend. Microsoft just plain suck at selling stuff to consumers, they always sell products to corporate, middle-ware people but rarely direct to consumers. They don't know that what they should spend money on was on the people that actually selling the phone. It's mind boggling how their premier carrier have no clue about the phone and most will just steer you toward droid or iPhone. I am sure the silly "windows" tag doesn't help. A guy I work with was surprise that Microsoft still make "Windows" phone.

Its overblown in the fact that what you just said, average joe or jane don't care what they are running as long as the apps they want to install or use are available and work.

they are also taking the wrong track (IMHO) advertising it now. Associating and bundling it with windows advertisements is not the way to go. The reason why most people use windows is because if you want an affordable computer, it comes with it. If you are working at a company, its what you need to use, etc. You need to try to divorce the device a bit from the computer OS.

Hopefully they can slowly grow. There is definitely room for a third as there is a ton of potential customers out there (basically the entire dumb phone using population) so its not like they are "too late" or there arent enough customer, they just need to get some mindshare in consumers. The only thing they are late at is carrier love. Android had some lucky timing with a carrier that wasn't offering an iphone making a hard push for an alternative. It was Droid vs iPhone. ATT showed no interest whatsoever in android until they lost exclusivity of the iphone (they are still have a piss poor selection for new phones). Carriers aren't going to voluntary push WP7 until they see consumers asking for it. MS needs to break into that mind share. Its a beautiful OS, they aren't doing enough to make people pay attention
 
Anyone know if Microsoft will ever do a free app of the day like Amazon does for Android?

Amazon essentially gives Android free positive rep.
 
Anyone know if Microsoft will ever do a free app of the day like Amazon does for Android?

Amazon essentially gives Android free positive rep.

I doubt Microsoft will ever do that. However the app developers themselves apparently can offer their apps for free for a limited time. E.g. the game Line Birds (or something) was recently set from 2 dollars to free for a limited time (might still be free).
 
Kickbox takes care of my dropbox needs. Not free though.

Edit: orb is also free for 48 hours. Go get it, its one of the best indie games out right now!!
 
My feeling is they want to position the phone as "entry" level smartphone and assume people that go for high end are those that really want Windows Phone anyway.

I gave my old Focus to my son and he has tons of fun with it. Incidentally one of his friend has a Windows Phone so he is pretty excited about it.

Yeah I assume that's the reason as well, but there is virtually no coverage of the high end devices. People see my Titan, and they are usually seriously impressed with it, but they have never heard of the phone before.
 
Smartphone plans are through the roof in North America.

I only own one because of the monthly plan ($30) and for the features I get with it.
  • E-mail
  • GPS with turn by turn and live traffic
  • Casual web browsing with 3G

That's it.

Android succeeds because the OS can be put in any buyer market. It essentially is a Windows Mobile style OS with tons of dev support.

iOS has the impression of a high-class OS since Apple made it, so naturally when people feel like they're paying so much for carrier data plans, they will gravitate towards iPhones. They feel they deserve the iPhone because that's what all the people use on these expensive plans.

WP7 is stuck with AT&T and only recently T-Mobile. Both of the carriers don't really give me great service, so I lean towards the latter if I had to make a choice although there is a reason I use Sprint. However, the point is Microsoft is riding its platform hoping that people will just pick up WP7 despite its bundling with high price plans. Microsoft still doesn't enjoy the luxury of throwing around the word innovative as much as Apple does, and branding the phone line with the term of Windows only reminds people of the negatives that Windows Mobile had.

Yes, Microsoft is slowly turning around its image recently with recent successes like the Xbox 360 and Windows 7 launch, but that's still not enough to change a public perception for a company that's been around for so long and that holds such a negative public image.

I see what Microsoft will try to do for WP (e.g. target low-end devices), but if they keep giving WP7 phones to carriers that charge outrageous prices for monthly plans, Windows Phone will continue to see little growth in 2012.

Yes, you can get a phone and put it on prepaid, but some people still chat on the phone using minutes.

I may see myself as a future Republic Wireless user, so I may never ever get a chance to own a better smart phone as I just hate the idea of paying more per month.
 
It's still android.. but ICS is a big improvement from gingerbread in just about every way.

This was largely a hardware motivated purchase, though.. I wanted to see what a 4.65" 720p display looks like.. and it's pretty great.

I guess the easiest way to describe it is that Android 4.0 is android with a lot of the "jank" removed from it. I feel like google has tried to produce a refined user experience this time and has gotten closer than I expected them to.

Having experienced the galaxy nexus now.. I know that I'll never be happy with a standard android phone again.. I've had it a month and I've gone up 2 android versions (started with 4.01, went to 4.02 and then 4.03).. it's nice to just be able to use a AOSP rom that someone built from source and to not have any carrier or manufacturer BS on the device.. it is also a big plus that ICS lets you disable that stuff so it doesn't run or show up in your app drawer, so hopefully the experience will be better for people with normal carrier devices, too.

That said, I am probably going to end up back on windows phone at some point.. just waiting for the right device to dive back in. I'd like microsoft to catch up in terms of hardware.. I know that WP 7 is blazing fast and doesn't really need it.. but I really do want a higher resolution display.. especially after using this thing.

You want to go BACK to WP7 after experiencing a true multitasking OS backed by a processor and RAM which can give it room to breathe? You want to go BACK to the walled garden after you've experienced the freedom of an open platform? What is this, reverse-Stockholm Syndrome?

I love the discussion about how you need the manage what apps you are allowed to keep open in WP7 before it starts killing them and then you need to wait to re-launch them. Really? REALLY? Are you people running Windows 1.0 on top of DOS or something? Is WP7 supposed to be a modern smartphone OS or not? I just open apps and leave them open forever on my Tuna, and then I hit the Task Switcher soft button that Matias Duarte so kindly added to ICS and all my apps are listed for me and I switch to them nearly instantly. They're all running there, in the background, waiting for me. I leave both the stock browser and Firefox 9 open, just because the stock browser is insanely fast compared to Firefox, but I like instantly getting my desktop tabs from Firefox Sync when I want them.

Speaking of the ICS browser, I've seen the browser on WP7. I consider web browsing to be a basic feature of smartphones now, and I don't know how anyone could tolerate the slower-than-molasses WP7 browser. It's great that it's built with the same engine as desktop IE9, except for the part where a desktop PC has a quad-core processor and many GB of RAM. God, does that thing CRAWL on WP7. Meanwhile I keep 10 tabs open on the ICS browser and I poke one and it pops out and refreshes the page in seconds.

Now that I've experienced the Metro UI on Xbox 360, I'm not nearly as fussed about it as I was when I saw it on WP7. I'm pretty ambivalent about the Metro UI, to be honest, though I think the 360 implements it in just about the worst way possible, where 9 of the 10 the tiles on every pane are always occupied by annoying ads. It's like Idiocracy came to life on the 360 Dashboard. Beyond that, the tiles are pretty, and also impractical. I also don't understand the obsession with the Live Tiles feature. Okay, so the home screen can now accommodate real-time updated content. This might even partially make up for the fact that WP7 is almost as limited in multitasking as iOS 1.0. But I would rather have a true multitasking OS like Android over something like WP7 any day of the week, and home screen widgets on Android pretty much do the same thing even though they aren't as pretty. But like most Android users I tend to favor function over form, and the truth of the matter is that people who favor form over function are already sporting iPhones so MS won't be capturing any of those people either.

And yeah, MS has no clue how to remain hardware-competitive at this point, because they are so slow at updating the software. I still find it kind of funny and sad at the same time that the Windows CE kernel can't handle more than 1 core. WinCE is, after all, originally derived from Win32, the Windows 95 branch of code which was buried in an unmarked grave on the desktop more than a decade ago when Windows XP was released. I don't know who the hell was in charge of Windows Mobile who thought that continuing to use WinCE as the base platform for WP7 was a good idea, but I hope he was fired. MS has built an entirely new platform on a decade-and-a-half old kernel design, it's not an exaggeration to say that WP7 is based on Windows 95 in that sense. I can't wait to see how they jerry-rig WinCE to work with 2 cores, it sounds like a bunch of hard work coding for no good reason and it's probably why they're talking about dual-core in late 2012 when Android and iOS will be on quad-core platforms.
 
You want to go BACK to WP7 after experiencing a true multitasking OS backed by a processor and RAM which can give it room to breathe? You want to go BACK to the walled garden after you've experienced the freedom of an open platform? What is this, reverse-Stockholm Syndrome?.
Having used both, I'd say I'm in the same boat as him too. For me WP7 just works, I get so many random problems with android that it's just not worth the hassle to me any more. It feels a lot like Linux on the desktop. Fantastic when it's actually doing what it should be, but more grief than it's worth.
 
Wow, that was the most uninformed piece of shit post I'd read in a while.

I especially like the part about how we have to manage open apps and how our browser is slow because we don't have desktop CPUs.

Edit: also, Google should trademark the phrase "true multitasking OS". That poster is like the forum version of the Blackberry Playbok commercials that kept going on about Flash.

I love me some Android, but wp7 is superior for me. Easily. Thankfully, I've had the benefit of extensive experience with it rather than just spouting off bullshit about kernels like anyone gives a shit.
 
Wow, that was the most uninformed piece of shit post I'd read in a while.

I especially like the part about how we have to manage open apps and how our browser is slow because we don't have desktop CPUs.

You know, it's not even the content of his post, but the tone. If it wasn't for the tone, I'd actually bother with a discussion about the points he made, because some of them are good and others could be worth discussing.

But coming in a thread like this, well knowing that it's visited by people who like the product, and screaming "Everything you like is SHIT!" like an idiot ... Nah, whatever. I'd rather read the little troll posts from Copernicus or dream. At least they're amusing.
 
I disagree, I prefer to have a poster come in, write a bunch of pent up misinformed garbage and leave rather than the once a week or so trolling from Copernicus (dream doesn't troll here). My main problem is people actually engage Copernicus on his bullshit and the conversation gets sidetracked.

This dude said his piece, and he'll go back to his blissful android powered existence. Like you, I would prefer it if he had done it in a way where we could actually engage him, but at least it's not a usual occurrence.
 
I don't know what sites he was using, but I've never seen IE on WP "crawl". Or anything close (unlike the desktop variant).

Does take to long to scroll down very long pages, but that isn't a performance thing.
 
I don't know what sites he was using, but I've never seen IE on WP "crawl". Or anything close (unlike the desktop variant).

Does take to long to scroll down very long pages, but that isn't a performance thing.

IE9 on the desktop I find to be quite quick :)

Although I've noted my Optimus 7 does take a bit longer now to render pages than it used to, could well be because it's loaded with too many apps.
 
I think shitting on internet explorer is just a reflex for folks now. Who the hell actually expected ie9 on windows phone to be as good as it is?

Certainly, it was a safe attack area, too bad he had to lie and say he actually used it and it actually crawled.
 
IE9 on the desktop I find to be quite quick :)

Although I've noted my Optimus 7 does take a bit longer now to render pages than it used to, could well be because it's loaded with too many apps.

Once it gets going its fine, but takes way to long to get going.

Doesn't help that most of my experience with it is on customera PCs loaded with crap.
 
I think shitting on internet explorer is just a reflex for folks now. Who the hell actually expected ie9 on windows phone to be as good as it is?

Certainly, it was a safe attack area, too bad he had to lie and say he actually used it and it actually crawled.

But that's just another branding issue. Other companies would notice the hate and rename the product, even if it's based on the same old tech.

Microsoft on the other hand is all like "Yeah, it is the Internet Explorer y'all hate and yes, it is using the same old Trident engine. But it's going to be good and we like it, so fuck you!".
 
I wanted to buy a game and got the PvZ trial....damn, they haven't updated that game to mango yet? Do I seriously have to watch that dreadfully slow loading sequence every time I'm interrupted?

Its sad that marquee games like that and angry birds don't take advantage of mango.
 
But that's just another branding issue. Other companies would notice the hate and rename the product, even if it's based on the same old tech.

Microsoft on the other hand is all like "Yeah, it is the Internet Explorer y'all hate and yes, it is using the same old Trident engine. But it's going to be good and we like it, so fuck you!".

exactly.

Windows and Internet Explorer are not the most popular terms to throw around, especially to try and push a successful product by attaching it to it.

Drop the "windows" aspect, push the phone for what it is, innovative, different, beautiful, and advertise the phone without attaching it to every stigma you have as a company. They took their shitty ad campaign they launched with (your phone shouldnt distract you!, seriously? do they not exist in the same world as everyone else that uses the phone as a distraction?), and instead of moving to a new campaign focusing on how good the phone is, they tie it to a desktop OS and Kinect in commercials.
 
Those new commercials are about the windows family of products, not the phone specifically. Unfortunately, I don't think they had a campaign just for the phone this fall. Instead, I've seen some ads by manufacturers themselves, rather than ads about the operating system, which I guess is fine. I guess they'll wait until they have a halo product like the new Nokia before investing in more OS ads.
 
Those new commercials are about the windows family of products, not the phone specifically. Unfortunately, I don't think they had a campaign just for the phone this fall. Instead, I've seen some ads by manufacturers themselves, rather than ads about the operating system, which I guess is fine. I guess they'll wait until they have a halo product like the new Nokia before investing in more OS ads.

yeah, i just figured with the mango "relaunch" they'd do some advertising.
 
You want to go BACK to WP7 after experiencing a true multitasking OS backed by a processor and RAM which can give it room to breathe? You want to go BACK to the walled garden after you've experienced the freedom of an open platform? What is this, reverse-Stockholm Syndrome?

I used ICS for a week, I went back to my Titan, nice hardware but the OS is still disorganised the UI is a mishmash of ideas but it's improving, and anyone who thinks hardware is the be all and end all of phones isn't worth listening too.
 
I think shitting on internet explorer is just a reflex for folks now. Who the hell actually expected ie9 on windows phone to be as good as it is?

Certainly, it was a safe attack area, too bad he had to lie and say he actually used it and it actually crawled.

Yeah spot on, people bash IE because of the name now rather than actually using it and seeing it's a perfectly good browser now.
 
Wait, what's this?

If you buy Windows Phone and send in proof (you can do it via internet) they will send you $25.00 prepaid card. They send me 2 cards when I got the Titan, so i ended up with $50.00.

My son sure enjoy his Windows Phone...he has been playing lot of Armed! When I kick him off Star Wars ToR.
 
http://www.windowsphoneappcard.com/

You get a $25 prepaid card in the mail. Edit: I guess this a better URL since apparently it redirects to some browser specific stuff.

Edit2: And this only applies to phones purchased before the end of the year, the February thing I was thinking of is the expiration date for signing up.

On the page is says you had to have purchased the phone between november and now for it to work. Is that right?

Edit: Okay well I'm at a point where I need to take a picture of the receipt or the box. I have the box, but I bought it from a gaffer, and I don't know whether he's done this app card thing. Will I get in trouble if I upload a picture with the information on this box? I don't want them to think I stole it or something.
 
Yeah spot on, people bash IE because of the name now rather than actually using it and seeing it's a perfectly good browser now.

Microsoft reap what they sew. Firefox is experiencing the same thing now, as people leave for Chrome largely due to perception issues rather than real ones. *shrugs*
 
Exclusive: Microsoft's LTE Plans For Windows Phone

The information I have relates to the US market only. These plans will be officially revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next month.

Three LTE-based Windows Phone handsets--the Nokia ACE, HTC Radiant, and Samsung Mendel--will ship on AT&T Wireless before the middle of 2012. The ACE is due March 18, 2012.

There doesn't seem to be any suggestion of rumor in these new stories, seems pretty damn concrete to me. Unfortunate that there is no LTE device on Verizon (WTF?) but it does sound like the Lumia 710 (also WTF?) will be coming in April.

Also, from The Verge

Samsung's 4G LTE phone will feature a large screen according to our source, pushing it beyond the 4.3-inch Samsung Focus S.
 
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