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[show me your skeleton]

so, finally managed to upgrade to mango, wooo! lovely stuff
who's silly idea was it to limit the number of people in a group?! what rubbish
also i don't like the fade in of the clock on the lock screen. tiny tiny niggle, though.
is 7.10.7712.60 the latest version or have i still got a further upgrade to go?

 

[bananas]

so, finally managed to upgrade to mango, wooo! lovely stuff
who's silly idea was it to limit the number of people in a group?! what rubbish
also i don't like the fade in of the clock on the lock screen. tiny tiny niggle, though.
is 7.10.7712.60 the latest version or have i still got a further upgrade to go?

That fade in is a bug. The RTM version shouldn't have that.

Also this Beta is build 7712, the RTM version is 7720. So this is the last beta. To get the Mango RTM, you'll need to restore to NoDo then upgrade.

 

[show me your skeleton]

That fade in is a bug. The RTM version shouldn't have that.

Also this Beta is build 7712, the RTM version is 7720. So this is the last beta. To get the Mango RTM, you'll need to restore to NoDo then upgrade.

ahh, thought it was a dodgy ui choice by microsoft, good to know it's going.
and i thought so, wasn't sure if i had the last beta or the first one and still had to upgrade one more time. it's funny how overwhelmed i've felt by the upgrade, could kinda' do with one of those 'welcome to windows!' things that you get with computers to walk me through the new features, haha. funny how i'd avoid it on a computer but miss it here.

 

[Robobandit]

Imo, if it was a UI decision, the behavior would be consistent, but it's not.

Sometimes it is there instantly, others it takes a while.

It should be fixed in RTM (If Microsoft knows what is good for them.)

 

[show me your skeleton]

Imo, if it was a UI decision, the behavior would be consistent, but it's not.

Sometimes it is there instantly, others it takes a while.

It should be fixed in RTM (If Microsoft knows what is good for them.)

i've been getting it constantly but you're right, i have very little doubt that it won't be changed. it's completely stupid and does nothing to enhance the experience.

 

[venne]

i've been getting it constantly but you're right, i have very little doubt that it won't be changed. it's completely stupid and does nothing to enhance the experience.

I thought it was constant on my wife's Focus, but it didn't fade in at all when I played with it today.

Here's an interesting take that I vehemently disagree with: Windows Phone Has No Soul

I suppose I can understand his position going from an experience from a demo unit, but once your profile is on the device it takes on your 'soul'. There's no mistaking my wife's phone for anyone else's. It's her favorite personal pictures cascading down the photo tile, her friends and family lighting up the contact's tile, her avatar peaking her head out on the Live tile, and her appointments populating the calendar tile. It's the most personalized device I've ever seen.

Of course, absolutely none of that would come across demoing a phone at a store for a couple minutes. Instead you'd get a sterile, disconnected experience. Simply because the device isn't your phone. It is a soulless display waiting for you to bring it to life.

 

[show me your skeleton]

i hate when someone complains that a product has been 'designed by committee' when the product in question exists alongside anything by google or apple.

 

[Magni]

I thought it was constant on my wife's Focus, but it didn't fade in at all when I played with it today.

Here's an interesting take that I vehemently disagree with: Windows Phone Has No Soul

I suppose I can understand his position going from an experience from a demo unit, but once your profile is on the device it takes on your 'soul'. There's no mistaking my wife's phone for anyone else's. It's her favorite personal pictures cascading down the photo tile, her friends and family lighting up the contact's tile, her avatar peaking her head out on the Live tile, and her appointments populating the calendar tile. It's the most personalized device I've ever seen.

Of course, absolutely none of that would come across demoing a phone at a store for a couple minutes. Instead you'd get a sterile, disconnected experience. Simply because the device isn't your phone. It is a soulless display waiting for you to bring it to life.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/06/rumored-windows-phone-7-details-surface-ahead-of-mwc-launch-zun/

According to the site, Windows Phone 7 will sport an interface that's "very similar" to the Zune HD, along with a complete revamp of the start screen, and a UI (codenamed METRO) that's described as "very clean," "soulful," and "alive."

:lol

 

[kazinova]

Posting this from a mango phone. I'm surprised by the amount of stuff people neglected to mention that changed from original release. I'll compile a list of overlooked changes sometime this week.

 

[Robobandit]

Posting this from a mango phone. I'm surprised by the amount of stuff people neglected to mention that changed from original release. I'll compile a list of overlooked changes sometime this week.

There are just so many little changes.. most people haven't attempted a comprehensive list.

Good luck!

 

[strata8]

I thought it was constant on my wife's Focus, but it didn't fade in at all when I played with it today.

Here's an interesting take that I vehemently disagree with: Windows Phone Has No Soul

I suppose I can understand his position going from an experience from a demo unit, but once your profile is on the device it takes on your 'soul'. There's no mistaking my wife's phone for anyone else's. It's her favorite personal pictures cascading down the photo tile, her friends and family lighting up the contact's tile, her avatar peaking her head out on the Live tile, and her appointments populating the calendar tile. It's the most personalized device I've ever seen.

Of course, absolutely none of that would come across demoing a phone at a store for a couple minutes. Instead you'd get a sterile, disconnected experience. Simply because the device isn't your phone. It is a soulless display waiting for you to bring it to life.

I was very much entertained by the comments on that article :lol Truly the troll of the decade.

Look at him smirking at us.

 

[brotkasten]

I was very much entertained by the comments on that article :lol Truly the troll of the decade.

Look at him smirking at us.

I hate that face. Someone is using this picture here as his avatar.

 

[Nero3000]

Here's an interesting take that I vehemently disagree with: Windows Phone Has No Soul

John Dvorak has always had a thing against Microsoft and Windows Phone 7. He was on a TWIT show and anything that he has said about WP7 comes off to me as ignorant. I dont think that anyone who hasn't used WP7 properly for a fair amount of time should have a valid opinion (same to be said for everything).

 

[htcloverboy]

you know somehow I agree with him but I think he misses one point. Windows 7 might be a perfect system with perfect features but the reason why it failed so hard so far is, in my opinion, that the system is to perfect to be personal. A smartphone is much more then just a phone and if it doesnt feel like it is YOUR smartphone, i think many wont be able to like it. Every single device looks the same and it doesnt look attractive from a visual point of view, just perfectly organized.

You could say the same for the iPhone but on the iPhone you can choose your own icons and folders for every single page. You can add your own BG and stuff and so the phone gets more personal. I had W7 on my HD2 for somedays and i hated the fact, that couldnt really make it my own system, my own smartphone.

 

[show me your skeleton]

99% of people would just make it fucking ugly anyway.

 

[Nero3000]

you know somehow I agree with him but I think he misses one point. Windows 7 might be a perfect system with perfect features but the reason why it failed so hard so far is, in my opinion, that the system is to perfect to be personal. A smartphone is much more then just a phone and if it doesnt feel like it is YOUR smartphone, i think many wont be able to like it. Every single device looks the same and it doesnt look attractive from a visual point of view, just perfectly organized.

You could say the same for the iPhone but on the iPhone you can choose your own icons and folders for every single page. You can add your own BG and stuff and so the phone gets more personal. I had W7 on my HD2 for somedays and i hated the fact, that couldnt really make it my own system, my own smartphone.

Completely disagree with you there. When i look at my home screen I see my friends photos coming up on the people tile, the artist i listened to on the train today, the time of my next train home, my next meeting, my xbox avatar, my favourite website, my photo, my most contacted people, my favourite playlist etc.

I think that while the look is consistent, Windows Phone is about bubbling up your personal information, so while at a glance all phones look consistent, no two phones are the same.

 

[htcloverboy]

99% of people would just make it fucking ugly anyway.

99% of the people make wrong choices as well, but they would still not want to someone else to make the right choices for them, even if they know they will benefit from it.

Completely disagree with you there. When i look at my home screen I see my friends photos coming up on the people tile, the artist i listened to on the train today, the time of my next train home, my next meeting, my xbox avatar, my favourite website, my photo, my most contacted people, my favourite playlist etc.

I think that while the look is consistent, Windows Phone is about bubbling up your personal information, so while at a glance all phones look consistent, no two phones are the same.

I might be wrong but did you ask for it? Or did you decide which information is shown and which not? What I mean is did you participate to this process in anyway? Or did the system just do it for you?

 

[strata8]

you know somehow I agree with him but I think he misses one point. Windows 7 might be a perfect system with perfect features but the reason why it failed so hard so far is, in my opinion, that the system is to perfect to be personal. A smartphone is much more then just a phone and if it doesnt feel like it is YOUR smartphone, i think many wont be able to like it. Every single device looks the same and it doesnt look attractive from a visual point of view, just perfectly organized.

You could say the same for the iPhone but on the iPhone you can choose your own icons and folders for every single page. You can add your own BG and stuff and so the phone gets more personal. I had W7 on my HD2 for somedays and i hated the fact, that couldnt really make it my own system, my own smartphone.

I have to agree with him too, to a point, despite the rather brusque way he presents it. I'm all for ideas like this:

The start screen customisation at the moment is really limited. Sure, you can move tiles, but what of it? They're too big to arrange into any order than suits your needs.

 

[Nero3000]

I might be wrong but did you ask for it? Or did you decide which information is shown and which not? What I mean is did you participate to this process in anyway? Or did the system just do it for you?

For 3rd party apps, yes that is a choice. Favourite contacts/playlists/websites/photos are also a choice. The only thing that would not be a "choice" would be the people tile and calendar tile.

Admittedly I would be an advanced user, and understood that by putting my credentials into the phone that this information would bubble up . If i didn't want it there i would not put my information in.

I suppose that if I did not want it there, i could just delete all the tiles and live out of the application list.

 

[Anno]

you know somehow I agree with him but I think he misses one point. Windows 7 might be a perfect system with perfect features but the reason why it failed so hard so far is, in my opinion, that the system is to perfect to be personal. A smartphone is much more then just a phone and if it doesnt feel like it is YOUR smartphone, i think many wont be able to like it. Every single device looks the same and it doesnt look attractive from a visual point of view, just perfectly organized.

You could say the same for the iPhone but on the iPhone you can choose your own icons and folders for every single page. You can add your own BG and stuff and so the phone gets more personal. I had W7 on my HD2 for somedays and i hated the fact, that couldnt really make it my own system, my own smartphone.

I could not disagree more. My iPhone never felt different at all from someone else's iPhone. No one ever would've known it was mine if they found it on the street without a lot of digging. Just looking at the home screen of my Surround you see a picture of me and my girlfriend, you see photos of my friends and family, what I've most recently listened to, my investment portfolio...tons of stuff. Unless we're just talking about background pictures or something then I really don't see your point - a smartphone OS has never felt so personal as this one.

 

[kinggroin]

I thought it was constant on my wife's Focus, but it didn't fade in at all when I played with it today.

Here's an interesting take that I vehemently disagree with: Windows Phone Has No Soul

I suppose I can understand his position going from an experience from a demo unit, but once your profile is on the device it takes on your 'soul'. There's no mistaking my wife's phone for anyone else's. It's her favorite personal pictures cascading down the photo tile, her friends and family lighting up the contact's tile, her avatar peaking her head out on the Live tile, and her appointments populating the calendar tile. It's the most personalized device I've ever seen.

Of course, absolutely none of that would come across demoing a phone at a store for a couple minutes. Instead you'd get a sterile, disconnected experience. Simply because the device isn't your phone. It is a soulless display waiting for you to bring it to life.

You shoule see the mess that is my sister's homescreens on her epic 4g. THATS personalization, right down to her tacky lady bug live wallpaper, headache inducing transition animations, and scrolling marquee widget pulling hollywood gossip feeds.

 

[show me your skeleton]

You shoule see the mess that is my sister's homescreens on her epic 4g. THATS personalization, right down to her tacky lady bug live wallpaper, headache inducing transition animations, and scrolling marquee widget pulling hollywood gossip feeds.

bingo!

still, i would love if each app had a single and double wide tile, allowing more info (or just more space for photos) depending on what i wanted.
the calendar could be minimised to one square, showing me just the date.
phone could be double-wide to show me my last calls, any messages etc.
a pinned person could have a constant photo plus their last message/update, or a larger photo space.
xbox live could show me my online friends.
music & videos could show me my playlist.

when you add a tile to the start screen you'd be able to decide on which size you wanted.

 

[htcloverboy]

You shoule see the mess that is my sister's homescreens on her epic 4g. THATS personalization, right down to her tacky lady bug live wallpaper, headache inducing transition animations, and scrolling marquee widget pulling hollywood gossip feeds.

You say because one can mess up the Desktop of an android phone, you should make it totally like WP7? I think the possibility of stuff like this is worth much more then having a non customizable but well organized desktop.

ps. this is just an example of what one can do!

 

[strata8]

So I noticed that push email ('retrieve items as they arrive') isn't enabled by default in the Windows Live account settings. Are there any disadvantages to enabling it?

 

[kazinova]

Small things that I noticed in Mango 7712:

• Downloading an album on Zune pass is no longer hidden in a long press menu.
  
• The long press shortcut to settings is gone in People and other hubs.
  
• They added an arrow to the camera app to help people find their camera roll.
  
• Pictures hub starts an updated list of "camera roll, albums, date, people" instead of the totally unhelpful "all, date, people"
  
• Camera roll seems to default to most recent instead of first more often.
  
• Added a password delay on screen lock (this might have been a NoDo or v1 feature that I didn't notice at the time) making the password only be required after 30, 60, 90... seconds of being locked.
  
• You can turn off the shutter sound for the camera in the ringtones+sounds menu.
  
• Option to be able to hide contacts from people hub list, can't figure out how to hide them. Would be a nice way to remove the joke accounts that I follow from my contacts list.

I'll post more as I find 'em.

 

[show me your skeleton]

Small things that I noticed in Mango 7712:

• Option to be able to hide contacts from people hub list, can't figure out how to hide them. Would be a nice way to remove the joke accounts that I follow from my contacts list.

I'll post more as I find 'em.

go to settings, the applications, then people.
you can filter the contacts and remove accounts. it doesn't seem to let you take out individual people though, short of deleting them.

 

[Blablurn]

and you can set mp3s as ringtones with mango right?

 

[kazinova]

go to settings, the applications, then people.
you can filter the contacts and remove accounts. it doesn't seem to let you take out individual people though, short of deleting them.

Yeah, I just got that going, I removed Facebook and Twitter this way. You can still search for them if you notice a Twitter account wasn't linked with a friend and can then link them.

I really wish you could hide individual contacts as well. But, hey, there's always Apollo

On a related note: I'm glad I'm never go back to NoDo, Mango is roughly infinitely-percent better. Hopefully this dev-unlock upgrade will have fixed my Walshing woes as well.

 

[brotkasten]

and you can set mp3s as ringtones with mango right?

Yes and no.

You can use custom ringtones in Mango, but the mp3 files need to be trimmed and encoded.
Read this for more information: http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/windowsphone/archive/2011/06/28/ringing-in-mango.aspx

 

[H3xum]

I am so sick and tired of receiving pics via text messages and getting the click here for media message on my Focus.

I click it and it'll say it's downloading it then hours later I MIGHT get the picture, it's terribly frustrating. I intentionally leave my phone unlocked during the "downloading" so I'm not dropping wifi or anything and it still makes no difference

 

[jagowar]

I might be wrong but did you ask for it? Or did you decide which information is shown and which not? What I mean is did you participate to this process in anyway? Or did the system just do it for you?

Once you add the app you can't do a whole lot to change what shows (in the builtin apps.. you can change stuff in 3rd party apps) but you can move all the tiles around and remove any tile from the start screen (even the builtin hubs if you wanted to)..... that last part is really useful for removing the crapware that comes preinstalled (takes literally 5 seconds to remove all at&t's junk). There is far more customization that you can do vs. the public perception of the phone and its "lack of customization". I do think the suggestion above was good where each tile would have a choice of a single wide or double wide option (to get more info).... but we are talking pretty small tweaks here.

That picture you linked me is a good example of what is "wrong" with android imo..... sure its great you can do that but to me its more a problem of the underlying android os being horrible from a UI perspective that people are DESPERATE to change it. You aren't getting that same perception from this thread are you? Users who have wp7/metroUI are not looking to drastically change it..... we already have a close to perfect interface.

 

[VanMardigan]

ps. this is just an example of what one can do!

You get that in Android, but do you need the same capability out of every OS? I don't think so. There's only so much you can allow in terms of customization before the underlying design philosophy is broken. Now, some people don't care about that, and that's ok. But some people DO care about consistency, flow, UI design, etc. Android's customization abilities are also its biggest downfall. You get the ugly, slow skins, you get folks adding widgets and wallpapers that slow the phone down and murder their battery life. I've had to help non-techie folks find important icons/folders/apps that get lost when they try to customize. All that randomness is the reason many Android phones with much better specs than Windows Phones run much worse, because there is just too much to account for.

There is upside to being able to customize to your heart's content, and that's an important part of Android for some folks, but don't expect Windows Phone 7 to be the same. And every time you ask for one more thing to change, alter, customize, etc. you are one step removed from a cohesive UI experience. I always get heat for saying this, but if that's what you want (the imo ugly ass pic you posted), get Android. Let the Windows Phone folks continue to focus on smoothness, cohesiveness, consistency, and user experience.

 

[Ocho]

So I noticed that push email ('retrieve items as they arrive') isn't enabled by default in the Windows Live account settings. Are there any disadvantages to enabling it?

Battery life is reduced.

 

[antiquegamer]

^ Agree with everything VanMardigan said...

I don't know how anyone can claim that iOS is unique or full of "soul". It's the most boring and generic looking UI ... it's essentially Windows or Mac computer interface litter with bunch of square icons. And don't let me get start on that stupid icons in an icon.

What wp7 could use more is more theme colors .

 

[VanMardigan]

Oh snap!! So I read an article over on WinSuperSite that talked about the Amazon Cloud Player not working on Windows Phone, and I asked Paul Thurrott over Twitter whether he got it to work on the updated beta build for mango. He replied that he couldnt' get it to work, which I found weird, so I shot a quick (and yes blurry and crappy) video with my wife's phone and uploaded it to Youtube, then sent Thurrott the link via Twitter. He didn't reply and I forgot about the whole thing, but today while checking out my RSS feeds, I noticed my video being linked from WMPoweruser.com. Lol, I have no idea where they saw the video or got the link from, but my video is almost up to 1k views. :0 I'm one step removed from being a minor internet celebrity y'all!!

 

[mm04]

^ Agree with everything VanMardigan said...

I don't know how anyone can claim that iOS is unique or full of "soul". It's the most boring and generic looking UI ... it's essentially Windows or Mac computer interface litter with bunch of square icons. And don't let me get start on that stupid icons in an icon.

What wp7 could use more is more theme colors .

I agree too. It seems that as far as interface options, iOS and Android are on the complete opposite of the spectrum. iOS is boring. It looks just like my co-workers desktops who have a million icons on it because they don't believe in organization. I chose WP7 because I liked the UI much better than the other two. It's just more aesthetically pleasing.

 

[venne]

You get that in Android, but do you need the same capability out of every OS? I don't think so. There's only so much you can allow in terms of customization before the underlying design philosophy is broken. Now, some people don't care about that, and that's ok. But some people DO care about consistency, flow, UI design, etc. Android's customization abilities are also its biggest downfall. You get the ugly, slow skins, you get folks adding widgets and wallpapers that slow the phone down and murder their battery life. I've had to help non-techie folks find important icons/folders/apps that get lost when they try to customize. All that randomness is the reason many Android phones with much better specs than Windows Phones run much worse, because there is just too much to account for.

There is upside to being able to customize to your heart's content, and that's an important part of Android for some folks, but don't expect Windows Phone 7 to be the same. And every time you ask for one more thing to change, alter, customize, etc. you are one step removed from a cohesive UI experience. I always get heat for saying this, but if that's what you want (the imo ugly ass pic you posted), get Android. Let the Windows Phone folks continue to focus on smoothness, cohesiveness, consistency, and user experience.

I don't think people remember that Windows Mobile was essentially Android before Android even existed. There's a reason Microsoft moved away from that model.

 

[brotkasten]

I don't think people remember that Windows Mobile was essentially Android before Android even existed. There's a reason Microsoft moved away from that model.

Oh, I remember it very well. I had a Tytn and a Touch Diamond and when it was time to get a new phone, I played with the G1 and Hero, browsed the forums at XDA and came to the conclusion: "It's the same shit I already have.". So I waited a bit more, got a Zune HD, almost bought an iPhone 3G and then MWC came, MS unveiled WP7S and it was clear what I'll get.

 

[kehs]

I don't think people remember that Windows Mobile was essentially Android before Android even existed. There's a reason Microsoft moved away from that model.

Moved away from what model? Windows Mobile wasn't customizable by the user, at all. WM 6.5 started to add some small tweaks, but anybody who wanted to customize beyong prebuild color schemes had to literally modify xml files to change things to their likings.

The only thing WP changed was whether OEM could futz around with the skin.

 

[brotkasten]

Moved away from what model? Windows Mobile wasn't customizable by the user, at all. WM 6.5 started to add some small tweaks, but anybody who wanted to customize beyong prebuild color schemes had to literally modify xml files to change things to their likings.

The only thing WP changed was whether OEM could futz around with the skin.

You could flash different ROMs, install different home screens, change the wallpaper, install better file and bluetooth managers (because you had to). How is that not customizable?

 

[Klocker]

...
There is upside to being able to customize to your heart's content, and that's an important part of Android for some folks, but don't expect Windows Phone 7 to be the same. And every time you ask for one more thing to change, alter, customize, etc. you are one step removed from a cohesive UI experience. I always get heat for saying this, but if that's what you want (the imo ugly ass pic you posted), get Android. Let the Windows Phone folks continue to focus on smoothness, cohesiveness, consistency, and user experience.

yes.

 

[venne]

Moved away from what model? Windows Mobile wasn't customizable by the user, at all. WM 6.5 started to add some small tweaks, but anybody who wanted to customize beyong prebuild color schemes had to literally modify xml files to change things to their likings.

The only thing WP changed was whether OEM could futz around with the skin.

You should check out what XDA did with Windows Mobile, hence what was possible for the end user to do.

Here's some other things that Windows Mobile did before Android: side loading apps, never knowing when/if your device would be upgraded, no oversight on hardware, concurrently selling phones running different versions of the OS, and collecting licensing fees for Microsoft.

 

[kehs]

You should check out what XDA did with Windows Mobile, hence what was possible for the end user to do.

Here's some other things that Windows Mobile did before Android: side loading apps, never knowing when/if your device would be upgraded, no oversight on hardware, concurrently selling phones running different versions of the OS, and collecting licensing fees for Microsoft.

I'm well aware, I used to dick around with xml files myself.

That's why I think it's hilarious comparing Android customizing of the homescreen to the "customizability" of WinMo.

 

[show me your skeleton]

I am so sick and tired of receiving pics via text messages and getting the click here for media message on my Focus.

I click it and it'll say it's downloading it then hours later I MIGHT get the picture, it's terribly frustrating. I intentionally leave my phone unlocked during the "downloading" so I'm not dropping wifi or anything and it still makes no difference

pretty sure wifi will never be used, mms use the telephony service.

 

[thirty]

nokia microsoft event 8-17, save the date friends.

 

[Klocker]

Nokia Revises Its Product Naming Conventions

Here it is,
Nokia will drop the alphabets completely in the product names such as Nokia C2, Nokia E6.
New product names will be ‘Nokia’ followed by three digit number, for example Nokia 500, Nokia 900.
The first number in the three digit number is the relative price/feature point. So Nokia 9xx will be high end phones while Nokia 1xx will be the most cheapest phones.
So the last two digits is the unique identifier to a phone, its as simple as that.

What do you think of this new naming scheme? Do you think its better than naming every phone such as Mozart, Trophy, Focus, Quantum, Optimus, etc.

Source: Nokia Image Credit: CNET

 

[thirty]

Nokia Revises Its Product Naming Conventions

guess I'll wait for the Nokia 999

 

[Dipswitch]

nokia microsoft event 8-17, save the date friends.

Odd that it's being held at Gamescom. Wonder what the significance of that is?

 

[antiquegamer]

guess I'll wait for the Nokia 999

I would get Nokia 666

 

[thirty]

Odd that it's being held at Gamescom. Wonder what the significance of that is?

u r right. would be cool if a halo game was announced. gears of war side game? something interesting other than that new splinter cell game already shown.