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Windows Phone 7 |OT|

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Treo360 said:
Snap you're in the US? T-mobile did this for you?
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Nope, not in the US. T-Mobile wouldn't offer things like that anywhere in the world, I think. :D

Anyways; the phone is amazing! Installed a couple of Apps and tried everything and it's just freaking fast. Sure, my last phone was an iPhone 3G, but the speed is ridiculous. NeoGAF's Mobile Site doesn't look too great, though.
 
snap0212 said:
Nope, not in the US. T-Mobile wouldn't offer things like that anywhere in the world, I think. :D

Anyways; the phone is amazing! Installed a couple of Apps and tried everything and it's just freaking fast. Sure, my last phone was an iPhone 3G, but the speed is ridiculous. NeoGAF's Mobile Site doesn't look too great, though.
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Damn it! I was just about to call and cancel! As for Gaf, it looks fine to me, then again I use metro browser, so maybe that's why.
 
Iced_Eagle said:
I had that happen twice with two different cases. If it was an update, I uninstalled and reinstalled it. Or else I restarted the phone.
Click to expand...

Managed to remove most of them from the download list now, which didn't do anything before. Maybe it needed time to grow or something? :D

Edit: Having managed to remove some of the corrupt downloads, they cannot be downloaded again. The button just says "Check download", and leads to a list with "no downloads". Smooth. :D
 
Treo360 said:
Damn it! I was just about to call and cancel! As for Gaf, it looks fine to me, then again I use metro browser, so maybe that's why.
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I'll download the metro browser later. Seems to be better than the Internet Explorer. Do you have the HD7 as well? If you; could you tell me how scratch-resistant the screen is? I've used my 3G for years and have never had any problems with scratches on the display, but I don't know about other phones. Not that I want to rub some sand over the display, but it'd certainly be nice to know that I don't need to buy a screen protector before I start to really use it.
 
snap0212 said:
I'll download the metro browser later. Seems to be better than the Internet Explorer. Do you have the HD7 as well? If you; could you tell me how scratch-resistant the screen is? I've used my 3G for years and have never had any problems with scratches on the display, but I don't know about other phones. Not that I want to rub some sand over the display, but it'd certainly be nice to know that I don't need to buy a screen protector before I start to really use it.
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I used it for a week without a screen protector and didn't get a scratch on it, not like I tried, but I'm not going to test my luck, It's already wrapped up in a nice zagg total body protective covering. The cool thing about the "zagg suit" is that it gives my HD7 a textured feel to it.
 
It'z time for some newz!

WP7 developers have finally access to download and sales data! At least some of them. Lets hope we get some numbers soon.
Developers can now get their Windows Phone 7 app download stats from Microsoft

The very popular casual game 'Angry Birds' is now definitely coming to WP7 and the dev has no beef with Microsoft at all. Microsoft just announced it 'a bit ahead of schedule'.
We’re actively looking at WP7, we have a very good relationship with Microsoft. They just announced our game for the platform a bit ahead of schedule.
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Angry Birds: More Than 12 Million Copies Sold (Le Web)

Karl Stricker, from the Xbox Live for WP7 team, confirmed 'Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst' for December 15th! Woot!
@EDDSfkoff Project Sunburst is planned for release on the 15th! I'll also update this coming weeks releases on Monday.
6:05 PM Dec 3rd via web in reply to EDDSfkoff
Click to expand...
https://twitter.com/KarlStricker/status/10877334982762496
 
Treo360 said:
I used it for a week without a screen protector and didn't get a scratch on it, not like I tried, but I'm not going to test my luck, It's already wrapped up in a nice zagg total body protective covering. The cool thing about the "zagg suit" is that it gives my HD7 a textured feel to it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply! I think I'll use my iPhone for work today, but I certainly fell in love with the OS. Sure, the problems I have with Podcasts and XBL not being available in my country are still present, but it's still better than the iOS (in my opinion). I still have to figure out a few things (my contact list is completely f'ed up), but man, this thing is amazing. Sorry for acting like a 12-year old on christmas, but that's just how I am whenever I buy myself something new. :lol
 
brotkasten said:
It'z time for some newz!

WP7 developers have finally access to download and sales data! At least some of them. Lets hope we get some numbers soon.
Developers can now get their Windows Phone 7 app download stats from Microsoft
Click to expand...

And here they are.

Another interesting note is that ad revenue is putting out some real revenue and that model seems to be effective. Check this Tweet from Roger Peters noting that the daily ad revenue of a simple magic black ball app is exceeding the total sales revenue of a much more complex game:
image_thumb41.png

Also, Justin Angel’s Neurons app (which is free and streams TED Talks, The RSA (and RSA Animate), FORA.tv and Science Dump to your Windows Phone 7) is seeing about 2,000 downloads in a month. Other devs are also pleased with these initial numbers based on the amount of time the platform has been available.
Click to expand...
Mobility Digest: WP7 App Sales Data Yields Interesting Results
 
most payed apps are only 99 cents, so yeah it probably would be better off having it free with ad support.
 
great news day this morn for wp7; angry birds, crackdown release date confirmed, and sales tracking showing wp7 apps being profitable.
 
thirty said:
great news day this morn for wp7; angry birds, crackdown release date confirmed, and sales tracking showing wp7 apps being profitable.
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Yeah great news all around. I still feel MS needs to leverage XBL being on the phones more.
 
crackdown is going to be impressive. it's going to be one of those apps/games that will make droid/apple fans green with envy. I can't wait to destroy the blvd outside my office building.
 
I'll assume that Microsoft is content with the current state of things.

They launched an unfinished OS on middling hardware from tentative partners.

I doubt anyone involved believed it was going to set the world on fire from the get go.

However, Windows Phone 7 makes a great first impression. Everyone that sees my wife's phone is impressed. It's a good soft launch, they just need to keep their foot on the accelerator.
 
I'm in the market for a new phone and just looked at the Samsung Focus. Seems really good but coming from an Iphone 4, it seems kind of big (to put in my front jean pocket). I'm not really liking the all plastic shell either.

Is there any news of when the next batch of phones are coming out for the US? If it's not too far off maybe I'll hold off for now.
 
If it helps, I don't even notice the phone in my pocket. It's only marginally bigger than the iPhone. Unless we're talking about extremes, thickness is usually the major factor and the Focus is pretty close to Apple in that respect.

As for the plastic - I can't say I've ever really noticed it.
 
Raistlin said:
If it helps, I don't even notice the phone in my pocket. It's only marginally bigger than the iPhone. Unless we're talking about extremes, thickness is usually the major factor and the Focus is pretty close to Apple in that respect.

As for the plastic - I can't say I've ever really noticed it.
Click to expand...
same here and I have the HD7, I just don't notice it, there are times that I do the panic self pat down to make sure it's on me.
 
Otheradam said:
I'm in the market for a new phone and just looked at the Samsung Focus. Seems really good but coming from an Iphone 4, it seems kind of big (to put in my front jean pocket). I'm not really liking the all plastic shell either.
Click to expand...

What's wrong with the iPhone 4 you had, it already crapped out? Seems a bit quick to switch off. I figure by the time you hit the one year mark with the iPhone, we'll either have or know about the next batch of WP7 devices.
 
Raistlin said:
If it helps, I don't even notice the phone in my pocket. It's only marginally bigger than the iPhone. Unless we're talking about extremes, thickness is usually the major factor and the Focus is pretty close to Apple in that respect.

As for the plastic - I can't say I've ever really noticed it.
Click to expand...

Plastic bothered me in theory, and in reviews. It's honestly a non factor in use. You can throw me in the category of just not noticing it.

Plus I LOVE how light my phone feels.
 
Treo360 said:
same here and I have the HD7, I just don't notice it, there are times that I do the panic self pat down to make sure it's on me.
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:lol yeah, me too




Brettison said:
Plastic bothered me in theory, and in reviews. It's honestly a non factor in use. You can throw me in the category of just not noticing it.

Plus I LOVE how light my phone feels.
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Agree completely.

I think some reviewers confused light with cheap. I love the form-factor of this thing. It's my favorite of any phone I've tested. Probably the only potential complaint is using capacitive system buttons. While it works in theory, at times you accidentally hit them.
 
venne said:
I'll assume that Microsoft is content with the current state of things.

They launched an unfinished OS on middling hardware from tentative partners.

I doubt anyone involved believed it was going to set the world on fire from the get go.

However, Windows Phone 7 makes a great first impression. Everyone that sees my wife's phone is impressed. It's a good soft launch, they just need to keep their foot on the accelerator.
Click to expand...

Why does everyone keep saying it's a soft launch? If we're comparing it to the iPhone, sure. However, for a new platform, from what I've read, it's been doing better than Android did when it launched, and we all know how it went from there. WP7 is just waiting for its one big seller, aka Droid, to make it seem like it's in the same field as the others. Without official sales data, we can't really say how it's doing (regardless of the speculation in the press).
 
I think Samsung had a better balance of materials with the Captivate, since that had the metal back. I think the Focus is lighter, though. The build quality is fine on both, though some people are turned off by the plastic.
 
Raistlin said:
:lol yeah, me too





Agree completely.

I think some reviewers confused light with cheap. I love the form-factor of this thing. It's my favorite of any phone I've tested. Probably the only potential complaint is using capacitive system buttons. While it works in theory, at times you accidentally hit them.
Click to expand...

I wish the search button had a longer time to press on it. Playing that air traffic game I have it the search button way too many a time, thus sending me to bing and me losing all my progress.
 
VanMardigan said:
I think Samsung had a better balance of materials with the Captivate, since that had the metal back. I think the Focus is lighter, though. The build quality is fine on both, though some people are turned off by the plastic.
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Personally I don't think the Focus feels cheap. It feels very solid. To each their own though.
 
I guess I consider it a soft launch simply because the hardware is not cutting edge and the OS is barebones. I think it's pretty clear that they wanted to ship by the holidays so they laid the foundation for a tremendous OS and built it on an established, if slightly dated, chipset.

I don't think it's a bad thing, though. Nine out of ten people won't care/even notice that it isn't the latest and greatest hardware. It feels fast when you use it. It's preferable to launch with something you know will work than to launch with something you hope will work. The last thing they needed with their mobile rebirth is a bunch of horror stories about stuff not working or crashing. That would have been fatal.

All and all it is a solid offering and leaves me hopeful for better products in the future. It's not for me now, but it is fine for my wife. There are a couple of things she misses from her iPhone (visual voicemail and custom ringtones), but there is a lot she likes better (email, live tiles, voice commands, how personal the device feels).
 
Treo360 said:
I wish the search button had a longer time to press on it. Playing that air traffic game I have it the search button way too many a time, thus sending me to bing and me losing all my progress.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I kinda wish they were physical buttons on the Focus.
 
I wouldn't consider the OS "barebones" at all. It's an incredibly widespread platform that covers tons of features extremely well. It's definitely more capable than the first (or second) release of iOS and Android, and those certainly won't considered "barebones".

It needs features and plenty of bug fixes, but for my last 2-3 weeks using my Focus, it's a very, very full-of-bones device.


What will be interesting is if Microsoft can get WP7 on Verizon before Apple. While it won't convince any hold-overs, it may grab a good amount of sales in a very short period of time.
 
dLMN8R said:
What will be interesting is if Microsoft can get WP7 on Verizon before Apple. While it won't convince any hold-overs, it may grab a good amount of sales in a very short period of time.
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I agree. Microsoft needs to get its ass on the carriers iPhone isn't on yet. I already mentioned this, but even though Canada is a small market, they could really make headway here by putting their T-Mobile offerings on Wind and Mobilicity. The two carriers have a lot of buzz due to being new with super cheap pricing. They use the same frequencies as T-Mobile USA and they are the only carriers in Canada without the iPhone 4. Their flagship phones as a result are the BlackBerry Bold 9700 (not 9780), BlackBerry Curve 3G, and Nexus One. All fairly old phones. Microsoft could be THE phone everyone talks about switching to if they made the HTC HD7 or Dell Venue Pro available on it.

Not to mention Android has almost no traction here making it easier to gain a foothold than in the US. It's all iPhones and BlackBerries.
 
VanMardigan said:
What's wrong with the iPhone 4 you had, it already crapped out? Seems a bit quick to switch off. I figure by the time you hit the one year mark with the iPhone, we'll either have or know about the next batch of WP7 devices.
Click to expand...

Nothing was wrong, it got stolen! I just bought a Samsung Focus. It seems okay, it might grow on me. I don't know if I'll miss all the apps I had on facebook. I guess I have a month to test this thing out before I have to keep it.
 
I won an LG Quantum on Ebay for $300 shipped, I figure that's the cheapest way without having to use my upgrade. I can't wait until I get it next week, I really enjoyed playing with the OS when my sister had it. Now I just need to sell the iPhone 3GS before my wife kills me. :lol

My Nexus One was dying, so my options were to go back to using iOS or selling that backup phone and trying something new. I had an iPhone for two years and I'm super bored of the OS, WP7 is the only thing out there that feels new and fresh imo.
 
Mr. Snrub said:
Yeah, I kinda wish they were physical buttons on the Focus.
Click to expand...
Overall, I probably do too. But I would argue that is isn't a simple love/hate sort of situation. There are plenty of times I'm very happy they are capacitive.
 
Raistlin said:
Overall, I probably do too. But I would argue that is isn't a simple love/hate sort of situation. There are plenty of times I'm very happy they are capacitive.
Click to expand...

I really like the capcitive touch most of the time. I think it's just a little too sensitive...

As far as Focus plastic feel, I thought it really is ugly but I have grown to love it and as people said it really don't feel cheap. I like that it's really light and it does not feel cheap in your hand.
 
dLMN8R said:
I wouldn't consider the OS "barebones" at all. It's an incredibly widespread platform that covers tons of features extremely well. It's definitely more capable than the first (or second) release of iOS and Android, and those certainly won't considered "barebones".

It needs features and plenty of bug fixes, but for my last 2-3 weeks using my Focus, it's a very, very full-of-bones device.
Click to expand...

We must have a different definition of bare-bones.

I take it to mean "the essential structure of something, without any elaboration."

You seem to agree that it's missing features and compare it favorably to years old versions of operating systems. I don't believe it to be a worthwhile exercise to compare WP7 to things that have long been replaced. Compared to the current competition, WP7 is bare-bones.

In my opinion the look and feel of the OS are best in class, but the absolute functionality is limited in regards to its competition. Again, that isn't to say it isn't functional and cannot change. It is and it will. However, the current state of WP7 functionality is very basic. Thus, bare-bones.
 
venne said:
We must have a different definition of bare-bones.

I take it to mean "the essential structure of something, without any elaboration."

You seem to agree that it's missing features and compare it favorably to years old versions of operating systems. I don't believe it to be a worthwhile exercise to compare WP7 to things that have long been replaced. Compared to the current competition, WP7 is bare-bones.

In my opinion the look and feel of the OS are best in class, but the absolute functionality is limited in regards to its competition. Again, that isn't to say it isn't functional and cannot change. It is and it will. However, the current state of WP7 functionality is very basic. Thus, bare-bones.
Click to expand...
I agree with this mindset. Unless you want to always keep comparing the OS to 2 year old versions of competitors, it's a pointless exercise to compare today's Windows Phone 7 with iOS 1.0 and Android 1.0. Should the 2012 Windows Phone be compared to iOS 3.0?
 
numble said:
I agree with this mindset. Unless you want to always keep comparing the OS to 2 year old versions of competitors, it's a pointless exercise to compare today's Windows Phone 7 with iOS 1.0 and Android 1.0. Should the 2012 Windows Phone be compared to iOS 3.0?
Click to expand...
There are certainly areas where wp7 stands up well, even compared to current versions of android and ios though. The hubs are really nice concepts, and the melding of all your pictures and all of your friends into hubs will likely be copied by the other os'. Zune pass is also a superior software solution to rhaosody imo, and xbl integration puts it in a nicer place in terms of gaming.

Microsoft office its obviously another big plus for those of us who have to do work in these things, and one note specifically is a real powerful platform. This isn't a situation where wp7 is just lagging everywhere, so I would also dispute the bare bones description.
 
snap0212 said:
I'm thinking about buying this one, but is there a chance that Mozilla might bring their own browser? I've spent way to much money on Apps for my iPhone and I don't really want to pay for a browser now to pay again in a couple of weeks. :-)
Click to expand...
No chance you'll get Fennec/Firefox Mobile or something from Opera anytime soon. Both companies, Mozilla and Opera, said they'd need some sort of native development kit. Microsoft stated they wouldn't release a NDK for the public, but they would make exceptions. While it's theoretically possible, no announcements have been made.

Latest statements:
Opera:
It has been rumored that initially Microsoft isn't open to the idea of having a choice of browsers available, which isn't exactly the news we at Opera want to hear, but I'm confident that we'll find a way to get the speed of Opera Mini on this platform, just as we did with the iPhone.

"It is unlikely, Opera would have to recode everything to get it on WP7. (It all has to be written in Silverlight)"

If the platform becomes the slightest bit popular, Opera would make it happen. It's our mission to get every connected device a decent browser. The main issue is more about whether Microsoft will allow it or not. If they don't, that might not bode well for them from an antitrust perspective. I guess only time will tell. Nobody expected Apple to allow Opera Mini either.
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http://my.opera.com/portalnews/blog/2010/10/15/windows-phone-7-what-you-need-to-know

Mozilla:
[On Windows Phone 7] they said, 'You can use stuff in Silverlight if you want, but you have to come through our app store, and we get to veto.' We're not going to bother. They're gonna ship some version of IE, which is gonna be terrible...
Click to expand...
http://gizmodo.com/5581880/burning-brighter-the-future-of-firefox-browsers-and-the-web
 
[On Windows Phone 7] they said, 'You can use stuff in Silverlight if you want, but you have to come through our app store, and we get to veto.' We're not going to bother. They're gonna ship some version of IE, which is gonna be terrible...
Click to expand...
:lol
 
I sold my Focus. WP7 has been really nice, much better than I expected. But I need a decent browser... and once I discovered that you could flash the Galaxy tab and use it as phone, I figured I'll get both a 7" tablet and a taste of Froyo with one bite. Gingerbread appears promising so fingers crossed it'll be available soon. The GT is expensive but still cheaper than a Focus + Nook color combo. I'll miss Zune Pass but I hear it can be accessed from a browser :P
 
Charred Greyface said:
I sold my Focus. WP7 has been really nice, much better than I expected. But I need a decent browser... and once I discovered that you could flash the Galaxy tab and use it as phone, I figured I'll get both a 7" tablet and a taste of Froyo with one bite. Gingerbread appears promising so fingers crossed it'll be available soon. The GT is expensive but still cheaper than a Focus + Nook color combo. I'll miss Zune Pass but I hear it can be accessed from a browser :P
Click to expand...
If the browser supports Silverlight, sure.
 
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