• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Windows Phone 7 |OT|

Status
Not open for further replies.
I'm gonna pile on here: I just missed a very tender moment with my daughter coming up with a name for her sibling (my wife is pregnant). The video recorded without any audio, very likely the result of a known bug that MS has decided not to patch until some nebulous date in the near future rather than whenever they discovered and came up with the patch for it. Thanks, Microsoft!
 
Raistlin said:
If part of the improved Bing experience involves turn-by-turn navigation, I'll take it for now.
turn by turn, street slide, and more search options. that's not too much to ask for since it's already available on bing for iphone (except for turn by turn).
 
Brettison said:
Honestly though I can't think of why I'd want to jailbreak my phone? I get it if you want to do that on say android to get you back to stock or install an update your carrier hasn't pushed out yet. Plus iOS has a ton of homebrew apps.

I'm not seeing what cool things I'd really get with jailbreaking my WP7 device at the current time beyond if you wanted to take it to another network or something.
It allows the community to provide a ton of fixes while waiting for the Microsoft update. There are tons of homebrew patches for stuff that Palm only got around to fixing with webOS 2.0. If the community grows you'll also see some cool stuff as well. For example, the iPhone jailbreak community provided multitasking for apps over a year before Apple got around to it. Jailbreaking might not offer much at the outset, especially if the platform is locked down and the homebrew folks have to figure stuff on their own, but give it time and it's been very fruitful on almost all the platforms I've used.

giga said:
They need a better marketing campaign. Just copy Apple’s [URL="http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/ads.html”]iPhone ads[/URL] where you see the actual UI in action. That’s all people need to see to understand how much better the user experience is compared to Android.
They need to do some head-to-head UI videos comparing it with iOS and Android. As the underdog, they can only benefit from a visible fight. Especially as they have some features worth trumpeting.
 
Yeah, look at the moment VanMardigan lost because of a bug in WP7's video recorder. I don't know if Microsoft provides camera APIs to developers but a jailbroken phone could potentially allow him to patch the bug or use a homebrew camera app for recording.
 
dream said:
Wow...a shockingly blunt article from Paul Thurott, of all people, about WP7 software updates. Or, rather, the lack of them.



http://windowsphonesecrets.com/2011/01/18/software-updates-windows-phone-vs-iphone/

I don't it's that shocking he has been very critical of Microsoft for the last few months (probably why lately they are not returning his call). I have to agree with him on the most part that Microsoft is way too slow when reacting to change in the market. They really need to understand that the market has change and their own model of trying to slap Windows structure onto everything hasn't work and will never work.

iOS , Chrome etc.. both company constantly put out fix and updates. First version of Chrome was crap but now it's my prefer browser .. iPhone was quickly fix and patch and features added as they can.

I can't browse MS own marketplace without having to reboot my phone. I feel like running software on Windows in 90's and have to reboot machine when it crash and freeze up....
 
thirty said:
yeah, i think we all understood and accepted why the hardware and software wasn't up to speed at launch but now, there are no excuses. MS needs to step on the gas and not let up or they'll lose the mobile space forever.

i remember playing around with the G2 in october and came away unimpressed. 3 months later i play with the my touch 4G with a faster processor, more ram, and a much improved t-mobile hspa+ network and it blew the doors out of my hd7 in terms of speed. 3 months, this is how fast things can change; new hardware and faster networks. MS is delusional if they think their current crop of wp7 phones can keep consumer's interest until the mango software/hardware update.

sorry to sound desperate but this is what i feel is the reality of things. here's hoping MS shows off some amazing things in feb in that mobile conference. please show off a 3rd party multitasking app, an improved bing maps, and some new 4G hardware.

1st Android devices starting appearing in October 2008. The 1st one of real note, though, was the Motorolla Droid in November 2009. It was the first were people said "hey, this can compete with the iPhone." The Nexus One was a minor release as far as sales impact in January 2010. Then, come May 2010, their were a flurry of amazing Android devices that came between then and October 2010. Since then, its been quiet.

So WP7 devices show up at the end of October with multiple devices that, relatively speaking, could compete with the iPhone and good Android devices IMMEDIATELY. And yet, 3 months later, we're desperate for MS to come out with new devices with better specs, a major update to the OS, etc??? REALLY?????

Tell me, people, honestly, what do you see in this picture? http://bit.ly/ft2xk4
 
VanMardigan said:
I'm gonna pile on here: I just missed a very tender moment with my daughter coming up with a name for her sibling (my wife is pregnant). The video recorded without any audio, very likely the result of a known bug that MS has decided not to patch until some nebulous date in the near future rather than whenever they discovered and came up with the patch for it. Thanks, Microsoft!

God, this really sucks. I'm sorry to hear that.

I agree with Thurrot's article. Microsoft should do updates whenever they can. I mean, it's really ridiculous and it would be like waiting for a Service Pack until a (major) bug or security hole in Windows gets fixed.

Meanwhile in Redmond: Microsoft releases OneNote app for iPhone, free for a 'limited time'

There goes an exclusive WP7 feature.
 
I know it's probably separate teams, but I does make me pissed that I see them putting effort into an iPhone app when their own platform obviously needs work.
 
Brettison said:
I know it's probably separate teams, but I does make me pissed that I see them putting effort into an iPhone app when their own platform obviously needs work.
It's like Microsoft's Mac division is in competition with the WP7 team. Oh wait, they probably are.
 
Based on Microsoft's CES keynote and Windows 8 apparently being their tablet OS, it kinda feels like they've already given up on WP7.

Aside from rapid updates, I think it would be smart to release a new Zune based on WP7 (iPod touch equivalent). Would certainly increase the userbase and drive more developer interest in the platform.
 
brotkasten said:
It's like Microsoft's Mac division is in competition with the WP7 team. Oh wait, they probably are.

As much as it sucks to see stuff like this come out for other platforms, it's pretty necessary. If Microsoft leaves a market as big as iOS or Android alone, someone will take their place. If something like Google Docs were allowed to take over the mobile scene, it would have major implications for Microsoft's desktop operation.
 
PG2G said:
As much as it sucks to see stuff like this come out for other platforms, it's pretty necessary. If Microsoft leaves a market as big as iOS or Android alone, someone will take their place. If something like Google Docs were allowed to take over the mobile scene, it would have major implications for Microsoft's desktop operation.

There's nothing wrong with Microsoft developing for other platforms but for the love of god, at least maintain feature parity on your own operating system.
 
dream said:
There's nothing wrong with Microsoft developing for other platforms but for the love of god, at least maintain feature parity on your own operating system.

Yeah. This and the bing streetview stuffs tells me WP7 itself isn't getting much love internally from Microsoft.
 
Sean said:
Based on Microsoft's CES keynote and Windows 8 apparently being their tablet OS, it kinda feels like they've already given up on WP7.
Who says a phone and tablet must use the same OS?
 
dream said:
People who don't want to deal with a fragmented ecosystem.
Who says you need to have one? If designed correctly, app compatibility or at least data can be maintained where it makes sense.

You can run iPhone apps on iPad, but people prefer to have the dedicated version that takes advantage of the extra real estate, etc. It probably won't be quite as easy, but it can be done. It's not like WP7 doesn't have Windows code in it.

Is Honeycomb going to run on phones? Not to my knowledge.
 
Totakeke said:
Yeah. This and the bing streetview stuffs tells me WP7 itself isn't getting much love internally from Microsoft.

I don't think its as much this as there is a small team in microsoft that only has to worry about one or two apps and the much larger phone team has to worry about a million other things besides getting their apps up to par. I fully expected this to take a year after launch before they would have parity between their apps. I am 100% confident they will eventually get there but until then you have to enjoy the features we do have.
 
Raistlin said:
Who says a phone and tablet must use the same OS?
Raistlin said:
Who says you need to have one? If designed correctly, app compatibility or at least data can be maintained where it makes sense.

You can run iPhone apps on iPad, but people prefer to have the dedicated version that takes advantage of the extra real estate, etc. It probably won't be quite as easy, but it can be done. It's not like WP7 doesn't have Windows code in it.

Is Honeycomb going to run on phones? Not to my knowledge.
Huh? The iPad and iPhone have the same OS. Matias Duarte, the head designer of the Honeycomb team, said the Honeycomb will run on phones as well. I'm not against having multiple OS but it's a bit concerning when Intel says they'll put Windows 8 on phones!
 
Charred Greyface said:
Huh? The iPad and iPhone have the same OS.
I know? Where did I say it didn't.

Matias Duarte, the head designer of the Honeycomb team, said the Honeycomb will run on phones as well.
I'm sure it can, but its UI, etc isn't meant for it.

I'm not against having multiple OS but it's a bit concerning when Intel says they'll put Windows 8 on phones!
It's a little early to read into that.
 
Charred is right...Honeycomb features are coming to Android for phones. So it's not quite the same Android build but it's still Android -- the same way iPad runs a different build of iOS but it's just iOS in the end.

Windows 8 and WP7 are two very different architectures. I guess it's possible for Windows 8 to emulate WP7 but who wants to do that on the types of form factors Windows 8 will run on?
 
Brettison said:
I know it's probably separate teams, but I does make me pissed that I see them putting effort into an iPhone app when their own platform obviously needs work.
The teams at Microsoft seem to talk to each other about as well as the teams at Sony.
 
I'm sure Bing and Office/OneNote are hard at work on updates for Windows Phone 7, rather than ignoring it in favor of the iPhone. But if the Windows Phone team isn't releasing updates, then there's no way for those updates that Bing and Office are working on to make it to the phone.

The communication is probably there, but the release isn't.
 
dream said:
Charred is right...Honeycomb features are coming to Android for phones. So it's not quite the same Android build but it's still Android -- the same way iPad runs a different build of iOS but it's just iOS in the end.
I said the UI and apps are different. Which is true.


Windows 8 and WP7 are two very different architectures. I guess it's possible for Windows 8 to emulate WP7 but who wants to do that on the types of form factors Windows 8 will run on?
Until we know more about Windows 8, this speculation seems silly. It's interesting that all we know about Windows 8 is that it will support ARM, curiously like Windows Embedded does. That could be a coincidence, but maybe not.

Would it really be shocking if the next Windows core kernel is shared between desktop, tablet, and embedded devices?

Technically iOS is derived from Mac OSX. They share the underlying Darwin foundation. That obviously doesn't make them directly compatible, but we have no idea what MS's intentions are for the future. Given the capabilities of today's smartphones and tablets, it only makes sense to move in a direction where as much of the underlying OS is shared as possible.

That said, is it necessarily required as long as the content/data can be shared?
 
Raistlin said:
Who says a phone and tablet must use the same OS?

It doesn't have to, but it would make a hell of a lot more sense IMO.

Windows Phone 7 already runs on ARM, was built from the ground-up for mobile devices and touch-screens and is already on the market. They have a viable solution in place but they're ignoring it and waiting two years for Windows 8 to release.

Meanwhile, their competitors in the tablet space (Apple at least) are selling millions of units.
 
Sean said:
It doesn't have to, but it would make a hell of a lot more sense IMO.

Windows Phone 7 already runs on ARM, was built from the ground-up for mobile devices and touch-screens and is already on the market. They have a viable solution in place but they're ignoring it and waiting two years for Windows 8 to release.

Meanwhile, their competitors in the tablet space (Apple at least) are selling millions of units.

Yeah, but it will never happen because Windows division of Microsoft have the largest pull and they wouldn't let WP division put other OS on tablet.

Microsoft still feel they pioneer the tablet market and think that they could still shoehorn destktop OS into the tablet despite the fact that Apple have proven otherwise. Google is smart enought to make Android version for tablet instead of making their Google OS into tablet OS.

Anyway, while I agree you could have Windows 8 on tablet and Windows Phone for phone but clearly the mobile trend is not that way. People love giant iPhone (ie iPad) and soon giant Android instead of miniaturized version of their desktop OS.
 
Darth Tigris said:
1st Android devices starting appearing in October 2008. The 1st one of real note, though, was the Motorolla Droid in November 2009. It was the first were people said "hey, this can compete with the iPhone." The Nexus One was a minor release as far as sales impact in January 2010. Then, come May 2010, their were a flurry of amazing Android devices that came between then and October 2010. Since then, its been quiet.

So WP7 devices show up at the end of October with multiple devices that, relatively speaking, could compete with the iPhone and good Android devices IMMEDIATELY. And yet, 3 months later, we're desperate for MS to come out with new devices with better specs, a major update to the OS, etc??? REALLY?????

Tell me, people, honestly, what do you see in this picture? http://bit.ly/ft2xk4

Well that how fast the mobile market is moving. I think Android ie Google have plenty to announce they just release the last update and now they have more update coming into the pipeline not to mention the tablet (Android 3.0). There are so many android devices shown at CES ...

I think that's the wrong way of seeing thing that the WP7 is good enought to compete and just as good as first generation iPhone and Android. They should aim to be better not just as good at this stage of the game.
 
Please read this first: I love my HTC HD7, but as much as I love it, I have huge problems with how Microsoft handles the Windows Phone 7 platform.


I've already talked about it a couple of times, but I agree with most of the stuff you guys have mentioned. Last time this Topic came up we talked about how it takes time to develop good software and that we just have to be patient; I don't think we should be patient. Of course, we already have paid for our devices and we'll have to live with whatever Microsoft will release (or not release), but you have to admit that Apple did a way better job of evolving their platform than Microsoft does.

The iPhone also was pretty much the first smartphone that everyone had access to. Cool Apps were reason enough for a lot of people to keep using the platform, enough of a reason to buy the platform. Years later you just can't impress anyone with a Fart-App anymore. The fact that Microsoft limits the options of developers to create new Applications is just ridiculous. You just can't not give the developers the tools to build Apps that are as good as they are on the iPhone. It's insane that there's only one single Application for Instant Messaging available. What's even more insane is the fact that this Application is worse than anything you can find on the competitor's phone. Microsoft should have taken a look at the most requested Apps, hire the developers of these Apps and make sure that these most requested Apps work best on the Windows Phone 7 Platform.

The problem here is that people who used an iPhone for years are expecting smartphones to have various things. They're not expecting to buy a new hardware that does less things than their previous one. People have already invested a huge amount of money in Apps for the iPhone – you have to give them a reason to switch to the Windows Phone 7. Whoever wants a smatphone, iPhone is always the first choice and Microsoft is unable to make people even think about getting a Windows Phone 7. If they want someone to not buy an iPhone, but a WP7 instead, they have to offer a better product, which they are currently not doing. I'm happy with my HTC HD7, but the first couple of months have not been as exciting as they could have been. Especially, because Microsoft has not released anything new; no bugfixes, no copy&paste, no native YouTube player. Their solution for YouTube is worse than anything we've seen on other phones, for example.

An Update for the Zune Software is also overdue. Short: It's horrible for everything except Music and Videos. Long: The Zune Software might be great for people who are using a Zune Player, but not for those who are using a Windows Phone 7. No App Management, stupid restrictions if you're not from the US (no Podcasts, for example), a horrible experience when browsing through their Apps library, and many more things are just horrible.

I think I'll use my HD7 until the end of the year, but if Microsoft fails to show me that they really care about the WP7 platform I'll just buy the next iPhone – the reason why I bought a WP7 is that I was hoping for something as good as the iPhone, but without supporting Apple. It was pretty naive to think that Microsoft would just rock the house with their WP7 devices.

Here are a couple of things I think Microsoft should do:
They should hire more people to speed up every single process. Talk about Updates, give us an idea about what we can expect and especially when we can expect it. Hire even more people to make that stuff available sooner. Then take a look at a World Map and realize that the US is not the only country in the World and that consumers from Europe (for example, I don't know about the Asian market) are unable to access important features of the Windows Phone 7/Zune experience. This happens for no good reason so it should not happen. Hire people that take a look at what the competition is doing and try to do what they do but better. Show us that you support the platform. It doesn't look like anyone at Microsoft cares if bugs (known since release) are not fixed yet. It doesn't look like they're really interested in keeping me excited about the product if even the smallest features (copy&paste) takes months and months until they are available.

Every piece of tech is great when you try it for the first time. The iPhone is a piece of hardware that I'd recommend, because my excitement level got boosted constantly (through great Apps or Updates). With the WP7 my excitement level has gone down rapidly. Nothing new, nothing exciting. It's currently just a phone with a MP3 player and a couple of Apps.
 
snap0212 said:
Wall of awesome text

I agree, the people who keep saying that we should wait, and that the iphone/android took x amount of weeks/months to release [insert update] have it wrong. WP7 is not launching 3 years ago, it's not in a vacuum. It needed something other than the UI (which I love) it needed to be on or near par in apps with the Big 2 Mobile OS Markets, and sadly it is not. When the biggest feature they touted at CES is copy and paste and games, I shook my head, and nearly gave up, this stuff should have been offered out the gate. To me the WP7 platform feels rushed, and waiting for months to release fixes, just further proves that MS still doesn't get "it." The world moves at a much faster pace, and unless they speed things up, they'll fade into irrelevance.
 
snap0212 said:
An Update for the Zune Software is also overdue. Short: It's horrible for everything except Music and Videos. Long: The Zune Software might be great for people who are using a Zune Player, but not for those who are using a Windows Phone 7. No App Management, stupid restrictions if you're not from the US (no Podcasts, for example), a horrible experience when browsing through their Apps library, and many more things are just horrible.


wow, I wasn't aware of that. I figured the phone would be the same as a zune player.
 
Treo360 said:
Far from it. In many ways it is worse.

wow that seriously makes me rethink my new phone purchase. I love my zune player and expected the same kind of performance from this. I'm still hoping it will be by the time the verizon version is out.
 
jmdajr said:
wow that seriously makes me rethink my new phone purchase. I love my zune player and expected the same kind of performance from this. I'm still hoping it will be by the time the verizon version is out.
To be fair he's talking about the Windows application, not the phone itself.

I don't know, I've not had any issues and I'm not in the US. It does what it needs to.
 
Sir Fragula said:
To be fair he's talking about the Windows application, not the phone itself.

I don't know, I've not had any issues and I'm not in the US. It does what it needs to.

does it automatically synch your podcasts?
 
Treo360 said:
I agree, the people who keep saying that we should wait, and that the iphone/android took x amount of weeks/months to release [insert update] have it wrong. WP7 is not launching 3 years ago, it's not in a vacuum. It needed something other than the UI (which I love) it needed to be on or near par in apps with the Big 2 Mobile OS Markets, and sadly it is not. When the biggest feature they touted at CES is copy and paste and games, I shook my head, and nearly gave up, this stuff should have been offered out the gate. To me the WP7 platform feels rushed, and waiting for months to release fixes, just further proves that MS still doesn't get "it." The world moves at a much faster pace, and unless they speed things up, they'll fade into irrelevance.

Well, I think many felth they are already irrelevance, they simply is too slow to adapt. I am no Microsoft hater, I love Xbox 360 and prefer it over other platforms, I love Windows PC and even at one time own the original Zune. I was more than excited when I heard of thier new phone that intergrate Xbox and Zune. So don't get me wrong and think that I am here just to troll Microsoft. I love my Focus but I am in a unique position that I only require a few apps and features set but for many people I know some of the features that are on iPhone or android are things they NEED not wants. I show my phone off to friends and colleages and while they all like the UI, I just can't in my good conscious recommend the phone to anyone.

I think Microsoft think they could position the phone to attract the non-smart phone crowd and may be they are OK with Windows phone but giving them option why would they not go for iPhone instead.

Anyway, I am sure hope Microsoft will soon wake up and realize what they need to do to get this phone up and running. God know I really love the windows phone but Microsoft sure make it hard. It's like abusive relationship...
 
Great discussion here. I think those with the finger on the panic button, such as myself, have made their point.

Now let's all wait patiently for copy & paste, MWC announcements, and mango update details.
 
jmdajr said:
does it automatically synch your podcasts?
Of course. Problem is that you have to add the rss feed by yourself if you're not in the US, because the podcast section in the marketplace doesn't exist outside the US. A very easy and simple workaround (a reg fix) can be found in the OT, so I don't see it as a real problem (for people like us). Annoying and stupid? Yes. A real problem? No.
 
I've never had an Iphone or an Android. I just have a "multimedia" phone. As long as the Windows phones give me all the functionality of zune I think I'll be happy.
 
well there's Bringcast so now you can download Podcasts directly to your phone so that's a good thing $1.99 for it btw.

Also I hate the new Zune commercials, sad that MS has all but abandoned the Zune HD, which in my mind is a great device.
 
PG2G said:
I'm sure a Windows 8 tablet would make a much better laptop replacement than an iPad...

And aren't WP7 apps built on Silverlight? I always thought that was strange but perhaps it was done so they could easily run on a Windows 8 based tablet in the future.
 
Treo360 said:
well there's Bringcast so now you can download Podcasts directly to your phone so that's a good thing $1.99 for it btw.

Also I hate the new Zune commercials, sad that MS has all but abandoned the Zune HD, which in my mind is a great device.
I'm not saying BringCast is not worth $1.99, but the trial only limits your subscriptions to 3 podcasts and that's it.

I'm not sure why, but Microsoft released a new commercial for the Zune HD in November.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg0M3l0LYdA
 
jmdajr said:
I've never had an Iphone or an Android. I just have a "multimedia" phone. As long as the Windows phones give me all the functionality of zune I think I'll be happy.

It has most of the Zune functionality but not all. As far as a music player it is better than your typical multimedia phone.

If you need a phone that sometimes can act as a Zune player then it is good, but it is not a 1:1 sub for your Zune player.
 
brotkasten said:
I'm not saying BringCast is not worth $1.99, but the trial only limits your subscriptions to 3 podcasts and that's it.

I'm not sure why, but Microsoft released a new commercial for the Zune HD in November.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg0M3l0LYdA

Now compare that to this one Music everywhere and I start feeling bad for the Zune HD. I only wished that the Zune experience on my WP7 was on par with my little guy [Hugs Zune HD] the lack of HD radio on the phones is a bit baffling to me too.
 
Treo360 said:
Now compare that to this one Music everywhere and I start feeling bad for the Zune HD. I only wished that the Zune experience on my WP7 was on par with my little guy [Hugs Zune HD] the lack of HD radio on the phones is a bit baffling to me too.
Yeah, but it's still surprising, because Microsoft had only one TV spot for the Zune HD before that. Now they have TWO!

Here are the other "Zune Everywhere" spots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKcFmmFCx_8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV9cq4Mdh1A

In before: z0mg HIPSTERS!

And HD Radio is a US only feature. There's no need to require it in phones. But yeah, I still use my Zune HD for my music. 32GB, almost full and the experience with Smart DJ and the now playing screen is just much better.
 
brotkasten said:
Yeah, but it's still surprising, because Microsoft had only one TV spot for the Zune HD before that. Now they have TWO!

Here are the other "Zune Everywhere" spots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKcFmmFCx_8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV9cq4Mdh1A

In before: z0mg HIPSTERS!

And HD Radio is a US only feature. There's no need to require it in phones. But yeah, I still use my Zune HD for my music. 32GB, almost full and the experience with Smart DJ and the now playing screen is just much better.
I hate these commercials, so yawn inducing. Who knew hipsters held the secret to combating insomnia? (I miss the smilies)

The lack of a comprehensive Instant Messenger and poor radio reception, and lack of radio hd prompted my wife to refuse the phone.
 
Treo360 said:
I hate these commercials, so yawn inducing. Who knew hipsters held the secret to combating insomnia? (I miss the smilies)

The lack of a comprehensive Instant Messenger and poor radio reception, and lack of radio hd prompted my wife to refuse the phone.
The lack of IM is killer right now, but what phone is she getting with HD radio and awesome reception?

And while talking up the Zune HD, let us not forget that a windows phone has much much more overall functionality. Also, the ability to download and stream songs anywhere (not just WiFi) is a killer feature with Zune Pass. Also, the phone kills the Zune HD in the gaming department. Someone reading the last page would swear that the Zune HD is somehow comparable overall to a Windows Phone 7, and that's a joke. Lets not get carried away with our frustration at the lack of updates.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom