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[brotkasten]

Do WP7 phones have the Audiosurf game you can find on Zune HDs?

Nope. None of the Zune HD apps are available on Windows Phone 7, which is crazy. PGR: Ferrari Edition and Audio Surf are great games.

 

[Gabyskra]

Nope. None of the Zune HD apps are available on Windows Phone 7, which is crazy. PGR: Ferrari Edition and Audio Surf are great games.

That's weird. I've played the Zune version of Audiosurf so much over the past year, knowing how good it is now, I'd pay a ton of money for it...

 

[Vanillalite]

I assume it's a licensing issue, and they'd have to relicense it all for WP7, and can't just port it over even if the code can run perfect already.

 

[Tawpgun]

This phone has so much potential, but I'm constantly surrounded by friends who are all on Iphones/Itouch's and playing the words for friends game thats exploding right now.

But this phone has a severe lack of good games/apps, missing key features, and a bit buggy...

 

[Vanillalite]

This phone has so much potential, but I'm constantly surrounded by friends who are all on Iphones/Itouch's and playing the words for friends game thats exploding right now.

But this phone has a severe lack of good games/apps, missing key features, and a bit buggy...

I've come around on the key features thing. Outside of multitasking which is usefully for certain app situations the only key feature missing is a way for the browser to actually play video that most websites have. In terms of features all 3 platforms are head and behind depending upon what your talking about.

The problem is iOS and Android have had such a head start it's the apps where you feel shafted because so much of the mobile experience these days is built more around the app than say the browser.

 

[Firestorm]

I assume it's a licensing issue, and they'd have to relicense it all for WP7, and can't just port it over even if the code can run perfect already.

License what?

 

[Vanillalite]

License what?

Well this applies to PGR... you know it's the Ferrari Edition and I assume just licensed for the zune game. I bet that doesn't cover even a port of the game for WP7.

 

[ElNino]

This phone has so much potential, but I'm constantly surrounded by friends who are all on Iphones/Itouch's and playing the words for friends game thats exploding right now.

But this phone has a severe lack of good games/apps, missing key features, and a bit buggy...

Well, you can play Alpha Jax on WP7 which is a terrific Scrabble-like game (and free ad supported if you don't want to pay).

 

[Blackhead]

"Is Visual Voicemail available on WP7?" I was asked that question about WP7 by a prospective buyer but didn't know the answer.

 

[brotkasten]

"Is Visual Voicemail available on WP7?" I was asked that question about WP7 by a prospective buyer but didn't know the answer.

Nope.

 

[snap0212]

Nope.

Will it come with Mango? I think Visual Voicemail on the iPhone was great. Never checked my voicemails before and never checked them since I own a WP7.

 

[killertofu]

Just got a HD7 the other day...love the interface, but goddamn the battery life sucks

 

[brotkasten]

Will it come with Mango? I think Visual Voicemail on the iPhone was great. Never checked my voicemails before and never checked them since I own a WP7.

They never talked about it, but I assume they're working on it, since you can find an entry in the WP7 registry.

http://mobilitydigest.com/visual-voicemail-and-voip-for-wp7-confirmed-via-homebrew-registry-viewer/

 

[Blackhead]

They never talked about it, but I assume they're working on it, since you can find an entry in the WP7 registry.

http://mobilitydigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Registry-Visual.jpg
http://mobilitydigest.com/visual-voicemail-and-voip-for-wp7-confirmed-via-homebrew-registry-viewer/

But it's not unlockable... ok I did a little searching, how about a third party app like MagikMail via YouMail? I used YouMail on webOS, it's alright, but didn't know there was a WP7 client when I had the Focus.

 

[brotkasten]

But it's not unlockable... ok I did a little searching, how about a third party app like MagikMail via YouMail? I used YouMail on webOS, it's alright, but didn't know there was a WP7 client when I had the Focus.

Visual voice mail in WP7 is not finished and who knows when we'll see it. They'll talk about it when it's close to being finished and 100% certain that it's going to be in Mango.

 

[Klocker]

Nope.

for visual voice mail, try MagikMail app. the developer has live tile push notifications in testing process soon to be updated and it's $2.99 with a free youmail account.

I own Magikmail and until the update ...

Alternative easy solution... all I have done was to just register a free youmail account, link to an email addy you create just for voice mail (set to "as items arrive), set "send MP3 with email notification" on your youmail account and voila, you have visual voice mail on a live tile.

every time a voice mail comes you get a live tile update with the name of caller in email (if available) and an mp3 ready to dl for listening.

 

[VanMardigan]

You know what I just realized that will likely piss everyone off even more? There is a very real possibility the Sprint device will launch before we get the update.....making it the only official wp7 phone with no do.

Aren't you guys happy we are all early adopters?

 

[brotkasten]

You know what I just realized that will likely piss everyone off even more? There is a very real possibility the Sprint device will launch before we get the update.....making it the only official wp7 phone with no do.

Aren't you guys happy we are all early adopters?

Could be possible, yes. The new rumored date is March 21, the Arrive will launch on March 27 and Dell is shipping the Venue Pro in India with NoDo. Man, that would be sad.

 

[Blackhead]

The official Windows Phone blog speaks up on Phone updates: process and timing

for visual voice mail, try MagikMail app. the developer has live tile push notifications in testing process soon to be updated and it's $2.99 with a free youmail account.

I own Magikmail and until the update ...

Alternative easy solution... all I have done was to just register a free youmail account, link to an email addy you create just for voice mail (set to "as items arrive), set "send MP3 with email notification" on your youmail account and voila, you have visual voice mail on a live tile.

every time a voice mail comes you get a live tile update with the name of caller in email (if available) and an mp3 ready to dl for listening.

Thanks. i'll definitely recommend that then.

 

[VanMardigan]

The official Windows Phone blog speaks up on Phone updates: process and timing


Thanks. i'll definitely recommend that then.

A really long post that doesn't answer any questions. Screw those guys. They should be embarrassed. These delays are unacceptable.

 

[Vanillalite]

A really long post that doesn't answer any questions. Screw those guys. They should be embarrassed. These delays are unacceptable.

I didn't want to go that far, but it was basically PR spin with no actual info. Plus the we want to delay it make sure it meets everyone's standards was pure bs. It's being delayed because you guys can't get your shit together and get it out now.

 

[Robobandit]

It's being delayed because you guys can't get your shit together and get it out now.

Yep.. that's about the size of it.

 

[Klocker]

.

But that’s typically just part of what we send you. The companies that make your Windows Phone handset—or even the chips inside them—also frequently provide us updated firmware that they’ve written, tested, and want us to include.

This combination makes up our update, which we dispatch to the cellular carriers around the world that sell Windows Phones. The carriers then conduct their own tests to help ensure that the new software works correctly both on their networks and the Windows Phone models they sell.

We work closely with our carrier partners, and encourage them to test our software as swiftly as possible. But it’s still their network, and the reality is that some carriers require more time than others. By the way, this carrier testing is a common industry practice that all of our competitors must also undergo. No exceptions.

 

[antiquegamer]

I find it ironic if not sad that this pr comes on the day idevice get yet another update.

Dear Microsoft please get your act together our competitor that you claim have to deal with similar testing apparently have no problem getting multiple update out that not only fix bug but also add features. Calling out your competitor only make it even more glaring how incompetent windows phone 7 team is.

 

[user_nat]

I find it ironic if not sad that this pr comes on the day idevice get yet another update.

Dear Microsoft please get your act together our competitor that you claim have to deal with similar testing apparently have no problem getting multiple update out that not only fix bug but also add features. Calling out your competitor only make it even more glaring how incompetent windows phone 7 team is.

For all we know the iOS update could have been finished 6 months ago and been in testing ever since.

Apple has the advantage of not even announcing things until they are finished.

 

[giga]

For all we know the iOS update could have been finished 6 months ago and been in testing ever since.

Apple has the advantage of not even announcing things until they are finished.

The first beta of 4.3 was seeded to developers on Jan 12. The GM build was seeded on March 3. They didn't announce a final release date for it till last week.

 

[Blackhead]

For all we know the iOS update could have been finished 6 months ago and been in testing ever since.

Apple has the advantage of not even announcing things until they are finished.

I can't say that's true. There was the 4.x update for iPad last year which announced months in advance for November. It was clearly not ready at the time, I don't think it was even completely ready when released as some features were missing. And Apple's releases are not always perfect, there are bugs too that users have to wait to be fixed. The 'advantage' that Apple has is that when they announce a time frame for an update, they always meet it. Microsoft should either release many small updates with neither notice nor promises, or release big updates on a publicly announced schedule. What Microsoft did instead is the worst of both worlds: big slowly released updates with missed delivery dates. That sucks...

I suspect that another advantage Apple has is that they privately include the carriers in the beta testing of the update that's also available to developers. So instead of waiting till the firmware is done before releasing it to carriers, the problems can be found sooner.

 

[VanMardigan]

For all we know the iOS update could have been finished 6 months ago and been in testing ever since.

Apple has the advantage of not even announcing things until they are finished.

Doesn't matter. Apple are the unquestioned kings of the update. They are putting even Google to shame. I'm not an Apple fan, not in the least. But they are straight up setting the standard right now. Showing everyone how its done.

Gingerbread is not on a single phone it didn't ship with. Maybe one if they've actually managed to get the few n1's out there, which I doubt. Apple is putting on a clinic and they deserve all the sales they get.

 

[Firestorm]

Apple is in almost three times as many countries on more than three times as many carriers as Microsoft. Microsoft has more handsets from more OEMs to deal with of course, but this is getting pretty ridiculous.

 

[Raistlin]

Apple is in almost three times as many countries on more than three times as many carriers as Microsoft. Microsoft has more handsets from more OEMs to deal with of course, but this is getting pretty ridiculous.

Which is by far a bigger problem to crack. While they placed pretty strict standards for the HW, they still don't make the phones - and there are several.

Apple only has to deal with com issues. All HW is under their control.

 

[Tobor]

Which is by far a bigger problem to crack. While they placed pretty strict standards for the HW, they still don't make the phones - and there are several.

Apple only has to deal with com issues. All HW is under their control.

Which is why Microsoft should have made their own hardware, and told the OEM's to fuck off.

The irony is they'll end up with one manufacturer at this rate and be better off for it.

 

[brotkasten]

I just read the post on the Windows Team Blog and I think I threw up a little in my mouth. No new information, confusion, lies and even after all the delays and shit that happened, they're still proud of what they've done so far.

The best way for me to answer is to briefly summarize the journey update software takes from our computers here in Redmond to Windows Phones like yours around the world. With 9 handsets on 60 mobile operators in 30 countries around the world, things can get a little complicated!

"Hey, lets blame our partners! That will make things better!"

Success of our February update

...

Of the customers who’ve so far tried to install it, the overwhelming majority have been successful. If you’ve been following along, you know that we did encounter a few issues, which we quickly identified and fixed or provided workarounds for.

10% failure rate is called success? Deleting your phone's content is now a suitable workaround? Shipping a new update that still causes problems in some cases is called "fixed"?

There’s one more thing I want to clear up. I’ve seen a lot of speculation on blogs and forums lately about whether carriers can “block” an update. We work closely with carriers to test and schedule updates. They may ask us for a specific date to start an update. They may ask for updates to be bundled together. But you should ultimately receive all the updates we send out.

So he didn't deny that carriers can block, or rather skip, an update. That's exactly what we knew since November and "you should ultimately receive all the updates we send out" is not reassuring at all.

Status of the “copy and paste” update

We have the next update waiting in the wings. It delivers copy and paste, better Marketplace search, and other key improvements.

But I believe it’s important that we learn all we can from the February update. So I’ve decided to take some extra time to ensure the update process meets our standards, your standards, and the standards of our partners. As a result, our plan is to start delivering the copy-and-paste update in the latter half of March.

Waiting in the wings? Take some extra time?

The update.
Was finished.
IN DECEMBER.

They even called it "January update", so how the fuck does it take almost 4 months to put out a minor update?

This short pause should in no way impact the timing of future updates ...

"Should" is the right word here. Call me ignorant, but how does the delay of one build not impact the other? What about bugs in NoDo that can only be found in real world scenarios? Sure, dogfooding is popular at Microsoft, but it still takes time to fix those bugs and implement the fixes in your new build. They could also put a new fix together, but that's what caused the second delay of NoDo in the first place.

A final word

These are exciting times. With more than 9000 apps in Marketplace, new carriers and phones on the way, and a new strategic alliance with Nokia, we’re psyched about what we’re building and what’s ahead.

There are exiting times, indeed. "I wonder what the iPhone 5 looks like", "What's the best Android phone atm?", "How much can I get for my LG?". So. Exciting. It's like they're living in a different world. Windows Phone lost market share in the US, while it gained some in Europe (a market where most of the WP7 features aren't available), so it's like nothing happened.

Delivering regular updates to your phone is a key part of our innovation plans.

I want to punch someone in the face.

With all my enthusiasm I had for WP7, I never recommended a WP7 to friends, because I usually don't do that with 1.0 products. When they asked me if I was happy, I told them that I was, but always listed the pros and cons and said that Android and iOS were the more mature platforms. I wonder what I will tell them now, if they ask me again ...

 

[sykoex]

Great post brotkasten. I do think that if they can eventually follow through on their vision of regular updates (let's say by the time the Nokia phones arrive), this could really be a great platform.

 

[Complex Shadow]

With all my enthusiasm I had for WP7, I never recommended a WP7 to friends, because I usually don't do that with 1.0 products. When they asked me if I was happy, I told them that I was, but always listed the pros and cons and said that Android and iOS were the more mature platforms. I wonder what I will tell them now, if they ask me again ...

i still have hope. if this gets sorted out by august, then ill still buy this phone. but if i see them act the same way they are right now then i am going android.

 

[Jadedx]

Could be possible, yes. The new rumored date is March 21, the Arrive will launch on March 27 and Dell is shipping the Venue Pro in India with NoDo. Man, that would be sad.

I hope NoDo fixes the suck that is the Venue Pro.

 

[Tawpgun]

My point was that with the Iphone dominating the market, I feel left out among my friends when it comes to those Iphone apps that take the world by storm.

Also, when will we able to set custom ring tones?

 

[brotkasten]

I hope NoDo fixes the suck that is the Venue Pro.

I think that's entirely Dell's fault. The first shipment had WiFi issues and batteries that were engineering samples, the second had some faulty MicroSD cards. Third time's a charm, right?

My point was that with the Iphone dominating the market, I feel left out among my friends when it comes to those Iphone apps that take the world by storm.

The app situation is getting better, but it's hard to catch up, if the competition already has a 150k/300k lead. Almost 10000 apps in five months is not bad, but it would help if they'd release a fucking native SDK for games. If devs want to code in C/C++, then let them. MS is not in the position to dictate the language, so stop with the political bullshit.

Also, when will we able to set custom ring tones?

They never talked about it and it's confirmed that it's not in NoDo, so it's probably in Mango and it better be, because I want my fucking Californication ringtone back. It was awesome.

 

[antiquegamer]

My point was that with the Iphone dominating the market, I feel left out among my friends when it comes to those Iphone apps that take the world by storm.

Also, when will we able to set custom ring tones?

Then by all mean you should just get iPhone. I got Windows phone because I want something difference (after years of using iPhone and now iPad). I love the Windows Phone interface and was super excited about Xbox Live and Zune integration. I was under assumption from pre-released of WP7 that Microsoft finally realize how much they need this and that they would do everything possible to make this platform competitive with iOS and Android.

Well apparently I was wrong about last part. MS still seems to be stuck in their usual slow dev. cycle and cling to the update style of Windows software. Their moving at phenomenon speed is that they are at parity with other platform at their launch.

 

[Raistlin]

Which is why Microsoft should have made their own hardware, and told the OEM's to fuck off.

The irony is they'll end up with one manufacturer at this rate and be better off for it.

I don't want my phone red ringing.

In all seriousness though, I prefer to have a variety of HW options. MS simply doesn't have the design or manufacturing expertise and capability to make a ton of models.

 

[dLMN8R]

Where did everyone get the idea that this update was finished in December? I'm seriously wondering how people could possibly think that when it's obvious that the buggy nature of the update was to blame for the problems that some phones have encountered.

I'm just as annoyed at the delays as everyone else here (maybe not as annoyed as Thurrott), but the cognitive dissonance of some is extremely confusing.


I mean, Thurrott literally jumps from talking about the pre-update bricking phones to claiming that the update has been "done" since December. Can he (and people here) not understand how those two things can't be true at the same time? It's obvious that the update is not done (or wasn't done yet) which is why these delays have happened.

I'm not trying to excuse the overall incompetence here, just trying to figure out how and why people still think that it's taken them 3 months just to push out a fully-complete update.

 

[snap0212]

I mean, Thurrott literally jumps from talking about the pre-update bricking phones to claiming that the update has been "done" since December. Can he (and people here) not understand how those two things can't be true at the same time? It's obvious that the update is not done (or wasn't done yet) which is why these delays have happened.

I'm not 100% sure, but isn't it like this:

- NoDo Update was done in December.
- Pre-NoDo Update is bricking phones.

?

 

[dLMN8R]

Maybe? But either way Microsoft never commented on when either update was "done", and if the "pre-update" is required before the update for whatever reason, it inherently means that something isn't "done" in the whole all-up process.

There is plenty to criticize here, but criticizing them for taking 3 months just to deploy a "done" update seems a bit misguided.

 

[brotkasten]

Where did everyone get the idea that this update was finished in December? I'm seriously wondering how people could possibly think that when it's obvious that the buggy nature of the update was to blame for the problems that some phones have encountered.

I'm just as annoyed at the delays as everyone else here (maybe not as annoyed as Thurrott), but the cognitive dissonance of some is extremely confusing.


I mean, Thurrott literally jumps from talking about the pre-update bricking phones to claiming that the update has been "done" since December. Can he (and people here) not understand how those two things can't be true at the same time? It's obvious that the update is not done (or wasn't done yet) which is why these delays have happened.

I'm not trying to excuse the overall incompetence here, just trying to figure out how and why people still think that it's taken them 3 months just to push out a fully-complete update.

If you ask the right persons, you get that answer and that's also the reason why Joe Belfiore said at the US launch in November that they'd ship this update "very, very soon" (and he said it once and never again). Why would he say such a thing if it wasn't ready? Btw, NoDo was labeled as the January update on the Microsoft support site. The pre-NoDo update, that bricked some Samsung phones, probably fixed a problem that came up in the (carrier) testing scenario, but we don't know when this one was finished and if it had to go through the complete test cycle again (after they already tested NoDo).

Either way, the testing procedure takes too long and is obviously not good enough (or nobody cared about the Samsung phones). It's funny how only one of your partners can screw everything up. So guys, please stop buying Samsung phones.

edit:

Another fun fact:
Did you know that the Windows 7 SP1 was finished in November last year? The guys at Microsoft sure take their time.

 

[Vanillalite]

lMn8r go leave your cubical on monday find Roy if need be and go layth the smack down in the WP7 department on behalf of me!

 

[VanMardigan]

Either way, the testing procedure takes to long and is obviously not good enough (or nobody cared about the Samsung phones). It's funny how only one of your partners can screw everything up. So guys, please stop buying Samsung phones.

If HTC or LG builds me a phone with SAMOLED screen and a non-crap camera, fine, I'll jump. The screen is the most important component on a smartphone, and Samsung has the best ones this side of iPhone 4.

edit: Also, the revolt over that stupid ass post on the WP7 blog is epic. Nobody bought that shit. I already have a couple posts telling them how I feel, and I encourage everyone here to let them know how you feel. Hopefully it lights a fire under their ass and they get snapped out of that bubble they've been in. You listen to their podcast and everything is peachy. Screw that, time to face reality. No podcast this week that I can tell, I hope their next podcast addresses their users more respectfully, rather than ignoring what is happening (which after the 100+ comments, they can't do without losing all credibility).

 

[brotkasten]

If HTC or LG builds me a phone with SAMOLED screen and a non-crap camera, fine, I'll jump. The screen is the most important component on a smartphone, and Samsung has the best ones this side of iPhone 4.

Quiet, you screen and camera whore!

Spoiler

*hugs the Zune HD w/ super awesome OLED screen*

 

[dLMN8R]

If you ask the right persons, you get that answer and that's also the reason why Joe Belfiore said at the US launch in November that they'd ship this update "very, very soon" (and he said it once and never again). Why would he say such a thing if it wasn't ready? Btw, NoDo was labeled as the January update on the Microsoft support site. The pre-NoDo update, that bricked some Samsung phones, probably fixed a problem that came up in the (carrier) testing scenario, but we don't know when this one was finished and if it had to go through the complete test cycle again (after they already tested NoDo).

Either way, the testing procedure takes too long and is obviously not good enough (or nobody cared about the Samsung phones). It's funny how only one of your partners can screw everything up. So guys, please stop buying Samsung phones.

edit:

Another fun fact:
Did you know that the Windows 7 SP1 was finished in November last year? The guys at Microsoft sure take their time.

It doesn't matter if Joe Belfiore said that it would launch very very soon. The fact is that the update was released, and the update had problems.

That inherently means that the update was not finished. Maybe they thought it was finished and ready for release back in December, but now that it's actually been pushed to devices, and it bricked a few in the process, it's obvious that they determined that it wasn't actually ready for release.


There is no question whatsoever that the process is taking too long, and that flaws have been found that should have been found much earlier. But this notion that it's been sitting untouched for the last 3 months just waiting for a release flies directly in the face of the unquestionable fact that it has been proven to have problems, and was therefore not finished.

Same goes for Windows 7 SP1 - how do you know that it was completed in November? Microsoft didn't announce that. Maybe they planned to finish it in November, but they found unexpected issues which caused a delay.


I'm really confused why people would think that any company would create an update and literally sit on it for 3-4 months without pushing it to customers.

 

[brotkasten]

It doesn't matter if Joe Belfiore said that it would launch very very soon. The fact is that the update was released, and the update had problems.

That inherently means that the update was not finished. Maybe they thought it was finished and ready for release back in December, but now that it's actually been pushed to devices, and it bricked a few in the process, it's obvious that they determined that it wasn't actually ready for release.


There is no question whatsoever that the process is taking too long, and that flaws have been found that should have been found much earlier. But this notion that it's been sitting untouched for the last 3 months just waiting for a release flies directly in the face of the unquestionable fact that it has been proven to have problems, and was therefore not finished.

Same goes for Windows 7 SP1 - how do you know that it was completed in November? Microsoft didn't announce that. Maybe they planned to finish it in November, but they found unexpected issues which caused a delay.


I'm really confused why people would think that any company would create an update and literally sit on it for 3-4 months without pushing it to customers.

7601.17514.amd64fre.win7sp1_rtm.101119-1850

That's the build string of my installed Windows version after installing the SP1 via Windows Update last week.

Build 7601, revision 17514, 64-bit, Windows 7 SP1 RTM(!), November 19, 2010, 18:50 PM

 

[PG2G]

It doesn't matter if Joe Belfiore said that it would launch very very soon. The fact is that the update was released, and the update had problems.

That inherently means that the update was not finished. Maybe they thought it was finished and ready for release back in December, but now that it's actually been pushed to devices, and it bricked a few in the process, it's obvious that they determined that it wasn't actually ready for release.


There is no question whatsoever that the process is taking too long, and that flaws have been found that should have been found much earlier. But this notion that it's been sitting untouched for the last 3 months just waiting for a release flies directly in the face of the unquestionable fact that it has been proven to have problems, and was therefore not finished.

Same goes for Windows 7 SP1 - how do you know that it was completed in November? Microsoft didn't announce that. Maybe they planned to finish it in November, but they found unexpected issues which caused a delay.


I'm really confused why people would think that any company would create an update and literally sit on it for 3-4 months without pushing it to customers.

A Windows Phone update isn't just Microsoft's update to the core software, it likely also includes carrier specific and device specific (i.e. firmware) updates. That is presumably the issue with the Samsung devices.

 

[kehs]

It doesn't matter if Joe Belfiore said that it would launch very very soon. The fact is that the update was released, and the update had problems.

That inherently means that the update was not finished. Maybe they thought it was finished and ready for release back in December, but now that it's actually been pushed to devices, and it bricked a few in the process, it's obvious that they determined that it wasn't actually ready for release.


There is no question whatsoever that the process is taking too long, and that flaws have been found that should have been found much earlier. But this notion that it's been sitting untouched for the last 3 months just waiting for a release flies directly in the face of the unquestionable fact that it has been proven to have problems, and was therefore not finished.

Same goes for Windows 7 SP1 - how do you know that it was completed in November? Microsoft didn't announce that. Maybe they planned to finish it in November, but they found unexpected issues which caused a delay.


I'm really confused why people would think that any company would create an update and literally sit on it for 3-4 months without pushing it to customers.

They don't "sit on it". They finalize and then test the shit out of it.

Some companies are better at planning and announcing than others(apple).