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Windows Phone 7 |OT|

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NotTarts said:
I really, really wish manufacturers would focus on battery life rather than unnecessary hardware upgrades.
Improved hardware will improve battery life. Smaller processes equal greater efficiency.

First gen phones are 65 nm, the mango devices are 45 nm, and (hopefully) the next devices will be the 28 nm Kraits.
 
The thing that really bothers me with WP7 right now is how slow it is compared to Android (I constantly switch between them) and how clicking an app from the tiles launches a new instance rather than your saved state one.

Don't get me wrong, it has 10fold the fluidity when navigating the system itself.

But for example, my twitter client when I open it there is just a long delay before I see anything on screen whereas on Android it is instantaneous. I guess this is something to do with how their multitasking works or how they cache data but just opening apps I constantly use has an extra 2-3 second delay and when I open them as frequently as I do, it becomes a huge bother.
 
Some questions if you guys have the answers:


1) Are there any enterprise management tools for Windows phone 7 yet?
2) How can I deploy a policy so all users within my company have a lock screen?
3) Can I deploy apps?
4) How can I tie all 25 of my windows 7 phones to one Live ID account so I can use the "find my phone" feature form that 1 Live ID account?
5) I have 25 phones to update to the latest mango, I did an update on 1 phone which took about 1 hour to complete - how can I ease this process for the 24 remaining phones?
 
impruv said:
The thing that really bothers me with WP7 right now is how slow it is compared to Android (I constantly switch between them) and how clicking an app from the tiles launches a new instance rather than your saved state one.

In Mango, this changes. You CAN still click on an app and start it fresh, but there's also a new multitasking tool that will instantly resume the last 5 apps you used. So, using the multitasker (hold the back button), you can get the instant open you get on Android. The only catch is that, for third party apps (such as Twitter), the developer has to recompile their apps in the Mango SDK. So there are still some apps without this fast app switching functionality, and unfortunately right now that still includes the official Twitter and FB clients.
 
Frustrated_me said:
Some questions if you guys have the answers:


4) How can I tie all 25 of my windows 7 phones to one Live ID account so I can use the "find my phone" feature form that 1 Live ID account?

big brother-society, hooray
 
Stumpokapow said:
This is like a Wii fan arguing that lazy developers don't push the system. No one on earth disagrees, but it's better to treat the symptom when you know the problem isn't going to change. Better hardware would lead to a better user experience for more people.

WP7 has a lot of momentum against it. Even if it was manifestly the best phone experience, people would still be hesitant to switch to it. Making it easier for them to say no by having the hardware lag behind everyone else's, or fucking up the subsidy / hardware pricing so that single-core WP7 phones cost the same as the Nexus Prime or iPhone 4S only serve to ensure that the platform is less successful and thus receives less support.

I'm not going to argue that having dual core cpus isn't a feature checkbox that people are looking for these days. I'm just saying that bad apps are never a good user experience, even if the hardware has more power.

There are still android apps that run like shit on the most powerful dual core phones available.

Anyway, I agree that A) Windows phone has a perception problem B) lagging behind in hardware specs does not help this problem

As for the Wii owner comment, I think what they say is true, though.. the platform is weaker than the competition in terms of raw power, but I don't think that even Nintendo themselves are pushing the hardware to its full potential.. If they don't do it themselves, I can't really expect it from third parties who are doing quick and dirty ports.

Hell, I think Monolith Software is pushing the Wii more with Xenoblade than Nintendo's own internal releases..
 
Stumpokapow said:
This is like a Wii fan arguing that lazy developers don't push the system. No one on earth disagrees, but it's better to treat the symptom when you know the problem isn't going to change. Better hardware would lead to a better user experience for more people.

When devs have a minimum spec to code to, there is no excuse for poor performance. If an app runs like crap on one WP7 device, it most likely runs like crap on all of them given that there is little deviation from the minimum specs. Even the Mango hardware isn't that much faster. So, in this case, it would be considered bad development. Sure, there were some MS provided controls that were inefficient, but that is now fixed as well.

EDIT: On another note, Engadget seems to like the Radar. http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/11/htc-radar-review/

They also mention low specs, but also mention that you really can't tell.
 
I think its real thoughtful of Microsoft to allow Apple and Google to launch their premier phones first in North America and snap up all the contract renewals. I'll tell you what, Apple and Google should probably send MS some patent royalties or something, its just awful nice to have your iPhone 4s and Galaxy SII phones opposite Windows phones from last year.
 
brotkasten said:
What apps are still missing on the platform?

I can think of a few:

-Official Dropbox
-Official box.net
-Instagram
-Tons of games
-Skype
-Hulu
-Official fantasy sports apps (ESPN, Yahoo)
-Google apps
 
If Nokia reveals a large screened, 4G WP7 device for Verizon I'm buying it.

If they do not then WP7 can burn in hell.
Just kidding, but I want this slow growth stage of software/hardware to hit a spurt already.
 
Frustrated_me said:
Some questions if you guys have the answers:


1) Are there any enterprise management tools for Windows phone 7 yet?
2) How can I deploy a policy so all users within my company have a lock screen?
3) Can I deploy apps?
4) How can I tie all 25 of my windows 7 phones to one Live ID account so I can use the "find my phone" feature form that 1 Live ID account?
5) I have 25 phones to update to the latest mango, I did an update on 1 phone which took about 1 hour to complete - how can I ease this process for the 24 remaining phones?
probably best to seek an answer here: http://create.msdn.com/en-US/
 
brotkasten said:
What apps are still missing on the platform?

I don't find that much missing but alot of apps really need a nice mango update (and to start using the live tile better).... espn and the news apps especially.
 
SCHUEY F1 said:
I would appreciate ports of Sword & Sorcery, Infinity Blade and Grand Prix Story.
The fact that we're still getting dated iOS/Droid hand-me-downs a year into the product's life cycle and we don't have simultaneous, same-day release of games at this point is inexcusable.

You can even limit this to games that have already been built for Game Center trophies and charge twice the price for them. I don't care. But I don't want to see new games for iOS and think that it'll be nice to eventually play them in the year 2014 when I can earn Xbox LIVE achievements for them.
 
jonnybryce said:
If Nokia reveals a large screened, 4G WP7 device for Verizon I'm buying it.

If they do not then WP7 can burn in hell.
Just kidding, but I want this slow growth stage of software/hardware to hit a spurt already.
Looks like were all going to hell. Shouldve seen this coming really. After pushing all those grandmas down the well.
 
UberTag said:
The fact that we're still getting dated iOS/Droid hand-me-downs a year into the product's life cycle and we don't have simultaneous, same-day release of games at this point is inexcusable.

You can even limit this to games that have already been built for Game Center trophies and charge twice the price for them. I don't care. But I don't want to see new games for iOS and think that it'll be nice to eventually play them in the year 2014 when I can earn Xbox LIVE achievements for them.

Yeah, it would be nice to see simulataneous releases. I wonder how difficult development is between the two. You would think they would releases versions for WP7 since they can charge a bit more and people will buy them for the cheevos.
 
VanMardigan said:
I can think of a few:

-Official Dropbox
-Official box.net
-Instagram
-Tons of games
-Skype
-Hulu
-Official fantasy sports apps (ESPN, Yahoo)
-Google apps
I doubt google will port apps over onto wp7 any time soon. Hulu can burn in hell for being America only.

Also when Skype come onto wp7. I am hoping itl be amazing.
 
SCHUEY F1 said:
Yeah, it would be nice to see simulataneous releases. I wonder how difficult development is between the two. You would think they would releases versions for WP7 since they can charge a bit more and people will buy them for the cheevos.

iOS and Android allow C++ development, Windows Phone doesn't. That means that a significant amount of code can be reused between iOS and Android and that same code would need to be built from the ground up for Windows Phone.
 
brotkasten said:
What apps are still missing on the platform?

Personally, I'm still missing:

Official Tumblr app
Mint
Official Google+ app (don't use it, but I know family that do. They continue to ask me when this app is coming as they gauge whether or not to jump into the platform)
A few games I miss from iOS, like Game Dev Story, and Tiny Wings. (Penguin and Rainbow Rapture are alright, just not the same charm)

Also, believe it or not, I now know TWO people who own a Windows Phone now. Buddy of mine out of nowhere says he picked up a Surround and wondered a few things about the platform. People still see me using the phone and wonder what it is, some know and just want to see it. Its still new, still novel, really looking forward to being ultimately disappointed on the "increased marketing campaign" MS + partners are gearing up for for the Holidays. It can't be a one off ad during a big traffic show, its gotta be on all day everyday, for three months type of campaign to the point people can hum the damn jingle.
 
PG2G said:
iOS and Android allow C++ development, Windows Phone doesn't. That means that a significant amount of code can be reused between iOS and Android and that same code would need to be built from the ground up for Windows Phone.
For a mobile platform that was "hyped" around its gaming ties to the Xbox brand and where games are by far the most frequently purchased app, the inability to offer timely ports of major gaming releases for their direct mobile competition would appear to be a serious error in judgment.
 
All I really want is better integration with Google services. That includes Google+ being integrated into the People app. (Is it just me, or does Windows Phone actually make sites like Facebook tolerable when you use the People app?) I'd also like to see Google Maps Navigation...or at least for the built-in Bing Maps integration to behave like Google Maps Navigation.
 
venne said:
I think you can forget about Google+ integration.

I wouldn't count the possibility of Google+ integration out entirely. A lot of people I know use it, and I'd post on it more if it was more convenient to do so. I suppose that I should look into services that post to all services simultaneously, kinda like how the People app works, albeit on my PC.

venne said:
Maps may improve depending how Nokia's Ovi maps is leveraged. Last I heard, it is to replace Bing maps. But I wouldn't be surprised to learn it's exclusive to Nokia devices.

http://wmpoweruser.com/nokia-insider-nokia-ovi-maps-will-replace-bing-maps/

I hope to God it gets better, either way. I don't understand the point in the updated readout functionality if you still need to manually tap through directions. It makes this app damn-near useless while driving (or at least very unsafe).
 
Voice-to-text has improved quite a bit since the beta. I've got an Australian accent and it picks up everything I say perfectly (it didn't previously). Not sure how to insert periods and commas, though.
 
kevinski said:
I wouldn't count the possibility of Google+ integration out entirely. A lot of people I know use it, and I'd post on it more if it was more convenient to do so. I suppose that I should look into services that post to all services simultaneously, kinda like how the People app works, albeit on my PC.
Only way Google+ is getting supported is if it becomes the next Facebook and it doesn't look to be moving that way at the moment
 
Every time this thread is bumped, I hope that its about one of the Mango phones being available for purchase. *sigh*

Netflix got an update, STILL doesn't support Mango features. *double sigh*
 
Another annoyance - apps updating without any changelog. Developers actually have to edit their app description if they want to show what's included in the latest release, and most don't bother, so you have no idea what's going to happen. I don't see why they couldn't have implemented an update description like Apple.
 
kazinova said:
What the hell happened to the XBLA releases?!?!?!

There hasn't been one for two weeks!!!!

Yeah...this is getting legit ridiculous.

MS needs to get their shit together when it comes to the XBL component
 
SeanR1221 said:
Yeah...this is getting legit ridiculous.

MS needs to get their shit together when it comes to the XBL component

It's the problem with all Microsoft products. Too many heads running the company with way too many divisions that don't work together. Windows Phone Xbox could be an awesome portable platform but they simply just wasted away. It's pretty sad when Apple support the gaming better than the Xbox division. So far it's just a tag on experience void of real integration beside the achievements and gamertag.

I mean how awesome it would be to get Forza 4 App, where you can check your rival times, check your stats and tinker with your garage, view auction house etc.

On another note lost another in-law to Android due to the fact that there was no new Windows Phone to buy, no promotions, some don't even have Windows Phone on display to try and the stores (yes multiple stores) all convince her to get Android because their sale rep all ignorant of Windows Phone OS. Microsoft you guys have a long way to go if your premier partner is out to undercut your products. She would have love Windows Phone because all she does is using Facebook and chat with people. She's also not very good with tech and will most likely kill her Android by downloading app that doesn't work or ate up the battery.
 
They need Nokia to have that conference sooner rather than later, and whatever gets shown needs to be on store shelves like the next day. MS can't afford to wait IMO.
 
Brettison said:
They need Nokia to have that conference sooner rather than later, and whatever gets shown needs to be on store shelves like the next day. MS can't afford to wait IMO.
I'll still say Q1 2012 for Nokia phones in the US.
 
what is ms and samsung's deal with the focus phones. seriously, wtf. att is already promoting a BOGO for the titan and yes, no official pics of either of the focus phones.
 
brotkasten said:
I'll still say Q1 2012 for Nokia phones in the US.

I hate you because you think this.

wtf. att is already promoting a BOGO for the titan and yes, no official pics of either of the focus phones.

It sucks, but so does the fact that the Titan is not out in the US yet and we still don't have a date for it either. Its mid October and no one has any idea what's going on with new WP7 devices in the US. Completely bonkers.

It looks like a webOS thread up in here.

Get the hell outta here.....oh wait, you're right. :(

Actually, it reminds me of the situation with the Nexus Prime on your beloved Android, don't it? And no one knew when the Galaxy S phone was landing on AT&T either, so maybe you're still just full of shit.
 
Copernicus said:
It looks like a webOS thread up in here.

Well to an extent it IS like Web OS up in here expect that there are more phones, and we know some new stuff IS coming. Web OS was stuck with the pre and pixi for what seemed an eternity, but we KNOW Nokia has new phones in the works.

OS wise though this is turning out to be very WebOS like. MS has a little bit more of a push though than Palm ever had.
 
Copernicus said:
It looks like a webOS thread up in here.
not quite but if the new phones aren't on the shelves by early november then one would think that MS, it's hardware partners, and the carriers will have failed the platform.
 
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