Quote:
Originally Posted by gof
While I can see the varying opinions here, take a look at what Microsoft is facing. As a product, Windows Mobile is shifting further from the PDA market and rapidly towards a cell phone market. They are now facing a media rich competitor with the iPhone, and with the googlized phone coming, more competition. So I don't see it so farfetched that Microsoft (with the blessing of HTC) might step in and offer to finish where HTC left off to build a base of better PocketPC phones with great graphics. Then they can start to compete on numbers. Remember that for many people, word of mouth on the phone is powerful (no pun intended). The more people out there with phones that are playing movies, youtube, etc (hulu?) will mean being able to pull some of the steam from the Apple train. If you believe the mobile device will gain in popularity over time, then you can understand why Microsoft might step in to "help" get deveices up to par. I see the Mogul and Touch as being sort of transition devices. They learned a lot from them as finally the hardware and software crossed a cusp where they became uber useful.
So, should HTC have been the pne to handle the updated drivers? Sure. Does it *surprise* me that Microsoft might do it themselves (with cooperation from HTC I'm sure), not at all given the current market. Do I believe they actually are doing it? No idea, but I hope so 
And or the posters that assume all the masses will upgrade at the release of the Diamond and Touch Pro, I'd have to say "I doubt it" due to the cost, I know I won't (until my Mogul breaks and insurance helps the upgrade). And besides, then there will be a flod of used Touches and Moguls on the market that are still useful. |
I think you bring up some good points, but I just feel that both HTC and Microsoft want to be more competitive in their next iteration of their respective products. Thus the next Windows Mobile will be much more user interface-friendly (at least try to be) while developing better applications to handle media - including things like flash for pocket ie (although a lot of that is up to adobe). HTC has already shown their next devices, and yes, they do have hardware acceleration enabled.
This strategy makes sense since next to none of the current iPhone buyers will revert back to a device like the mogul just because it now has hardware accelerated graphics enabled. The major marketing for the Mogul is already done with anyways, so there isn't even a good way to know that it has been upgraded. How many commercials have you seen advertising the Mogul's new GPS capabilities? Sprint TV? IMO, GPS is a bigger deal than graphics acceleration - and it still wasn't advertised.
I just don't think anybody is willing to put money into developing for a device that will so soon be outdated, and the hype surrounding it has already died. No offense to the optomists, but I think that HTC and Microsoft have moved past the current generation and are focused on bigger and better things. It's too bad, but that's the way tech works.