Windows Phone 7 Discussion

[gcianc]

yup... rewatch the announcement...

Balmer & co. made it CRYSTAL clear (see the dos/win95 analogy at the end w95 created new opportunities) the start/homepage/experience will NOT be changed, just added on to.

MS made it CRYSTAL clear there will be one developer roadmap to avoiding confusion for developers.

maybe for some corporate (not sold thru retail) release but that seems unlikely they'd just stick to wm6.5x.

Originally Posted by bkrodgers

I haven't seen anything beyond speculation to indicate that a "legacy" or customizable version exists at all, other than HTC indicating that they're working to bring the "HTC experience" to WP7. That can mean ANYTHING...it could just mean they'll have some custom panels built in. I'm not saying it isn't happening, but I just am very doubtful. If you listen to Joe Belfiore's 20 minute video as well as some of Steve Ballmer's comments, it's clear that they are very interested in establishing the Windows Phone brand as something that means certain things. When asked about customization, his two examples were changing the background color of the tiles on the home page and changing from white on black text to black on white text. Maybe I'm reading too much into the examples he gave, but to me it sounds like this is how they want WP7 devices to operate. There may be customization, but I don't think they're going to allow the core user experience to be replaced, as was the case with TouchFlo/Sense.

As for this community and XDA, I give a lot of credit to everyone here, but I think we need to acknowledge a few things:

First, most of the chefs are assembling things from other devices' software, leaks, and applying a lot of registry edits. Many of those things may simply not exist to be included in custom WP7 ROMs. Yes, I'm sure there will be some hacking, just has there has been even with the iPhone. And the folks here will certainly surprise me. But the selection of "ingredients" at the "grocery store" may be a lot thinner than what we're used to.

Second, custom ROMs exist (at least out in the open) in no small part because Microsoft allows them to. They absolutely have the right to try to shut them down. Other than the fake guy who's tried to do that, there's no evidence Microsoft has given a crap. That's been part of their Windows Mobile strategy though -- deliver a platform and punt it to anyone who wants to license it with very little in the way of requirements or oversight. Allowing this community is consistent with that. But with the new vision of "taking more responsibility" for the user experience, they may frown on how easy this community makes it to change that experience. Whether they clamp down or how hard they do remains to be seen. But keep in mind, this is the same company that is about to roll out a feature in desktop Windows 7 that phones home every 90 days to see if your software is legal. Don't be surprised to see REAL takedown notices if they decide that's part of their "responsibility" for the user experience.

[gcianc]

laughable speculation.

iPhone (best performing one that does everything in iPhone ecosystem) is $199 and where phones are in 2010.

"really expensive feature phone" is editors reaching for webhits.

Originally Posted by nrfitchett4

the way wmexperts podcast had it, was that this was going to be a really expensive "feature" phone. that there would be maybe 2 more variations of wm7. they went on to say why would WM block 3rd party UI's when the HD2 has coding for WM7 already built into sense. but it is all speculation at this point.

[gimme5]

Originally Posted by smoove21

I have no problem with what microsoft has done.[...] Their new os is great for them it just doesnt stand out when compared to other os', nothing is new or hasnt been done before.[...] Please if you agree/disagree comment. Be respectful because im not disrespecting anyone else's opinion.

Great post, Smoove!

I don't know about not standing out compared to other UIs. I think the tiles being "alive" might make WP7 stand out a bit. If I walk into a store knowing nothing about phones and I see static screens everywhere except on one phone where things other than the wallpaper are moving, it might catch my eye. And if it's on the lock screen, it might give the (justified?) impression that WP7 is a more personal phone.

Moving on to the Zuneness of WP7: I really like the Zune integration. I think it's a big plus. It makes me think that any WP7 phone will be a really solid media device. And that's coming from someone who's never owned a Zune. It's just based on reputation and branding. But how about people who aren't necessarily geeks and maybe will not even know about WP7 until they walk into the store and see it? Will they even know it's a Zune?

Steve Ballmer was quick to point out that every WP7 device would be a Zune. From a branding standpoint, I think the Zune name is stronger than the Windows name right now in terms of handheld devices (based on my perception). So why not just call it "Windows Zune Phone" or something like that?

I'm worried that non-geeks will see the Windows name and will remember that they heard that Windows mobile sucks and that semi-geeks will see the name and expect an upgrade over 6.5 (which it isn't --completely different OS and design philosophy--).

By the way, there's no way it's gonna be called "Windows Phone 7 Series", right? "Series" is coming off, it'll be something like "Windows Phone 7 starter", "Windows Phone 7 Premium Media" or whatever.

[Noir]

the UI is not revoluionary but in many respects it is because it is so simple
there are no image heavy graphics, but it works. And that is key about any UI - it works so far it looks like microsoft in my eyes has done a lot of good so far

[Tpimp420]

My only concern is that this will become a "Zune" phone and the windows/Pc side of it will be stripped. This was the only reason I used a windows mobile phone. If microsoft has axed the Pc out of windows phone 7 then I think XDA and other places such will still exist. They will just be limited to change and playing with old software. However, if we get really desperate... maybe some programmers will get together and build a new version of windows mobile running on WinCe 6. I'm willing to help! lol we can only dream.

[smoove21]

Originally Posted by Malatesta

All I know for 100% is this: we have NOT see everything yet



As i said above, I know for a fact that what we say today wasn't everything. How Turtle/Pink (with their lower res screens, but still impressive offerings) fit in, what OEMs are going to do, etc. is still up in the air.

I agree about not seeing everything yet but as far as the high end goes we have. I thought the pink phones/project whatever was to replace the sidekick line(microsoft has purchased Danger, the company that made that os) and go from there. As you said with the small screens of the turtle and whatever is the name of the other phone.. There's no way to use windows phone seven on them. It may run on there but the screens are way to small.Here's a link to engadget with some info..http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/m...tegra-chipset/
I think next month microsoft wont reveal a whole new "busniess," version or any variation of their new os. Next month they will show a more in depth look at it,business features included. Why make two versions and have fragmented features and make people choices harder, when instead you can do what everyone(palm,apple,rim,google etc) is trying to do and make ONE very powerul and fun os for both business and regular everyday use? Everyone is speaking like we got all of wps7 info yesterday. All they showed were the changes and new features of it.Only their ideas and plans. Not how it will work in the real world and how everyday use will work. Next month will show how things like push email, phone calls/texts will be handled. We will see them add songs from zune or play a xbox live "arcade" game on the device. Please everyone stop saying that their will be two or three variations of this new os. Microsoft is trying to create a cohesive environment between their pc/mobile/gaming platforms.

[smoove21]

Originally Posted by gimme5

Great post, Smoove!





By the way, there's no way it's gonna be called "Windows Phone 7 Series", right? "Series" is coming off, it'll be something like "Windows Phone 7 starter", "Windows Phone 7 Premium Media" or whatever.

Lmao! I swear i keep saying the same thing.. I dont even know how to abbreviate it correctly. The name is waaaaayyyy to long and everyone has their own name for it. I like the name "windows phone" when updates come down you can say windows phone 1.x and so forth.. It's going to get ugly really quick when we have to say windows phone series 7 1.4.2.3 lol

[smoove21]

Originally Posted by gimme5

Great post, Smoove!

I don't know about not standing out compared to other UIs. I think the tiles being "alive" might make WP7 stand out a bit. If I walk into a store knowing nothing about phones and I see static screens everywhere except on one phone where things other than the wallpaper are moving, it might catch my eye. And if it's on the lock screen, it might give the (justified?) impression that WP7 is a more personal phone.
une Phone" or something like that?

The reason why i say it doesn't and wouldn't stand out if i were in a store is because motorola's blur does the exact same thing. Actually it does it better. They kept talking about facebook but blur has facebook,myspace and picasa to name a few.. Just look at this video and let me know what you think. Listen to him say the exact same thing microsoft did. "integration,no reason to open apps, updates live, no need to sign in"..actually that last one im not sure microsoft spoke on. O yea lol here's the link..http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/US.../Meet-MOTOBLUR On top of that, what if i dont particularly use alot of social networking sites? Continuously downloading/pushing updates to the phone will kill the battery. Palm(to some degree) already has this problem. I'm sure there's a way to turn those things off but if one does this then what happens? Does it become one of the same if not worse static screens you spoke of? Integrating your os so deeply and relying so much on social networking isnt what I FEEL should be the base of any os. All they showed was flash, having everything updating constantly and all those flashy animations every time i click something will slow down the device. Im assuming thats why they "pause" apps instead of leaving them running in the background. If it had true multi-tasking combined with the updates and all the little graphics that pop everytime you click something then im sure it would get ugly(slow) in a hurry. As with all new things, the flash and "cool" factor will wear off and it will just be another smartphone. What happens when you dont want to wait for all the animations to conclude before you call or text someone. Can you turn those off? I need options,stability and speed. Flashyness (my word) doesn't cut it for a power user like myself.

[Malatesta]

Originally Posted by gcianc

laughable speculation.

"really expensive feature phone" is editors reaching for webhits.

Actually, I never said WP7 would be a "really expensive feature phone" but said that Pink/Turtle/Pure were high end feature phones and what we see at MWC would be the "true" WP7 smartphones. So far I think that is 100% correct.

And I take offense at the "reaching for webhits" bit. We clearly differentiate rumor from fact on our site and don't drag posts out to get repeat hits.

[gimme5]

Originally Posted by smoove21

The reason why i say it doesn't and wouldn't stand out if i were in a store is because motorola's blur does the exact same thing. Actually it does it better.[...]I'm sure there's a way to turn those things off but if one does this then what happens? Does it become one of the same if not worse static screens you spoke of?

Blur looks pretty nice, but from the videos I've seen, it doesn't appear to be as dynamic as WP7. I mean, yeah, you'll see status updates from social networking sites and all that, but nothing's moving around from what I've seen. On the WP7 video, you see some motion here and there, stuff that catches the eye. It doesn't matter to most people, but it might make someone pick up that phone first.

I don't know, I guess if you're not into facebook and all that and you turn all of that stuff off, the phone won't seem as alive. But it's a good point...so much of the coolness of this OS depends on "the cloud".

Last thing: I like how, no matter how you cut my post, you make sure to include "Great post, Smoove!" in the quote