Windows Mobile as you know it is dead
by Volker Weber
Microsoft finally agrees with the rest of the world. Windows Mobile sucks. So they start all over. Never seen anything from Microsoft that looks so good. But will it matter?
Gizmodo has a great story:
Windows Phone 7 is also something completely new for Microsoft: A total break from the past. Windows Mobile isn't just dead, the body's been dumped, buried and paved over by a rainbow brick road.
Comments
Too little too late.
Had this been a weapons grade release a year ago, cool. But it's not.
These days, the number of touch-capable and socially integratable interfaces a numerous, and Microsoft is not a "sexy" brand in that space.
If they want to BE a "sexy" brand in that space, they need to raise the bar, push the boundaries, break the records.
They don't.
It might be an extension of life for the WinMobile platform, but not a definition of "future".
No. It definetly won't. The few people around me, who still do not have an Iphone are slowy migrating to Android, thanks to HTC Hero which has poped up among my friends during the last months like Tulips in Spring.
Even the very uncool People I know do not use Mobiles with Windows. The have Blackberries or Stuff from Nokia.
Actually … I haven't seen a Windows Mobile in action anywhere … not even at someone sitting close to me in the train or the bus. Nobody uses it. Why should they start, while there's Apple and Google?
The UI has the look of the Zune Marketplace Quickplay screen. In fact, I would be surprised if the UX doesn't mirror that of the Zune device at some base level.
People dismissing this effort as being "too little, too late" are ignorant of the massive opportunity that will exist in the smartphone market over the next decade. 15 months ago people were dismissing Android as well (most of whom had never even used the G1).
If this comes out of the gate at the end of 2010 with strong OEM support (as announced), the killer social and music subscription features of Zune & Xbox Live, plus a carrot for the hundreds of thousands of existing .net developers to build apps for it, then I think it can be a winner.
After seeing the Engadget's hands-on slideshow... yeah, it's an updated Zune UX.
^ Early Windows 7 Adopter! ;-)
Can you count out a company that is able to throw billions into a market?
I do not think so. Some years ago I would think that Microsoft would just buy/bribe HTC to force them to only make Microsoft phones. I am curious what they will do now. If nothing works they could still form an alliance with Nokia.
"Even the very uncool People I know do not use Mobiles with Windows. The have Blackberries or Stuff from Nokia"
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mmmh maybe i am "very" uncool. But i still like Windows Mobile. "6.1", not 6.5! It has multitasking, it is fast and there are many remarkable apps on the market. you will find on www.xda-developers.com very useful self cooked roms for Windows based phones.
Yes, seriously uncool. Sub zero. ;-)
mmmh. The HTC Diamond is very small device with a brilliant 640x480 display. In combination with "Run.GPS" a perfect companion for running/biking/skating.
http://www.rungps.net/wiki/DownloadsDE
Using GPS tracking apps with an Iphone sucks. Everytime you get a call you lose your signal.
Very uncool, believe me.....
