Microsoft, Samsung Take on Apple With New Smartphone Announcements

[LagunaSol]

This is the wrong place to look for a neutral perspective on Microsoft's latest OS.

Ah, so any intelligent criticism here of Windows Phone 7 Series is automatically rendered illegitimate?

I did see you got a Highest Ranked on Engadget for calling WinPho7Ser (WP7S?) "AWESOME!" (That was you, right?) Congrats.

Don't let it go to your head though - anyone who calls anything from Microsoft "AWESOME!" gets Highest Ranked on Engadget. It's how the Engadget peanut gallery rolls.

(FYI: saying horrible things about Apple is also good for Highest Ranked on Engadget.)

 

[SandynJosh]

I like how microsoft's UI on the phone is very simple yet combined with the live icons...wonder how stable it'll be

Users will get to know the "Blue Square of Death" as if it were a close relative.

 

[roach]

Congratulations, Microsoft... you've copied all of Apple's OS breakthroughs and are now touting them as innovations. Quite pathetic, really.

Actually, the interface is base on mediacenter...which apple TV failed copy.

 

[TMar]

Say what??? What about the iPhone was a breakthrough if it wasn't the UI? That it was rectangular in shape? That it had a touchscreen? The UI was the breakthrough. People here keep talking about how icons are arranged on a screen as if the UI doesn't go far, far beyond that.

And "cluttered???"

Yes cluttered, On all my computer I have no more then 5 things on my desktop. I hate having crap all over the place. Before I jalibroke I hated pages on pages of apps and it's only slightly better with them in categories. Tell me how much further and further the UI actually goes?

The UI IS the iPhone. How do you think people use the iPhone?

Through, the UI which is plain and nothing more then a bunch of icons. How you you use, aka interact, with a computer? Mouse, keyboard? So are those things part of the UI? It's the same with multi-touch, it's a tool to interface with the UI but isn't part of it.

 

[LagunaSol]

Through, the UI which is plain and nothing more then a bunch of icons. How you you use, aka interact, with a computer? Mouse, keyboard? So are those things part of the UI? It's the same with multi-touch, it's a tool to interface with the UI but isn't part of it.

I think you completely misunderstand the meaning of "User Interface" if you think it's merely the icons that represent applications and the way those applications are launched.

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.1-update1; en-gb; Nexus One Build/ERE27) AppleWebKit/530.17 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/530.17)

This is the wrong place to look for a neutral perspective on Microsoft's latest OS.

Ah, so any intelligent criticism here of Windows Phone 7 Series is automatically rendered illegitimate?

I did see you got a Highest Ranked on Engadget for calling WinPho7Ser (WP7S?) "AWESOME!" (That was you, right?) Congrats.

Don't let it go to your head though - anyone who calls anything from Microsoft "AWESOME!" gets Highest Ranked on Engadget. It's how the Engadget peanut gallery rolls.

(FYI: saying horrible things about Apple is also good for Highest Ranked on Engadget.)

Twas me, yes! I do think it is awesome. Finally all that legacy winmo shi* is in the bin and (hopefully) the people behind Windows Phone Series 7 (stupid name) can really flex their brains to evolve it into a great smartphone OS.

I would like to know what the negative people wanted Microsoft to do? Carry on with the legacy pos that is/was windows mobile or start afresh? By starting afresh Microsoft have taken a brave step into something that isn't yet another iPhone clone.

Already we have lulz about antivirus on the platform and we don't even know how the whole application thing is going to work.

I'm a huge smartphone fan (been using them for well over a decade) and almost every OS on offer now has me excited (iPhone OS, Windows PS7, Symbian, Android, Web OS, Maemo) basically everything except Bada. Bada offers bugger all new.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Ah, so any intelligent criticism here of Windows Phone 7 Series is automatically rendered illegitimate?

I did see you got a Highest Ranked on Engadget for calling WinPho7Ser (WP7S?) "AWESOME!" (That was you, right?) Congrats.

Don't let it go to your head though - anyone who calls anything from Microsoft "AWESOME!" gets Highest Ranked on Engadget. It's how the Engadget peanut gallery rolls.

(FYI: saying horrible things about Apple is also good for Highest Ranked on Engadget.)

From your or LTD yes it rather worthless.

If it has the name MS or windows put in front of it you both say it is crap.
Way to many people on these boards are the same way.

 

[Cathode]

Ah, so any intelligent criticism here of Windows Phone 7 Series is automatically rendered illegitimate?

Please, let's not be overly dramatic. He said neutral. What about neutral (read: un-biased) is such a ego bruise that you have to reply in a manner like that?

(FYI: saying horrible things about Apple is also good for Highest Ranked on Engadget.)[/QUOTE]

You know, I've been reading Engadget daily for a few months now. I have seen numerous posters banned and the entire comment system disabled all-together because of harassment. However, the entire user group is a huge mixed bag of both Mac and PC users. The comments go BOTH ways.

I think the competition is wonderful. Microsoft desperately needed to restart their mobile platform from the ground up and I think they're going in a great direction. The preview looks like there are still more kinks to work out but then again it's not shipping yet, so there is still time. Likewise, Apple now knows exactly what to expect from it's competitor. It will be interesting to see what happens with the iPhone this Summer.

I think ultimately, Microsoft will really need to get some high quality devices out to the door when it launches later this year. Devices similar in quality to the Zune HD should be sufficient, but cheaper units could really hurt sales.

 

[TMar]

I think you completely misunderstand the meaning of "User Interface" if you think it's merely the icons that represent applications and the way those applications are launched.

Please enlighten me, but bear in mind that this is a discussion on the comparison of what we've seen of Windows 7 phone.

 

[teme]

I like the Windows Phone 7 interface. It doesn't look as simple as iPhone OS, but it's more modern and informative. iPhone needs a major overhaul with version 4.0, not just some small fixes.

PS. Windows Phone 7 doesn't have Flash support currently, but Microsoft said that they are working with Adobe... so at least they are not bashing Adobe for being lazy.

 

[dba7dba]

Close alright but Apple and Samsung are good friends, but business is business i guess.

That's what we thought about apple and google too...

 

[bfreecity]

What a mess...

At first I thought Microsoft's new UI might be a welcome change from the slew of iphone copies. It is different, after all.
But after watching several demos -- not least of which being the hour and a half long press conference -- I'm left with less of an understanding of how I'd use the phone then when I started.
It should be called the facebook phone. The phone seems obsessed with keeping you constantly aware of everything everyone you know is doing every second of the day. The MS reps keep saying that "a phone is not a PC" over and over. Considering this is their new mantra, they sure seem to be going out of their way to make this new phone UI as complicated as possible. When I pick up my phone, I don't want to constantly be bombarded with updates about everyone I've ever met, and whether or not they're trying to play a game with me. I just want to make a call or maybe do a search or play a game. MS is trying to connect every app to every other in a way that I feel is not ready for prime time and will end up confusing more than helping. And what's with the ugly blue boxes? At least make them neutral -- they just look like floating blue screens of death all over the screen. Good job MS team!
I give MS high marks for not just stealing apple's ideas like they usually do, but they are aiming higher than their abilities. They just aren't good at UI.

 

[Vanilla]

I think the windows mobile interface is undeniably beautiful, intuitive and functional. I look forward to what iPhone OS4 brings.

However... and forgive me if this has already been discussed ... I do wonder what the experience will be like when you travel abroad and have the windows equivalent of data roaming turned off.

All the 'live tiles' appear predicated on the assumption of permanent tethering to a data flow, which is fine in your own market but we're still sadly not at the point where that paradigm extends to beyond your local borders without incurring huge costs. So, if the data flow is turned off what I wonder will the user experience be then?

Still, I applaud the creativity of Microsoft and am thankful that they are providing genuine competition once more..

Vanilla

 

[Povilas]

It was only ever going to go one way around here:

Microsoft produce something different to iPhone OS: OMG! It looks crap. Nothing like iPhone OS.

Microsoft produce something similar to iPhone OS: OMG! They copied Apple AGAIN!!!!11

This is the wrong place to look for a neutral perspective on Microsoft's latest OS.

NeoWin forums will provide you "neutral" perspective

Actually, the interface is base on mediacenter...which apple TV failed copy.

You mean Apple created something of their own instead of using copycat like MSFT likes to do on daily basis.

From your or LTD yes it rather worthless.

If it has the name MS or windows put in front of it you both say it is crap.
Way to many people on these boards are the same way.

XBOX is awesome I have both. Build quality sucked a lot, but now it fine. See? You get credit if you are worth it.

 

[ajohnson253]

It doesn't look bad. Although, I do hate it when they throw it on multiple sets of hardware. The iPhone is great because it's just that. An iPhone! If you get me?

Hopefully Apple will make something even better soon!

If the iPhone os was on another device that was skinnier and just had a better hardware, you wouldn't use it?

The idea of organizing media around "hubs" is also super smart. YouTube, Vimeo, FB video, Flickr vid...what's the diff? It's all video. Flickr, FB albums, Picasa...all pictures. This is a great way to simplify the fragmented media sites & simplify multiple accounts.

We'll see what the final implementation is though.

It is, I was thinking that as I was watchig the video. Don't get me wrong I love my iPhone and I enjoy apples products. I just gotta give it to Microsoft they definitely took a step forward. A bold one at that. This is going to be interesting.

This is something I couldn't jailbreak and get.

 

[DMann]

If the iPhone os was on another device that was skinnier and just had a better hardware, you wouldn't use it?

Not if it meant that the battery life would be incrementally compromised, the screen would be smaller, and it would run hotter than a 3GS.

 

[Uncle Pinny]

Just my 2 pence:

Think the interface look fantastic. And like a lot of posters here I'd say it makes the iPhone interface look positively dated. Like really dated. Sure it's a different approach but one that pushes things on the design front. Nice typography, nice icons, sleek white on black text, modern flat buttons, sleek animation etc.

Functionality is another thing and until I try one out I'll reserve judgement.

Kudos to MS to finally roll out something with some 'wow factor' (at least for some of us).

 

[nim81]

That does look like a massive improvement over existing Windows Mobile devices. Hopefully this will spurn Apple into a few much-needed changes in iPhone OS

 

[Analog Kid]

I'll be interested in hearing more about how MS plans to organize information into hubs and tiles. There is a lot of room for more intelligent personal data mining.

What I'm seeing so far though is a horoscope OS where people can project whatever they want to on it.

The design is flippin' awful again. Too dense and disorganized. No use of color to differentiate information. Eye candy for the sake of eye candy, rather than to ease the human interaction. And what is it with MS refusing to make words fit on the screen lately? Is that a style choice, or laziness?

Competition is good.

Competition is good.

competition is good

healthy competition.

competition is good.

etc, etc, etc.

This is starting to sound cultish...

Competition for resources is natural, but not necessarily good. The Zune was competition to the iPod and it was not good-- it was a massive waste of resources. It had no discernible impact on Apple; it merely sapped useful resources from projects that would have made better use of them-- either within Microsoft or Apple. Plays-for-sure was even worse. People who bought that dead-end product and later regretted the decision lost out and also deprived Apple of revenue they could have used towards building a better iPod. Horribly, horribly inefficient.

If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it, would the lumber jack have been better off working on something else?

There are times that competition provides necessary diversity in the market, optimizes a product for the market, or keeps prices under control. There are other times that it's just an inefficient waste of resources. The knee-jerk declaration of principles every time a non-Apple product shows up on these boards is getting kind of irritating.

 

[adztaylor]

This looks pretty interesting, better than what I thought they could come up with.

I have an iPod Touch which I love but I also have an Android phone which I think is fantastic. I love android for the notifications bar, homepage widgets and multitasking.

But I love my iPod Touch for the amount of apps, music, videos and just my general media needs. I'd rather keep the two devices separate so although I applaud Microsofts efforts to come up with something fresh I still think Android is a better OS for a phone.

 

[Journojulz]

Think the interface look fantastic.

I think it looks like an all but identical alternate version of a 3-year old market leader - only with 25% less icons visible on any screen.

The industry doesn't seem to be trying to outperform the iphone - just keep up with an 2007 OS that still noone has properly bettered.

Competition WOULD be good - if there were any real competition.

3 years to come up with something properly better? Still waiting.

 

[OS X Dude]

I think the windows mobile interface is undeniably beautiful, intuitive and functional. I look forward to what iPhone OS4 brings.

However... and forgive me if this has already been discussed ... I do wonder what the experience will be like when you travel abroad and have the windows equivalent of data roaming turned off.

All the 'live tiles' appear predicated on the assumption of permanent tethering to a data flow, which is fine in your own market but we're still sadly not at the point where that paradigm extends to beyond your local borders without incurring huge costs. So, if the data flow is turned off what I wonder will the user experience be then?

Still, I applaud the creativity of Microsoft and am thankful that they are providing genuine competition once more..

Vanilla

Really good point, I hadn't thought of this. It'll be much the same, I suppose, apart from the People hub won't display What's New and you won't be able to post status updates from the Me tile. Xbox Live won't work, obviously too.

If you managed to get onto the hotel wi-fi, I think they'd update as normal. So you'd only be able to use online services periodically.

 

[00146CB58122]

I wonder if the people hub can be extended with support for Grindr like functionality? Geo-social interaction apps (of which Grindr is just an niche example) would work well on this OS assuming the phones have gps capability.

 

[Hattig]

The first picture just makes my eyes bleed. That first image is so cluttered and ugly it should be killed with fire. The bottom image is, a rip off of the iPhone, but at least it looks right.

Overall, it may be an OK phone, now what run on it besides the standard software? Is there an app for that?

The Samsung Bada phone is more interesting.

From http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=24&id=3147 you can see that is also supports widgets / "live tiles" (the calculator widget in the Nexus/Wave comparison photo). Android has these too. Windows Phone 7 will have them (but maybe restricted within tile boundaries).

iPhone OS is looking out of date now with its Palm OS style Springboard app launcher.

 

[ChazUK]

Sod what Microsoft and Samsung have announced. HTC have somethig more desirable....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltSyVNO5tvM