Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone 7 Handsets

John.B said:
Isn't there anyone on the board at Microsoft willing to hold Ballmer accountable for completely missing every competitive threat over the past five years?
Click to expand...

At seemingly every turn... it's pretty amazing to see them (ahem, relatively) flounder under one screwball, isn't it? Looking forward to seeing them step it up once he's gone. They should be a hell of a lot farther along than they are... all those resources... what a waste.

Hell even Bill G is kicking their ass in building his robot army and saving the world and whatnot.
 
iHalo said:
The system is great... To compete against the iPhone 3g.

This is 2010. Get copy and paste. Get third party camera support. Get multitasking. You're behind the ball Microsoft.
Click to expand...

LOL. Bring out the apple fanboys.

Apple didn't have all of those things until a few months ago, and all were requested since 2007.
 
AidenShaw said:
Why? Apple makes one phone that's great for some and sucks for others. (I want a slide out keyboard or flip-phone with keyboard. I've tried IOS, and the onscreen keyboard completely sucks for me compared to a QWERTY keyboard.)

MS does software, and partners with hardware builders. That could mean more great phones for more people - instead of one compromise phone that doesn't fit many people's needs. (Where's FLASH????)

Choice is not evil.
Click to expand...

I'm happy to tell you Aidenshaw that you are completely out of tune with what's really going on. If Apple's "One Phone" idea was great for only SOME, and sucks for OTHERS, there wouldn't be hundreds of people standing in line buying them. Including the Andriod, I haven't seen one place where hundreds people were crowding up at multiple stores to buy a smartphone like they do for the iPhone. Choice isn't good all the time in terms of hardware. The iPhone gives plenty of choice with what you can make it do from the many App store apps.
 
HTC makes good phones and Microsoft has the name. Although I'm not in to it, I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a serious competitor.

The OS looks dated, and a lot of the features look borrowed from iOS and Android though.
 
Deadman64 said:
LOL. Bring out the apple fanboys.

Apple didn't have all of those things until a few months ago, and all were requested since 2007.
Click to expand...

And look what awesome features this new WP7 phones carry with them this very 2010.

I don't want to sound too Apple fanboy-ish, I do get easily interested in gadgets and tech, but this is really uninteresting for me.
 
sinsin07 said:
Saimcraig, I think you are missing my point. I am in agreement with you. The post I was responding to seemed to indicate the world is going HD streaming tomorrow. Forget about 1080p, if most US households can't do 720p, either due to lack of equipment, access to broadband or access to sufficient bandwith, how can this kill blueray overnight. That is the intent of my original question.
Click to expand...

I was agreeing with you - not countering. Blu-Ray isn't going anywhere for a long time Especially now that the TV companies are starting to get into 3D content as well.

*LTD* said:
Not entirely true.

Apple created the iPhone in the absence of any viable competition, and completely redefined the market overnight.

Apple created the iPad in the absence of competition, and created a new market overnight. And many have called it "just a big iPod Touch." Now look at what this big iPod Touch has done.

-Clipped because I don't want people to have to read your posts twice-
Click to expand...

Wrong on so many counts. Apple had competition in the form of other MP3 music players, phones, tablet devices etc which MADE them improve upon them.

And overnight? Ok. Rewriting history doesn't make it true.

I agree with the other poster - I won't put you on ignore. When you post - it's like a beacon of light indicating the fanboy mentality and anyone agreeing with you (100 percent) is clearly not worth my time. So thanks for that
 
Steve Jobs is a guy passionate about his products. He is involved on every level, hardware and software, and is knowledgable of everything inside and out. Ballmer OTOH is more of a face for Microsoft. He tries to sound convincing reading that teleprompter, but the disconnect is pretty obvious.

I watched the keynote and have yet to "get" what is really appealing about Windows Phone 7. Oh well, maybe it will come to me :) However I do welcome the competition, it drives innovation for everyone.
 
Man, you guys are harsh. It wasn't long ago that everyone was calling iOS "dated" and "boring."

I think that WP7 looks very interesting. The way the information on the phone is displayed is very unique, and it looks as if Microsoft is trying to create its own ecosystem as Apple has. I obviously still prefer my iPhone, but WP7 does look more interesting than Android in my opinion. Of course, the lack of some basic features such as multi-tasking and copy/paste is pretty ridiculous (especially since Windows mobile used to be targeted at a business demographic).

It probably won't sell as well as Android or iOS, but it's something new, and will definitely add a little competition to the market.
 
I'm so torn about Windows Phone 7.

I really do love the Windows platform. I didn't even mind Vista too much and Windows 7, I feel, has made my computer a lot more useful and organized. A few months ago when I was looking ahead to the end of my cell contract and hoping Windows Phone 7 would be out at about that time, I was really considering ditching iPhone or Android and going with Windows........until I saw a video of how Phone 7 functions and how you get around the OS, and I was turned off.

To me, it looks like a mess. And I'm not saying that to get down on MS. I love their stuff usually. But this new interface seems counterintuitive. When I pick up an iPhone or (sometimes) an Android phone, I can immediately figure out how to do what I want to do. It took me all of 10 minutes to learn the ins and outs of my iPhone 4, which is my first ever smartphone. I'm sure I could learn Windows Phone 7 pretty quickly too, but it just doesn't look worth it. Yeah, as the commercials more or less say, smartphones bug you all the time that you have e mail, texts, calls, facebook messages, etc. But they're supposed to. If you don't like that, get a regular phone.

I'm sad for Microsoft. They're still strong in the PC market, but that platform is slowly eroding. As long as Ballmer is in charge, you are not going to see anything very innovative come out of that company anymore.
 
lkrupp said:
Because for twenty years we've had to listen to the Windows crowd bash, denigrate and make fun of Mac users. Now that Apple is the company on top, the one to beat and Microsoft is the late underdog to the party we're supposed to be all happy and encouraging to them? I don't think so. Microsoft got where they are by anti-competitive behavior, by stifling innovation, by literally buying out the competition and then sweeping it under the rug.

You apparently haven't been around long enough to remember when the internet was 99% Windows only and Mac users were quite nastily told to go away as we weren't worth accommodating.

Mark my words. Ballmer and Microsoft will try their damnedest, spend as much money as it takes, and pull every anti-competitive trick in the book to get their mobile OS going. They've already offered to pay iOS developers to port their apps to WP7. So no, we don't want WP7 to get any traction at all. I, for one, will never accept being assimilated by the Borg and Uncle Fester.Not now.
Click to expand...

THAT was enjoyable to read. I've been around long enough to remember that Microsoft invented the reason for the word "Vaporware." Some small developer would announce a new software product and MS would announce that they would soon have the same product (but better). People would hold off buying the real software, waiting for the Microsoft version, that would never come. Meanwhile the small developer would fold, and nothing would be available. Sometimes Microsoft even bought up the little developer (for a song) and put the product out under their name.

There was a lot of evil going on in the '80s and early '90s.

So, to me it was encouraging to see that when MS announced earlier this year that they were going to put a Zune 7OS phone out, that the sales of iPhones and Droids didn't miss a beat. It seems no one held up purchasing for whatever WS might put out.
 
"Choice" (so-called) doesn't amount to much when it offers nothing really compelling. Choice in this case, becomes not only superfluous but potentially confusing.
 
spiderman0616 said:
I'm so torn about Windows Phone 7.

I really do love the Windows platform. I didn't even mind Vista too much and Windows 7, I feel, has made my computer a lot more useful and organized. A few months ago when I was looking ahead to the end of my cell contract and hoping Windows Phone 7 would be out at about that time, I was really considering ditching iPhone or Android and going with Windows........until I saw a video of how Phone 7 functions and how you get around the OS, and I was turned off.

To me, it looks like a mess. And I'm not saying that to get down on MS. I love their stuff usually. But this new interface seems counterintuitive. When I pick up an iPhone or (sometimes) an Android phone, I can immediately figure out how to do what I want to do. It took me all of 10 minutes to learn the ins and outs of my iPhone 4, which is my first ever smartphone. I'm sure I could learn Windows Phone 7 pretty quickly too, but it just doesn't look worth it. Yeah, as the commercials more or less say, smartphones bug you all the time that you have e mail, texts, calls, facebook messages, etc. But they're supposed to. If you don't like that, get a regular phone.

I'm sad for Microsoft. They're still strong in the PC market, but that platform is slowly eroding. As long as Ballmer is in charge, you are not going to see anything very innovative come out of that company anymore.
Click to expand...
Ditto. I acknowledge that they are doing somethingn very different and they did not borrow any existing UI concept from iOS and Android, but I just don't get it and I don't even understand how "normal" people will "get it" either.

That and the bold white text on clear black/color background... I don't know.
 
lkrupp said:
They've already offered to pay iOS developers to port their apps to WP7.
Click to expand...

Virtually every company involved in every major hardware/software transition in the last few decades has paid or otherwise assisted 3rd parties to port applications to new platforms.

Didn't MacRumours have stories about how Intel helped Apple to abandon its PowerPC users to port to x64?

Pot. Kettle. Dark charcoal.


*LTD* said:
"Choice" (so-called) doesn't amount to much when it offers nothing really compelling. Choice in this case, becomes not only superfluous but potentially confusing.
Click to expand...

I'm not confused about my desire for a QWERTY keyboard.

It's not like I'm too stupid to deal with a mouse with more than one button. :)
 
samcraig said:
I agree with the other poster - I won't put you on ignore. When you post - it's like a beacon of light indicating the fanboy mentality and anyone agreeing with you (100 percent) is clearly not worth my time. So thanks for that
Click to expand...

So basically, you're saying to use his post as a barometer of how not to be? :D
 
lkrupp said:
You apparently haven't been around long enough to remember when the internet was 99% Windows only and Mac users were quite nastily told to go away as we weren't worth accommodating.

Mark my words. Ballmer and Microsoft will try their damnedest, spend as much money as it takes, and pull every anti-competitive trick in the book to get their mobile OS going. They've already offered to pay iOS developers to port their apps to WP7. So no, we don't want WP7 to get any traction at all. I, for one, will never accept being assimilated by the Borg and Uncle Fester.Not now.
Click to expand...

A few things. I HAVE been around long enough. And my thoughts come from being objective (I think) and not subjective.

Apple is not an innocent. Look at what they've done lately in the marketplace - they're taking an active roll in killing competition or technologies that don't suit them. They've hammered away in the publishing (video, print and audio) industries to get what they want and to obliterate the competition. It's business. It's what companies do. But because people (here) like Apple - that makes it ok. When MS does it - it's evil. Both companies weren't exactly "kosher" in the 80s and 90s. Judge them all I say - or it's hypocrisy.

You talk about being assimilated and "borg" like. Apple is doing that as well. One phone. One iOs. Very little customization and a closed sandbox. It's their way or the highway. And that works for them. But if you think that's not being assimilated or borg like - then you're not seeing the forrest for the trees. Apple isn't so much about thinking different - it's more about thinking like Steve/Apple wants you to think.

Again - this is why it's good and healthy to have OPTIONS (getting back to the topic). You can have your needs met and the guy next to you can have his. Pity the world we live in if we had NO choices...
 
For those that keep talking about being confused by choice, not all models are available on all carriers. So the choice is not as wide as it is being made out. Secondly, for those that have sucky carrier services with a particular carrier, yes they would now have a choice of WM7 phones on a carrier that works form them.
 
*LTD* said:
"Choice" (so-called) doesn't amount to much when it offers nothing really compelling. Choice in this case, becomes not only superfluous but potentially confusing.
Click to expand...

There's no need to use the phrase "so called." There IS choice. Whether or not you consider the competition enough is another matter. But there is choice by clear definition. I'm pretty sure Canadians use most of the same vocabulary/definitions. But if there is more than one item - there's a choice. :)

And confusing? You mean having more than one option is too mind boggling for you and others? Pity. And here I thought Apple enthusiasts like yourself prided yourself on being intelligent and clever. If you can't discern one device from another and/or spend a few minutes with another device to grasp how it functions that says a lot more about you than anything else.

Don't worry LTD - Apple will still make the iPhone and other products you love. You just have to accept that your neighbor might decide to use/buy something else. Try not to judge them so harshly ;)
 
samcraig said:
A few things. I HAVE been around long enough. And my thoughts come from being objective (I think) and not subjective.

Apple is not an innocent. Look at what they've done lately in the marketplace - they're taking an active roll in killing competition or technologies that don't suit them. They've hammered away in the publishing (video, print and audio) industries to get what they want and to obliterate the competition. It's business. It's what companies do. But because people (here) like Apple - that makes it ok. When MS does it - it's evil. Both companies weren't exactly "kosher" in the 80s and 90s. Judge them all I say - or it's hypocrisy.

You talk about being assimilated and "borg" like. Apple is doing that as well. One phone. One iOs. Very little customization and a closed sandbox. It's their way or the highway. And that works for them. But if you think that's not being assimilated or borg like - then you're not seeing the forrest for the trees. Apple isn't so much about thinking different - it's more about thinking like Steve/Apple wants you to think.

Again - this is why it's good and healthy to have OPTIONS (getting back to the topic). You can have your needs met and the guy next to you can have his. Pity the world we live in if we had NO choices...
Click to expand...

He's already been assimilated, just not by Microsoft. But he would have us believe his assimilation is better because it is by Apple. What he should really be striving for is not to be assimilated in the first place.
 
"A different kind of phone."

Guess a phone that rips off the webOS model, uses a half baked UI from the MIT Media Lab that is totally unproven in the mass market and contains a proprietary scripting language is a different kind of phone.

A better phone? Let's see how the market responses to that. At least they are not claiming it is an enforceable standard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back