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

Windows Phone 7 launch... Houston, We have a problem

R

Radiation

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 14, 2010
3
0
Hello,
I went to the Windows Store in Lone Tree Colorado this morning for it's 9:00 Win phone 7 launch to see what kind of turn out there was. Well long story short, there wasn't any turn out at all. No line prior to the store opening, no big unveiling, nada. the store just sort of opened like any old day. And waiting in front? Me and about 6-7 other customers.

They were serving coffee and breakfast stuff. There were a few people in the store (more on this later) and of course the windows phones displays spread throughout the store. I started wandering around to get a feel for what people were there for.

I started to realize slowly that out of all the people there (about 50 or so) maybe 80% of those people were representatives from various companies, HTC, Samsung, AT&T, T-mobile, etc. The rest were customers most of which didn't seem to care a bit about the new windows phone. Most were buying computers just like any other day. It really hit home when a lady wearing a name tag for some company I didn't recoginize asked me "Hi, what company do you represent?" and I said "I'm just checking out the new Windows phones, not here for any company" and she just said "oh" and walked away.

In a word the showing was pathetic. Nothing bombastic, nothing eye catching, nothing of note other than a raffle for a free computer and free breakfast. Here are some pictures I took of the "event".

5158474395_1a6ed6547c_b.jpg


5159085170_0eba39fa2d_b.jpg


5158475225_8fcb74d0a9_b.jpg


5159082780_68dcd7093d_b.jpg


5159086082_6d9867cdee_b.jpg
 
Last edited:
Wow, looks like a total rip-off of the Apple store. Still I might visit the next time I'm in the area.
 
I'm not surprised there wasn't a big turnout at the launch. According to their website, there's only 7 stores nationwide, mainly in the west part of the country. By the way, what did you get for breakfast? :D
 
Add in the fact unlike apple MS does not make a huge of a deal about launching. There was a story posted here a while ago that showed that WP7 were sold out in a lot of places.
 
Rodimus Prime said:
Add in the fact unlike apple MS does not make a huge of a deal about launching. There was a story posted here a while ago that showed that WP7 were sold out in a lot of places.
Click to expand...
MS probably paid the handset makers not to ship more than one unit per city so they could claim that they sold out on the launch day.:p
 
Rodimus Prime said:
Add in the fact unlike apple MS does not make a huge of a deal about launching. There was a story posted here a while ago that showed that WP7 were sold out in a lot of places.
Click to expand...

Isn't Microsoft the company that hired a bunch of people to dance in Times Square to promote the Kinect?

When did Apple ever do anything like that?
 
roadbloc said:
Simply different? That's very much similar to Apple's 'Think Different' is it not?

Anyway, it's a shame the showing flopped. Windows Phone 7, despite it's immaturity as a mobile OS, looks promising.
Click to expand...

I think supply is low on phones so if they did hype the launch it would've been a letdown to people who wanted to get phones. Plus the launch phones aren't spectacular IMO. HTC is getting too big for their own good.

I want something like the Dell Venue Pro without the keyboard on Verizon :D
That plus backgrounding and a task switcher would be my ideal OS. C&P would be nice also.
 
Why would someone go into a mall when they can visit their local carrier store which is likely closer and easier to get in and out of? Apple stores are big on launch day because that's pretty much where you have to go.
 
chrmjenkins said:
Why would someone go into a mall when they can visit their local carrier store which is likely closer and easier to get in and out of? Apple stores are big on launch day because that's pretty much where you have to go.
Click to expand...

false. there are lines at all AT&T stores on launch day as well. And not to mention the option to buy it online and have it shipped to your house....
 
As far as the OS I saved my opinion on it until I actually held it in my hand and tried it for myself. It absolutely sucks. There's really no easier way to summarize the experience with it. The "Hubs" concept is terrible, one thing I didn't realize with the iPhone is just how much you actually use visual queues like what icons look like rather than reading what the app is. Hubs makes everything look pretty much the same with a few exceptions. This makes the user actually have to slow down and absorb way more information in order to find what they want. Reading instead of seeing in a way. Yes it tells you some stuff that iOS doesn't at a glance, but ultimately it really takes way too much time to scroll through a bunch of giant square boxes that look exactly alike to find the one thing you're looking for.

Apps on winpho7 feels like an afterthought. The way you access it is with the little arrow key on the top right (which makes absolutely no sense) so you click it and a list view of all your apps pop up and just like the home screen you have to vertically scroll through a list of apps. Loading apps was very hit or miss. Some apps loaded pretty quick, others loaded very slow.

The screen on every single windows phone is more on par with the iPhone 3gs than the new 4. They are all plastic handsets, no forward facing camera, battery life in the 4 hour to 6 hour range, and of course all the other things you've heard about regarding holes in the OS.

If people really believe that this OS is superior to Android or iOS in any way they probably haven't actually used wp7 in any real capacity. There is absolutely NOTHING that makes me think it is obsoleting anything including windows mobile 6.X and that is no exaggeration.
 
Last edited:
bigjnyc said:
false. there are lines at all AT&T stores on launch day as well. And not to mention the option to buy it online and have it shipped to your house....
Click to expand...

Yes, and I'm sure he would notice all the people lined up at their own doors waiting for their phones to arrive.

AT&T stores get them, but not in near the quantities Apple stores do. For example, at the iphone 4 launch, my local AT&T stores were doing strictly pre-orders only, no walk-ins.

The point is that you can't compare lines at a Microsoft store to an Apple store for more reasons than the popularity of the phone(s) alone.
 
chrmjenkins said:
Yes, and I'm sure he would notice all the people lined up at their own doors waiting for their phones to arrive.

AT&T stores get them, but not in near the quantities Apple stores do. For example, at the iphone 4 launch, my local AT&T stores were doing strictly pre-orders only, no walk-ins.

The point is that you can't compare lines at a Microsoft store to an Apple store for more reasons than the popularity of the phone(s) alone.
Click to expand...

well your post made it seem like going to the Apple store was the only option, when in fact a bulk of the sales comes from pre-orders and people receiving the phone at home. AT&T definitely does not get as many units as the Apple stores but they do get a good chunk and there are way more AT&T locations than Apple stores. And dont forget about best buy and walmart gettting phones as well. The point is that you cant compare lines at microsoft store to an apple store because there really is no comparison.
 
falconeight said:
Its a great phone OS, makes IOS look like a dinosaur
Click to expand...

Microsoft is getting a lot better, they just suck at PR. I'm hoping to see a little Windows 7 and a little Android in my iOS. Windows 7 does have the best set up so far, making your favorite stuff easily accessible however you want. The question for them will be getting great apps to rival iOS.
 
Wow - thanks for the review. I didn't make it to the Oak Brook one.

Most people, including me, go for the XBox stuff anyways... ;)

I also love the MS Mice and Keyboards - great place to try them out.

I think MS is a bit late to the Smartphone party anyways. I tried it out and looks like it has evolved, though.
 
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