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LG's Windows Phone 7 Series Early Prototype
suraj.sun writes to tell us that Engadget got an early look at the new Windows Phone 7 series early prototype (and included a video). "The QWERTY slider is the first branded Windows Phone 7 Series device the world's ever seen, and while the hardware and software are both obviously early, we can tell you a few things about it: it's just a hair thicker than an iPhone or Nexus One, there are dedicated hardware camera, volume, and power buttons in addition to the back, home, and search buttons dictated by Windows Phone 7 Series, and we noticed a five megapixel camera with a flash on the back, along with a headphone jack. Can't say much apart from that right now, since things are so early and everything is subject to change, but things are certainly moving along."
I've not seen a lot of the Win 7 Mobile UI but what I have seen suggests that Microsoft can't quite bring themselves to abandon desktop Windows style design elements in favor of things more appropriate to the small screen of a handheld.
This sums it up well. If you put those same screenshots next to an Android phone you'd have the same result. Win 7 Mobile wastes a lot of space and spends a lot of time looking whizzy, without really accomplishing anything. Animating every action was forgivable 10 years ago in bad powerpoint presentations. It isn't any longer.
Well... I would like that phone with android installed on it ;)
FAR less information than this, routinely gets posted in the Apple section.
Who names this stuff? Windows Phone 7 Series? Microsoft has virtually unlimited resources. How can their marketing be so awful?
I would say if it is half as popular as the Zune, Microsoft has nothing to worry about.
I would say if it is half as popular as the Zune, Microsoft has nothing to worry about.
If it's half as popular as Zune, Google/Apple/Nokia/Palm/etc have nothing to worry about.
I can't stand the WP7S UI, it just seems irritating. It's designed so nothing fits on the screen, even the date displayed on the pic in the article is truncated. To access anything you'll need to move horizontal and vertical.
It reminds me back in the days of 14" monitors. I remember that in Linux I could set up X to use a much higher resolution than the monitor supported and then you'd use the mouse to pan around the screen. I hated that then, I hate it now.
Make things fit on the screen where possible, scroll only when necessary.
Microsoft is just trying to look fancy with no thought on usability. You'd get tired of all this very quickly.
Let us consider: Microsoft is normally ridiculed for inferior products, yet frequently has dominant market share. So how is Microsoft marketing a failure?
Because Monopoly means you don't necessarily have to market (or market well), most customers are forced to come to you, like it or not.
For instance, there are still a fair number of people that MUST have Windows Mobile phones because that is what the corporation will buy for them.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Obligatory link: http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/images/iProduct.gif
"He may look like an idiot, and talk like an idiot, but don't let that fool you. He really is an idiot." - Duck Soup
Windows "Phone" shows where MS would be today if they didn't have an illegal monopoly on PC Desktop. They think people love and trust to Windows brand and would use it if they have been given a real chance to choose.
On the other hand, Symbian, iPhone OS (post 2.x) and various Linux based platforms and even ARM (CPU) itself enjoys the popularity which would occur on x86 Desktop if MS/Intel/IBM gang didn't exist. It is like the 80s home computer wars and it is fun to watch how amazing things come from competition.
I guess it is Ballmer who insist on Windows name as you would expect from him. Most of people I know says "Windows desktop is really enough from 9 to 5, don't even think I can stand to it in my personal life when I got chance to choose."
In looking at those screenshots, that phone looks a LOT thicker than an iPhone. Even with the case I have on mine, it looks thicker.
"Klaatu, verada, necktie!" -Ash
The hardware rundown even sounds identical to the Motorola Droid (Hardware keyboard, volume rocker, power button, camera button, 5mp camera, flash)... Not saying that it's an uncommon configuration, but given that they compared it to the iPhone and NexusOne, what about comparing it to the other flagship Android device (the one that's the most popular in the USA)?
If a man isn't willing to take some risk for his opinions, either his opinions are no good or he's no good
I wonder if they fixed the bug that causes Pocket Outlook to corrupt your mailbox when you reset it?
--srj/mmv
Win 7 Mobile wastes a lot of space and spends a lot of time looking whizzy...
Fair enough, but maybe LG have finally learned a lesson from users' complaints: namely that the only difference between LG's own software and a bucket of shit is the bucket. If they can find anybody else's software to use, it's highly likely to be an improvement.
I have had many LG appliances, including phones, TV and a HDD PVR. The hardware is in some cases quite good (with a big exception that is off-topic in this discussion), but it is seriously badly let down by the shitty quality of their software.
I would say if it is half as popular as the Zune, Microsoft has nothing to worry about.
:-)
If it's TWICE as popular as the Zune, Microsoft still has nothing to worry about.
It's a shaking motion. The designers thought that the most used motion should be used to the mostly needed command, and every phone has an acceleration sensor these days. Also, if something is not working, users shake the device automatically. Some of the designers suggested that this should be coupled to the user shouting "HELLO!", but that had some internationally challenging problems.
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
I would say if it is half as popular as the Zune, Microsoft has nothing to worry about. If it's TWICE as popular as the Zune, Microsoft still has nothing to worry about. :-)
If it's TWICE as popular as the Zune, Google/Apple/Nokia/Palm/etc still have nothing to worry about. :-)
The sad thing is I am not sure if you are kidding or not.
Now those rumors about Microsoft purchasing the Shake-Weight company makes perfect sense - the paring on sales at Amazon are going to skyrocket Shake-Weight sales. Running low on energy always reseting your phone from a BSOD? Get Shake-Weight and have the arm strength you need to reset any Microsoft phone....
I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress -J Adams
Linking to Engadget is barely allowed at /.
Linking to Engadget stories with lame ass videos that don't even show the product is punishable by ruler slaps!
The thing about Symbian is that it really isn't a "global" player despite having a large marketshare. No matter what you think about the US it is a primary source of SW development as well as hype and branding. Nokia for some unknown reason has essentially abandoned the American market starting about 5 years ago. You can find them here and there but back in the day everybody owned a Nokia. Today it just simply isn't on the radar of Americans or more importantly the significant American software and services companies. You won't for instance ever see a Nokia featured in American TV or films. The smartphone industry is in many ways a popularity contest ignoring a significant market, especially one as culturally influential as the US is just plain dumb. Hopefully they will smarten up but until then the hype and interested will be on RIM, Apple, and Google. Mindshare is powerfull stuff.
I would argue that RIM offers a better deal to many organizations as opposed to MS. In my experience Blackberry deployment has almost always been smoother than WinMo.
First - yeah, US market is important but...don't overestimate its importance in relation to the rest of the world. It's quite atypical market. Look how well Nokia is doing in the rest of the world anyway, with them being the only major cellphone manufacturer that's very profitable (others are either out of the market, struggling financially, or mobile phones are far from vast majority of their business; RIM might be an exception - though do they sell phones or corporate/carrier service?)
Secondly, it's not much of a mystery why Nokia isn't really present in the US - several years ago (when mobiles really started becoming more than voice + sms) it refused excessive castration of its phones, which was demanded by US cellphone carriers...and there you go.
One that hath name thou can not otter
Monopoly with low quality of code. On a device which requires high quality and efficient code, they fail since there is Symbian, Maemo Apple etc. there.
On Desktop, inefficient code and security issues can be fixed with high speed cpu and security software. On devices, device needs reboot middle of a phone call or has comical battery life. The king on current smart phones is Apple, there is also RIM (Java, imagine!), Nokia (Symbian was developed for mobile) and Google giant. MS enjoys (!) the fact that they have to compete and they really think people like Windows. They don't. It is some de-facto reality rather than choice.
Unless IT guys get bribed by MS or they are plain stupid/ignorant, there are very very good solutions to access Exhange/MS servers on Blackberry and Symbian. In fact, Symbian ones come free in general.
Of course, having met a "Windows server" admin lately, I am not sure how will that idiot who recently forced an entire office to XP Pro from XP Home because he misunderstood a KB article will look for such solutions.
RIM enjoys a similar ignorance too, it is not widely known that most Symbian phones will happily logon to their infrastructure mostly for free. I am not talking about some garage software which uses reverse engineered things. Absolutely licensed/proprietary code.
I didn't say it was good or bad. It is just fact.
Earlier you said
Monopoly means you don't necessarily have to market (or market well) most customers are forced to come to you, like it or not.
Microsoft maintains their monopoly through a certain amount of shady business practices, but also because there is no enterprise competition to speak of. If Apple dropped their prices, or if the Linux community could settle on a cohesive set of basic standards, Microsoft could possibly lose their monopoly. Just because Microsoft is the only place you can buy Windows and Office doesn't make them a monopoly. If they somehow worked out a deal to outlaw other software, then I think you would have a more valid argument. (And yes, I have no doubt that Microsoft would love to, and would try to implement, such an idea.)
who wants to be stuck with WM 6.5 when there are a world of more advanced phones out there? Executives will not put up with that BS
Executives only care about being reliably connected to their information. The Blackberry is probably the worst device I have ever used, except for one feature: e-mail. It's always on, works well internationally, and their business devices have very type-able keyboards.
I think the contractor/gray PR company who is involved in spamming all web 2.0 sites also have idling slashdot mod accounts and modding down all the messages comes with the price.
MS can't admit their huge mistakes like Nokia did and they think, polishing the clunky UI, bribing IT departments and abusing sites will "fix" the situation.
Unfortunately, it may work.
Aren't you forgetting about Symbian?...
You know, that smarthpone OS which almost has more marketshare than all the platforms you mentioned, combined...
Only just.
But I would argue that Symbian can hardly be included in the list since it's not really a part of the smartphone application race in any significant way.
The difference between Symbian and all other competitors on the list is, most people buy a phone that happens to have Symbian running it, whereas for Android or the iPhone or Pre or WM, people buy a device specifically because it runs that OS.
Even thinking about the people that buy something really advanced like the N900, how many people are really buying it because of Symbian vs. just buying it for the specific feature set it ships with?
We should see Nokia devices start to ship with Android in a year or two, once they give up the alternate path they are taking now.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I keep reading about those daily reboots, but I have owned 6 different windows mobile phones since 2002 and I never had such problems.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
Looks a lot like a cheaper version of the G1 physically and the actual OS looks like it borrows ideas from the iPhone and Android. If MS is always going to rely on copying other people then they'll always be one step behind. Oh well, I'm sure they'll tie in with Windows in some way to gain an advantage.
Agreed, I am not a fan of WinMo 6 at all - but it never gave me any real problems (regarding crashing or rebooting). Just ugly and hard to use at times - also, the Palm Treo wasn't exactly an eye-catcher (which I ran for a long time).
If Apple dropped their prices
Apple needs more than a price drop to compete in enterprise space. They need a lot of developers and a good number of years to come up with worthwhile application stack that speaks to the business market. I doubt they will ever go there. As Apple fans are fond of saying, "You aren't Apple's target market." Apple's target market seems to be consumers with extra cash to spend, and consumers who want a reliable, consumer based computing experience. They don't care about ERP or CRM or IT.
Executives only care about being reliably connected to their information. The Blackberry is probably the worst device I have ever used, except for one feature: e-mail. It's always on, works well internationally, and their business devices have very type-able keyboards.
You got it mostly right. I'd suggest that a reliable Calendar is of equal importance to email. As soon as you make the jump from "doing things" to "meeting with and giving direction to people who do things", that calendar becomes very important.
I can definitely also see Microsoft coming out with their own "smartphone".
Called it.
Unless IT guys get bribed by MS or they are plain stupid/ignorant, there are very very good solutions to access Exhange/MS servers on Blackberry and Symbian. In fact, Symbian ones come free in general.
Don't forget that Apple finally got on the bandwagon and licensing Active Sync from Microsoft. Now the iPhone seamlessly syncs with Exchange mail, calendar and tasks. If I weren't such a purist and attached to the keyboard on my Blackberry, I'd consider an iPhone.
That was the point I was going for. No idea why the mods have moderated my initial post as flamebait - makes no sense. As you say, was highlighting that the specs are the same as many phones out there - im genuinely interested in how win 7 mobile plays out - but this article offers nothing at all on that. Meh, meta-moderation is a great thing ;)
It's clear you don't understand how the UI works.
I own a Zune HD, which works from the same concept. Allow me to explain it to you.
The idea is similar to how a desktop works stretched across multiple monitors.
Yes, the background spans them all. However, any individual application only uses 1 monitor's worth of space.
You go side-to-side to access another slice of screen, which is easily done by tapping your finger once on that side of the screen, where you see the next "monitor's worth" as a mini-screen off to that side, dimmer, and "off in the distance".
So it is simultaneously 3-dimensional and multi-monitor, as though the monitors were arranged on a rotating platform.
It actually works very well. I like it.
I can see how you can come away thinking that it's just part of a big screen, based on the released desktop mock-ups. But you're missing the point completely, and need to sit down with the hardware and try it out.
I hope that wasn't the "I never saw it so it doesn't exist" argument. I've owned two winmo phones: An ipaq that needed to be reset weekly, and a pharos that needed to be reset every day or two.
FWIW, the first reboot of my iPhone 3GS was six months after I got it. I think I've rebooted it twice more since then.
FWIW2, before I got the 3GS, I was a professional winmo developer plus a lifelong apple hater. So I had to swallow a bit of pride to pay cash dollars for the iPhone. No regrets, though.
Slashdot: come for the pedantry, stay for the condescension.
Indeed - the equivalent Apple story would be about a mere rumour of a new phone, based on some idle speculation on a non-notable blog, claiming he'd noticed Apple were ordering in some new electronic equipment from some far off country...
And we'd get that story posted everyday, for the next three months.
LG have vastly more market share in the phone market than Apple - yet when was the last time we had a story on them? Compared with daily ones for the Iphone...
*yawn* Pro-Apple tactic #434 - redefine "market share" to mean something else.
Not to mention that you confuse yourself. If you want to say that it's only the US market that matters (obviously I'm irrelevant, here in the UK), that's all very well, but you start off by saying they're not a global player. Which is it? Globally, Nokia are the market leader, by far. Globally, Apple are behind Nokia, LG, Samsung, Motorola, and RIM.
But even if we're talking only of the US, let's see some citations on market share for the entire mobile market (i.e., not some ill-defined "smartphone" market which artifically resticts the market to the Iphone and a few other handpicked devices)?
You won't for instance ever see a Nokia featured in American TV or films.
So Nokia don't use product placement as advertising on American TV. Big deal. Maybe they don't need to.
Mindshare is powerfull stuff.
By "Mindshare", you mean "What I think is best". Well I think different to you.
Indeed. It's probably because the media honestly think the mobile market consists of Apple and Google (despite them actually being two of the smallest players, way behind LG and Motorola). I suppose we should be thankful they cover LG at all...
It might be a faulty hardware then or some bad written application, because even my parents own 3 WM phones and they don't even know how to reset them because they never needed to do it.
And I am still a part-time CE developer.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap