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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.
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
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
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!
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.
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.
*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.