Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone 7 Lineup

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone 7 Lineup

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday October 11, 2010 @05:09AM from the we-can-do-it-too dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "Microsoft officially unveiled its Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, announcing that it will be available on a total of five devices in the US. Windows Phone 7 handsets from AT&T and T-Mobile will begin shipping in November, while devices from Sprint and Verizon will be available next year. In all, Microsoft announced nine Windows Phone 7 phones, the remainder of which will be available in Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Singapore, and Australia. It will debut in some European markets on Oct. 21. While early signs are encouraging for Windows Phone 7, it is being deemed as do or die for the future of Microsoft's business."

34 of 391 comments (clear)

Do or die? by overshoot · 2010-10-11 05:12 · Score: 3, Insightful

Give me a break. Microsoft hasn't been dependent on first-mover advantage since the 80s.
If they don't get traction with 7, they can do 8. Or buy Nokia or RIM out of couch-cushion change. Or several dozen other ways to buy into the market that I haven't thought of but I'm sure someone in Redmond has, singly or in combination.

--
Lacking <sarcasm> tags, /. substitutes moderation as "Troll."
1. Re:Do or die? by tokul · 2010-10-11 05:24 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Or buy Nokia or RIM out of couch-cushion change
  
  They already bought Danger Incorporated. If they buy RIM and repeat T-Mobile Sidekick disaster, PHBs should learn something about MS.
2. Re:Do or die? by Anon-Admin · 2010-10-11 05:46 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Dude, they will return to 80's tactics.
  #1) Put out an "Update" that breaks connectivity between the desktop and the Iphone and Droid Phone.
  #2) When the two fix the phone to make it work again do number 1
  #3) repeat #1-#2 several times.
  #4) Release WP8 pointing out that there phone never has problems communicating with your desktop
  #5) .......
Before you scoff, Try it by ChicagoDave · 2010-10-11 05:14 · Score: 5, Interesting

I've played with a developer phone in the last month and I'm currently an iPhone user. I have to say I think they're on to something. I like the iPhone, but I'm probably going to switch to WP7 in November. The integration between app and data is an order of magnitude higher than any other phone out there.

--
http://chicagodave.wordpress.com
1. Re:Before you scoff, Try it by geoffrobinson · 2010-10-11 05:23 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Maybe true. Probably a case of too little too late. They had numerous years to get it together.
  They can only follow, which is fine. But they had plenty of chances to lead.
  
  --
  Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
2. Re:Before you scoff, Try it by UnknowingFool · 2010-10-11 06:03 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  The problem is that MS is entering into a very crowded market with few advantages. They can't rely on existing WinMo users because more of them are business users which is different from the consumer focused Windows Phone 7. It's pretty much surrendering the business crowd to Blackberry in that regard. It seems like a decent, solid OS but it starts out way behind Apple and Android. There also isn't any features that entices most people to get it. There are not many apps which uses the same walled garden approach as Apple. As with anything new (especially MS), I advise people to wait after the 1st gen for them to work out the kinks.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
I guess he reads the minimsft blog by tomhudson · 2010-10-11 05:15 · Score: 3, Informative

http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2010/10/case-of-microsoft-downgrade-blues.html
mini's been saying the same thing - that WP7 is the product that will hopefully tie Microsoft together (but comments are weighing heavily towards the "or else" scenario)

And mainly: it's a very poor matter of timing for a break-up. We're about to have a mobile phone come out that actually binds the companies divisions far closer than ever before: Office, Windows Live, Xbox Live, Bing, and Dev Div: this damn thing is the antidote for break-up talk. WP7 wouldn't be impossible to create with a break-up, but it'd be exceptionally difficult. WP7 is pulling together huge resources that none of our direct competitors have.

KIN3 FTW !!!
-- Barbie
No, it is not do or die by Sycraft-fu · 2010-10-11 05:20 · Score: 4, Insightful

MS still controls the desktop, and lots of high end business market. That is a very solid, very profitable market. Then of course there's their office suite, game console, and so on. Having a strong mobile market would do nothing but help them for sure, but if you think they have to "do it or die" you've got your head in the sand. MS is doing just fine.
1. Re:No, it is not do or die by gbjbaanb · 2010-10-11 06:22 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  they've also seen their share price wibble along going nowhere while Apple's streaks upwards. You may not think that matters but it does, a lot. If this doesn't show some promise for future MS growth, you can expect a little shareholder revolt, Ballmer being kicked out and maybe a ton of layoffs and re-organisation in the name of shareholder value. You will probably also see some divisions spun off to stand on their own feet (yep, online and entertainment divisions.... you'll get your crutch made of cash kicked away) and then we'll see if MS is still the powerhouse, or if other companies suddenly find themselve with a lot of attention from ex-Microsoft shops.
  Let me put it this way - would you implement a Silverlight app today, when tomorrow it could be a dead technology replaced by Flash.Net? Its the same with businesses looking to implement their next set of apps, would they buy MS products if it looked like they were stumbling, or would they at least look at alternatives?
2. Re:No, it is not do or die by Locutus · 2010-10-11 08:34 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  yes, they still control the desktop but not as tightly as they did before the iPod was released. The iPod got people using iTunes and liking Apple products and soon they were opting for an Apple computer when the time came for a new one. I've seen lots of "Windows" folks getting Mac's because they were sick of the virus's and other wackiness of Windows and they felt Apple made a better, easier product.
  
  They've had Windows CE based devices on the market for something like 15 years yet Apple's iPhone blew it away and quickly Android beat it into irrelevance. As the iPod / iTunes products opened peoples eyes to Apple and the Mac, what do you think Android and all the talk of Android powered TVs, Tablets, Netbooks, MIDs, GPS's, etc will do?
  
  They "do or die" thing is an over statement but when the customers start to get choice at the brick and mortar stores, the fast slide down is upon them. Their brand is already drastically weaker and their stock price has been doing down while the others going up. And when large economies like Brazil( 5th in the world? ) is doing just fine using GNU LInux and open source software Microsoft has to spend billions annually to fend of more of that. I think they're slated to spend over $500 million just on marketing Windows Phone 7.
  
  It's really not all roses in Redmond and with these little phones getting so much press hyping, Steve Ballmer's neck is sticking out in front of his investors and the board of directors. They have to see a success which relates to profits and limits the growth of the others. Something they've failed to do over and over without the advantage of leveraging the Windows desktop market position. IMO
  
  LoB
  
  --
  "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
Re:Seriously? by Penguinisto · 2010-10-11 05:20 · Score: 3, Interesting

I don't think they're shooting as much for marketshare, as they are to enforce licensing on everyone who is not Apple (and Apple while they're at it). IF they can't sell phones, they'll still make money off of the mobile industry (see also their wee lawsuit).

--
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
Re:Image by h4rr4r · 2010-10-11 05:21 · Score: 5, Funny

Care to name any of those awesome products?
Zune?
Kin?
The red ring of death generator AKA XBOX 360?
Re:Seriously? by tekiegreg · 2010-10-11 05:23 · Score: 4, Interesting

Tend to agree. As a devoted .NET developer who recently got a droid and (via third party app) watched my droid sync up with my office Exchange Server nearly instantly. I'd been hanging on to my Windows Mobile 6.1 for quite some time, but moving from that to Droid was like taking 20 steps ahead in technology.

Mind you Droid is not without a few quirks,but the differences are phenomenal. Droid is clearly the better platform.

--
...in bed
slide-out speakers? by demonbug · 2010-10-11 05:23 · Score: 4, Funny

Wow. Just... wow. The HTC surround actually has a slide-out speaker (from Yamaha!)? I can't think of anything I want less in a cell phone. Maybe they should come out with an HTC ButteredPopcorn with a slide-out popcorn popper so I have something to snack on while reading all the (apparently deserved) MS-bashing around these phones.
missing some features by sr8outtalotech · 2010-10-11 05:26 · Score: 5, Interesting

I saw a demonstration of Windows 7 Mobile last week. Microsoft decided to remove the VPN client and remote desktop features that were available in previous versions of Windows Mobile. But the award for lamest concept by a large margin was replacing cut and paste with auto-complete. That didn't go over to well during the Excel Viewer demonstration where people were asking how you transferred formulas from one cell to another.
Re:Seriously? by mark72005 · 2010-10-11 05:30 · Score: 4, Insightful

Kin was never as great of an abomination as Windows Phone was.

Even if MSFT has a basically credible mobile phone OS, what do they have to draw people away from Apple, Android, or Blackberry?
Never Buy A Windows Mobile Device by ludomancer · 2010-10-11 05:32 · Score: 3, Insightful

Please take it from my lengthy, extremely painful, dissatisfied experience. Never buy a Windows Mobile phone. Ever. I don't care WHAT they might have done to this version of the software, I can guarantee you it will not work a fraction as well as any alternatives.
I own an HTC Mogul PPC6800. I have never experienced a product so poor, so lacking in quality and completely failing to fulfill its most primary functions. Every day I have to use it I wonder to myself how it was even released. I have never seen such a poor product even be allowed to enter consumer hands in exchange for money. It is just that bad.
I felt this would be a good topic with which to share that experience.
1. Re:Never Buy A Windows Mobile Device by kindbud · 2010-10-11 05:50 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  But you didn't share any experience. You merely asserted it was a very poor product, without naming any reasons why you thought so.
  
  --
  Edith Keeler Must Die
Why not go straight to Android? by guidryp · 2010-10-11 05:37 · Score: 3, Interesting

"And the iPhone seems to have gotten a little long in the tooth, falling behind Android in many areas, feeling very rigid and "controlled", with few choices."
I don't know if you haven't really read anything about WP7, but it is cloning the Old iPhone, no "cut n' Past", no real multi-tasking, no flash, no side loading applications.
If iPhone "rigid and controlled" is bothering you, it won't change much in WP7, why not go to Android. What do you think WP7 will give you that Android won't?
Re:Seriously? by SpryGuy · 2010-10-11 05:40 · Score: 4, Informative

what do they have to draw people away from Apple, Android, or Blackberry?
XBox Live integration
Windows Live integration
Office integration
Free "sync to cloud" and "find my phone"
ZunePass
Zune software is much better on Windows than iTunes
Works better with Windows (which is what most people use ... iPhone works better with OS X, so I don't think those people are the target)
I use iPhone on Windows, and I'm very much looking forward to being able to uninstall iTunes and never have to fire up that piece of crap again. And the ZunePass rocks (it's a great deal), and that too is enticing for me.
For business types (not me), the Office integration might be a draw. I can see that.

--

- Spryguy
There are three kinds of people in this world: those that can count and those that can't
Here is my opinion by Yuioup · 2010-10-11 05:40 · Score: 4, Interesting

My problem with Microsoft is that they insist on programming everything in-house and lock you in to in-house networks and in-house apps. I prefer a rich ecosystem like the iPhone and Android where people can make their own apps and have them integrate into your social networking life.
Microsoft - once again - seems to want to make all your decisions for you and shove all their products down your throat.
I seriously wonder how many Microsofties will eat their company's dogfood and geniunely love it.
Y
Re:As long as I have to pay $99 by the_humeister · 2010-10-11 05:42 · Score: 3, Informative

Or you can get an Android phone. My Aria, despite the lack of "unknown sources" option, can still load other apps via the SDK. And the SDK is free too.
Re:Seriously? by shadowrat · 2010-10-11 05:44 · Score: 3, Interesting

They have XBox Live integration. I don't really understand it because i never got into live, but i have friends who love their xboxes dearly. They would do just about anything to have a phone that lets them see their buddies' achievements not to mention allow them to get new achievements. Some of them are even willing to buy out their iphone contracts to move to windows 7 phone.

That "killer" feature strikes me as something of a double edged sword though. Most analysts think a phone platform has to win enterprise adoption to really be successful, but what CTO for a large business is going to see xbox live integration as a selling point? Sure it's also got active sync and great exchange integration, but so does blackberry.

personally, i'd be interested in getting a device if there is an analog to the ipod touch (something i also wish existed for android, and no, i don't consider the weird chinese android devices an option). afaik the zune HD is not win 7 phone, yet. I have no interest in breaking my current phone contract though.
Angry Birds say WTF? by jrozzi · 2010-10-11 05:54 · Score: 5, Informative

Microsoft added Angry Birds to Windows Phone 7 site, Angry Birds developer say WTF!!!!??? They are so interested in making Windows 7 Mobile OS popular, they are making one sided friendships.
1. Re:Angry Birds say WTF? by StikyPad · 2010-10-11 09:30 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Already Angry Angry Birds Developers Even Angrier
  
  --
  https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
Re:MS Garbage Products: Xbox,Kin,Bing,... by RingBus · 2010-10-11 05:55 · Score: 4, Interesting

"Some people had hardware issues -- oh no"
A 65 percent failure rate on a piece of consumer hardware?
A 1 percent failure rate would be insane. That would be 1 out of every 100 consoles consistently failed. Well made consoles like the PS3, Wii, PS2, GameCube have failure rates in the sub .1 percent range.
The Xbox 360 is a piece of garbage. Microsoft knew it was defective before they rushed it out the door back in 2005 and did nothing to fix the inherent design defects.
Microsoft deserves the hate of gamers and the console world. They are reaping what they sowed. The console world has prided itself that it was gaming that just worked. You plugged your new console in at the start of a generation and it kept working to the end of the generation. Microsoft' piece of garbage Xbox 360 made a mockery of that concept.
Re:As long as I have to pay $99 by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-11 05:58 · Score: 4, Informative

The $99 fee is the annual Marketplace registration fee. To skip the market: Deploying XAP Files to Windows Phone 7.
Re:If I may add by gbjbaanb · 2010-10-11 06:16 · Score: 3, Informative

Sharepoint? You've never used it - Drupal is a lot better from almost every viewpoint.
Silverlight? So good its only got a 60% market share (accrding to Microsoft) and they're looking at partnering/buying Adobe for Flash.
Expression suite isn't so bad, but its a bit like FrontPage for the hackery it puts in your designs. Take a look at all the expression dlls the generated code references.
C# 4.0 - dynamic types (and crap like extension methods) is weakening the language. Now, you can slap code together like a scripting language, and most code will have just the same amount of quality to it as a lot of script has.
Re:Seriously? by spire3661 · 2010-10-11 06:27 · Score: 4, Insightful

I would like to know WHY the Lucasfilm 'droid' trademark applies to phones in any way or to any real world device at all outside of Star Wars toys/games.

--
Good-bye
did anyone see the browser? by YesIAmAScript · 2010-10-11 06:30 · Score: 4, Insightful

MS didn't show it in the demo (that I saw).
The quality of the browser is paramount. Do we know if it's any good? Their last one sure wasn't.

--
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
Re:MS's Crappy Online Gaming Service??? Really by UnknowingFool · 2010-10-11 08:27 · Score: 3, Insightful

There are far more Xbox Live subscribers than MobileMe account holders. Only a tiny fraction of iphone owners get a mobileme account. Yet several of the iphones more interesting features are locked away behind that service. If WinMo7 offers mobileme features for free + extra stuff that ties into the gamer-centric xbl it will potentially be quite attractive to a LOT of people.
MobileMe is for consumers that use Windows, OS X, iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPads. Xbox Live is only for gamers that use Microsoft's Xbox gaming platform. Gee, which population is bigger? Consumers or Xbox gamers? Targeting such a niche population isn't a major benefit.

--
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Re:MS's Crappy Online Gaming Service??? Really by vux984 · 2010-10-11 09:07 · Score: 3, Informative

There are roughly 2 million MobileMe subscribers vs 23 million Xbox Live Subscribers.
Gee, which population is bigger?
Indeed.
Targeting such a niche population isn't a major benefit.
"such a niche population"?
Re:Seriously? by Tumbleweed · 2010-10-11 09:37 · Score: 3, Funny

> Droid is still not a platform, though.
R2D2, C3PO and the others would like a word with you, sir.
I'm not the Pedantic-Man(tm) they're looking for. Move along.
Re:Seriously? by Barlo_Mung_42 · 2010-10-11 09:49 · Score: 3, Insightful

XBox isn't a monopoly. Windows Live isn't a monopoly. Zune is about as far from a monopoly as you can get. The online office apps that it works with are free to all. MS of 2010 isn't the MS of 2000.