Chinese Phone Maker ZTE Turns Down WP7

An anonymous reader writes "Chinese smartphone maker ZTE, fifth largest in the world, has publicly criticized Microsoft for the lackluster market reaction to its Windows Phone 7 operating system and said that ZTE has no plans to develop a WP7-powered phone. That's bad news for Microsoft for its well-regarded but not well-received mobile OS."

Comments

Good.

[NFN_NLN]

Good. I don't have WP7, but that's because I owned WM6.5. In order to import contacts you HAD TO HAVE Outlook. You couldn't import from a text file. A simple list of names and phone numbers required a full install of Outlook. FU

Re:Good.

[517714]

I have a WM6.5 phone and WP7 offers so much less with little prospect of that being corrected in the next two years.

Multitasking is gone, at least for third party apps. Microsoft promises it later.

No Flash. Microsoft promises it later.

Office Integration - no cut and paste? Microsoft promises it later. No aftermarket app that truly does the job, like SoftMaker - coming soon to Android, not WM7

With Hubs Microsoft seems to created ^h^h^h^h^h^h^hcopied a nice interface by using some of the best front end ideas (UI's) from their WM6 phone manufacturers like HTC and app developers like SPB, Resco, and others and abandoned these same developers by changing the Dev tools and programming language. Few of the developers of the apps I use say they are going to port current or develop new apps for WP7. The good news is that all apps (dozens) should be available on Microsoft's Windows Mobile Market Place or maybe they'll change the name since WM is out and WP is in.

Apple may have garden walls for its apps, but Microsoft will have cemetery plots.

Disclaimer: I've owned WM since it was CE, but Android's next for me.

Re:Good.

[dakohli]

I think it brings an innovative new UI to the game (rather than the "me too" of Android's copying of iOS's aging UI).

Umm, I have used both, and while I see some similarities, Android is not a "copy" of iOS. Android brings widgets to the screen, in order to get info, I do not have to open an App. I have much greater flexibility in customising pages, The notification system is very different. I can even switch out the launcher for another if I want.

I see most of the phone UI's share some features, where they differ is implementation of details. When I used an iPhone (3gs) the thing I missed the most was the ability to have widgets on the screen. I used a task manager, and a weather display on my previous phone. I also didn't appreciate all of my apps spread across many screens. Although it got better when folders became available. The other thing I really didn't like was the lack of a file system. I couldn't easily access my files. Of course, not having removable memory was a pain as well. I won't even mention my hate-hate relationship with iTunes.

I have not used wp7. I would be very interested in someone listing some of the features in comparison to Android and iOS. I do understand that it may not support removable memory, although the onboard memory can be augmented in some phones by a micro-SD card. So, what does the windows phone bring to the fight?

Well-regarded?

[Shag]

Not to be obtuse, but where exactly is WP7 "well-regarded" beyond, say, WP7 commercials? I read a lot of reviews when it came out, and the most favorable ones seemed to view it as a passable mobile OS but short of features it'd need to really compete with the others. Saying "meh" or calling something mediocre doesn't strike me as regarding it well.

Re:well regarded ?

[thegarbz]

Who would have purchased an android phone 6 months after launch? Who would have predicted that Android market share would outpace iphone market share as quickly as it has?

Ummm anyone who was watching the market. There was clear signs that Android would be the next Sybian when the Open Alliance formed back in 2007 made up of many mobile device and chipset manufacturers. Then there were clearer signs in 2008 when another 14 companies joined the alliance which now pretty much included every handset manufacturer except Nokia. This very site has been praising the platform ever since it was announced that it would be open source and based of the 2.6 kernel.

The parent was right, given what we know about WP7 who would buy it? 6.5 was UI disaster of epic proportions, 6.0 was an inconsistent slow buggy mess which spent more time with an hourglass on the screen then it did making calls. On top of that, up until Nokia joined the Windows camp the only major handset provider pushing windows 7 phones was HTC, and even they are selling at glacial pace, and few manufacturers are pushing the platform.

Not to mention that the ads Microsoft push as of late are not only crap in quality, but also testing new waters such as at the start of Youtube videos providing them not with positive advertising, but instead a stigma of "the company who helped ruin youtube" and not just youtube. The only place I've seen microsoft ads is where I don't expect them, and haven't previously seen advertising.

THE REAL SCOOP ON WINPHONE 7 SERIES FAIL !!

[Anonymous Coward]

â--¦Capacitive, 4-point multi-touch screen with WVGA (480x800) resolution

However, no way to get more than 1 point using standard framework (silverlight)

â--¦1 GHz ARM v7 "Cortex/Scorpion" or better processor

No native code so compiler optimized/programmer-tightened assembly, is not available; not possible to do any cpu-critical coding - at all

â--¦DirectX9 rendering-capable GPU

Within constraints, like 2000x2000 max pixel area; poorly if at all documented are these thing since so little "good stuff" is documented, likely because these are absent

â--¦256 MB of RAM with at least 8 GB of Flash memory

Max any app can use is 90 MB; go over an app fails to get into marketplace - meaning no way to ever load it on any device except your own -- everything MUST BE GOTTEN FROM MARKET PLACE

â--¦Accelerometer with compass, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and Assisted GPS

Fine, but no access to compass, nor light sensor, nor prox sensor

â--¦5-megapixel camera with an LED flash

That's not saying much - no access to the flash, either

â--¦FM radio tuner

God am I glad, I think - but needs a special headphone cable else no radio for you

â--¦7 dedicated hardware buttons - back, Start, search, 2-stage camera, power/sleep and Volume Up and Down

And the only accessible button is the back button; the others are dedicated (to MS apps)

All in all, a fine system if you like your freedom dictated by the like of Hitler, Stalin, or Republicans

Re:Microsoft's "Problem"

[David Gerard]

The trouble with the Zune? They (a) put wifi in (b) didn't put a web browser in. They could have had the iPod Touch beaten by six months and made everyone realise they could have a full working Internet in their pocket! ... and they just didn't. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Re:well regarded ?

[93 Escort Wagon]

Not to mention that the ads Microsoft push as of late are not only crap in quality, but also testing new waters such as at the start of Youtube videos providing them not with positive advertising, but instead a stigma of "the company who helped ruin youtube" and not just youtube. The only place I've seen microsoft ads is where I don't expect them, and haven't previously seen advertising.

Microsoft's ad problems are a whole 'nother issue - I have a friend who's a copywriter and has recently worked for Microsoft. Even after the disastrous ad campaigns of the past decade, they still require broad consensus before approving a new ad. Even worse, their division heads often co-opt the process altogether - basically rejecting the professional ad copy and then writing their own.

It's something I see with faculty at my university a lot - because they are smart in one specific area, they seem to think that makes them experts on all topics, no matter how diverse from their actual area of expertise.

Re:well regarded ?

[93 Escort Wagon]

It is heads and shoulders above the iPhone in almost any respect.

It's funny how that phrase - that EXACT phrase - is creeping into multiple comments on this discussion. You'd almost think it was coordinated.

Eheh

[SmallFurryCreature]

You are aware that the techies don't see ads on the internet, don't watch ad blocks on the tv and have an mp3 player in their car?

Who exactly are they advertising to? The late late late adopters?

The problem is also from my own experiences is that people who are at the lower end of the market tend to have bad windows experiences. They don't have a choice for their desktop OS but are hardly going to want their phone to be as malware riddled as their desktops.

MS just doesn't have a rep.

Re:Microsoft's "Problem"

[NickFortune]

Right, because someone who holds an opinion different from yours could only be on Microsoft's payroll.

Second time in two days that meme has surfaced. To be fair, though, there does seem to be a pattern to these things

1: News story breaks impacting on Microsoft in some way

2: Story gets posted to Slashdot.

3: A thoughtful, well-written and strongly pro-Microsoft comment gets quickly posted and rapidly modded up to +5

4: The rest of slashdot gets to read the article, and it quickly becomes apparent that the early post isn't at all representative of the majority opinion on Slashdot.

This seems to happen fairly consistently. which tends to suggest that Microsoft advocacy on this board is very well organised. So it's not unreasonable to assume that some degree of astroturfing is going on.