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First Impressions of Windows 8 Powered Nokia Lumia 920 and 820
Nerval's Lobster writes "Nokia CEO Stephen Elop first took to the stage at Center548 on New York City's West Side, where Microsoft had first unveiled Windows Phone 7 in late 2010, to claim that Nokia was becoming a 'more nimble competitor' thanks to several strategic decisions under his tenure, including the choice of Windows Phone as the company's primary smartphone platform. ... In terms of [the 920's hardware]: the battery is 2000 mAh; the processor is a dual-core Snapdragon S4, which was apparently selected for its energy efficiency; and the aforementioned wireless charging, based on the 'Qi' wireless charging standard. ... Despite the enthusiasm displayed onstage for Windows Phone 8, the new smartphone platform poses something of a conundrum for Nokia. The company invested heavily in Windows Phone 7, all but abandoning its homegrown operating systems — including Symbian, once a dominant player in the mobile arena — in favor of Microsoft’s platform. But those Windows Phone 7 smartphones won't upgrade to Windows Phone 8 software, and nor will they run Windows Phone 8 apps."
Fact is, developing for Windows 8 is also developing for (for the most part) Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 RT, and probably in the future Xbox 720 (or whatever they call it). Whether you like Metro or not, Windows 8 will be shipping on all Desktops and Laptops in the Fall, and will be a viable platform with an immediate install base. As bad as Vista was, it still managed to find its way on more computers than Mac OSX. Developers *will* code for Windows 8, they *will* code for Windows RT, and if the marginal benefit is in their favor they *will* code for Windows Phone 8. Maybe that marginal benefit will not be there at first, but the scales will tip.
To think that Nokia's own Symbian had more than 50% smartphone market share only three years ago and big plans for their Linux based highend OS, which was universally praised, and instead now going for an OS that not only locks the user down, but locks themselves in a position where they give away control of OS development, outsource all manufacturing (after shutting down most locations in Europe and firing loyal employees by the boatload) and need to contend with the likes of Samsung who do their own CPU, RAM, display etc. fabrication is just unfortunate. It's hard to not be cynical about this.
Microsoft obviously is pushing for positive publicity offering free samples to bloggers etc. but all the money in the world won't make the OS more attractive to the end-user, even with their new funky looking N9-like design. Functionality wise the it's lacking compared to Android and the restrictive Metro UI whether on your computer or on your phone is butt-ugly at worst and uninspiring at best.
On the other hand this might actually what MS alternatives have needed to become worth considering by more end users.
I know that I swim against the /. current here when it comes to Window Phone. I haven't drank of the MS or Apple or Linux koolaid. I use all three desktop OS flavors at work every week and they all have strengths and weaknesses. I never bought the first iPhone because of the soldered in battery. At the time I was using 2 batteries a day in the field. (not to mention the privacy concerns of not being able to REALLY turn off my phone). I had a miserable experience with the first Droid (randomly calling and texting). I went Blackberry for a while. Revisited iPhone, but the screen typing was horrid (large fingers). When it was time to upgrade in 2010 I went with the Samsung Focus and it just worked for me. I do like the Metro interface on the touchscreen, but always by-pass it when using Win8 on the desktop. Seems pretty useless on the desktop, but it would surely be useful on a tablet and possible a laptop with touchscreen.
The Nokia 900 WP7, had some advantages over the Samsung Focus S on the spec sheet. Bigger screen, bigger body (again... large hands), and the camera cmos appeared faster to me in the store. The other advantage is the Xbox Live connection. Love it! Games developed my interest in computers and I am a gamer at heart. My only complaint is that with the Case-Mate case I confuse the phone with my wallet when it's in my pocket sometimes, but I am working on the brain power required to recognize the difference.
I am only mildly concerned about not being able to upgrade to Windows Phone 8 with my Nokia 900. If I feel like I'm missing out on some must-have super app before my 2-year upgrade comes around, I will bite the bullet and pay the phone price.
For every benefit you receive a tax is levied. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Uh, the tile concept would be closer to Android than iOS.
Google did the "home screen" thing to avoid the "rounded rectangles with square grid of icons" patent on Android. So what happens when you unlock an Android phone? You see the home screen, which by default has a huge analog clock (only present on the lock screen on iOS, and it's digital there), and a bunch of frequently used apps (phone/messaging/browser), while the "grid of icons" is hidden by the "show all apps" button.
In its place, you can drop widgets to your heart's content on the home screen so you can see the weather at a glance as well when you unlock your phone, plus all your other social media things.
And judging by Android users, especially on /., they like the widget thing and seeing htat stuff.
Microsoft extended the concept with tiles - thus avoid any design issues with iOS and Android. The tiles are effectively widgets and you can see all your update stuff right there on your "home" screen (whatever it's called on WP8).
Why does "blocking innovation" mean "you must copy the UI"? Between Apple, Google and Microsoft experimenting with different UIs, I'd say it's far better they don't copy (Microsoft probably did LiveTiles to avoid anything Google might have.)
People want widgets - Microsoft extended Andorid's concept a bit further to explore stuff. iOS merely took popular widgets (weather and stocks) and tucked them away in a pull-down drawer (probably again to avoid anything Google might have), the concept of which well, came from Android (which would be hard for Apple to defend against if Google has patented that).
It's called innovation. Incremental at times, but worthy to test it out.
he unified windows 8 product family was an opportunity for microsoft to really deliver a combined, integrated entertainment and productivity experience. And they didn't.
Not sure how exactly you can say this. I have Xbox, Windows 8 on a laptop, Windows 8 on a tablet, and Windows Phone 7. Music and videos are available across all devices. I can pause on one device and resume on another. For instance I can listen to music on my TV, pause it and continue listening in the car. Or I can watch a TV show on the TV, pause it and hop in bed, continuing it there.
My tablet or laptop (or soon phone) acts as a remote controller for my Xbox; I can browse for music or movies or do searches on the device in my hand and see the results on the screen. This is especially good when searching for music to play, which is much easier with a keyboard.
Documents I write on my desktop are available to all my other devices via SkyDrive, and pictures or movies I take on my phone are automatically synced with Skydrive. These are also synced wirelessly if I choose with my laptop, along with any music I download. Soon I'll be able to play a game on my phone, pause it, then resume it on my tablet or xbox.
Caendar, mail, contacts, messages, all sync between desktop, tablet, and phone. I can even turn my purely entertainment Windows 8 tablet into a fully functional productivity PC (capable of running all my current software including matlab, photoshop, and office) by plugging in a keyboard and mouse.
So please, I'd live you to point me to an ecosystem which can do all this as seamlessly.