Posted on 10/15/2010 7:52:17 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
Last week, we told you the things that work against Microsoft's new mobile operating system; Windows Phone 7. Today, we list the top 5 things that actually work in its favor. Actually there are six; but since the first one is obvious, we'd rather not discuss it at length.
With Apple you just have two iPhones to choose from. Windows Phone 7 trumps it there with at least four major manufacturers for now - HTC, Samsung, LG and Dell. Different people have different needs; some want a hardware QWERTY, some don't. So, it gives people a wider choice than what is in Apple's store. The following five points are more in correlation to Android than the iOS:
Strict hardware requirements
Forcing manufacturers to use high-end hardware in their phones for WP7 gives competitive OSes like Google Android brownie points for its ability to run on inexpensive hardware. But on the positive side, this ensures a few things. For one, telling manufacturers to put a 1 GHz processor and graphics acceleration gives Microsoft a minimum benchmark to ensure that the User Interface runs buttery smooth.
In Android, manufacturers have a free hand to make phones with 528 MHz processors that tend to slow the UI down, thus spoiling the experience a little. Initially, WP7 devices will have 800 x 480 pixel capacitive displays, but from what we've heard, lower HVGA displays (320 x 480 pixel) will be supported at a later stage. It's reassuring to know that low-end QVGA displays won't be used like the ones on the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini Pro that affect readability due to the blurry text.
(Excerpt) Read more at techtree.com ...
In the end, I think new smartphone purchasers will choose phones, rather than OSs. They won’t pass on an outstanding or even very good Android phone, that has good word of mouth and review, because some low-end Android phones are giving people trouble.
Repeat buyers will tend to go with the OS they are familiar with. If WP7 had come about a year ago, and didn’t have the C&P and multi-tasking deficiencies, it probably would have competed with and quite possibly beaten Android.
I had a Windows Mobile phone for over 3 years and I was very happy with it, until I had hardware issues (with the phone function) and bought an Android. If there had been a decent WM phone on the market I would definitely would have stuck with Windows, but there wasn’t so I bought an Android, and I am even happier with it. It will be difficult to get me to switch back now.
Now that Bill Gates has revealed himself to be a truly disturbing Malthusian and proponent of eugenics, sterilization, abortion and using vaccines to kill 3rd world poor, I no longer am a big Microsoft fan.
That is the windows mobile method and it failed. It didn't fail in sales per se, but it did fail to become a standard and something people wanted. Android will have the same fortune/misfortune. It will sell well, but most of those sales will be low end phones that don't really do much for the brand or users.
Microsoft wants to be like Apple here and have the developers creating apps for their phone first and to have them work reliably on all the phones.
Fact is the market is plenty large and there is room for several big players. As WP7 integrates with the cloud you'll buy a phone for its cloud integration and not for the phone itself.
Bill Gates really isn’t involved at Microsoft anymore though. But I hear you...it is disgusting. Just like Al Gore is on Apple’s board and google has done things on their search engine to protect Muslims while disparaging christians.
How so? Wouldn't Apple repair/replace it?
The dead iPhone was almost two years old. Well past Apple's 1-yr limited warranty. In hindsight, he should have purchased a two year warranty (an additional $99 I believe).
The minimum specs are for now. Two years from now those specs will be a lower-level smartphone, if Microsoft doesn’t up the specs again.
I like this move. It ensures quality of experience across the board, something Android is sorely lacking. It also makes life much easier for the app developers. Currently, testing Android software is a royal PITA.
Why do you think Android will be all low end phones? There are several high-end Android phones, currently on the market, that are equal to and in some ways superior to the iPhone and are superior to the WP7 launches. (HTC Incredible and EVO, Motorola Droid, Samsung Galaxy S series).
Do you think these manufacturers are suddenly going to stop producing very successfuly, high-end phones, simply because WP7 has arrived?
Mobile Me from Apple does this, doesn't it?
Keep the information on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC in perfect sync — without docking or fussing with cables. MobileMe automatically pushes new email, contacts, and calendar items over the air to your devices, so you always have the latest information at your fingertips. You can share photos and access important files from anywhere. And if you ever lose your iPhone or iPad, MobileMe can even help you find it.
Think of it in terms of what will attract current smartphone users. Android lovers won’t like it because it can’t take an SD card, comes only on high-end devices, can’t copy/paste and will likely never freely allow multitasking.
Does it have anything over the iPhone from this list? Zune Pass? Get real. Integration with XBox Live? Maybe for the hard-core Microsofties. I have no desire to integrate my XBox Live account with my phone.
Basically, it has many of the same complaints as are made against the iPhone, and no real benefits over it. Well, except for one, you will be able to get WP7 from multiple hardware vendors on probably all carriers.
I didn’t say they wouldn’t sell high end phones. If you want to see the future of Android look at Windows Mobile. It’s a fragmented market with inconsistent user experience. The carrier controls the user experience and google is left watching what will happen to their users.
The reliable high-end user experience will be iPHone and possibly windows phone 7.
“Cool” doesn’t drive the main market. Most people don’t think they’re cool, don’t want to be cool, and don’t care what is cool. MS has never been cool and yet they have over 80% of the desktop computer market, I don’t know if they can get that penetration in smartphones, but if they don’t it won’t be because they aren’t cool it’ll be because they couldn’t out market Google.
Cloud is bigger than just syncing your own info. Think google maps vs. bing maps...gmail vs hotmail.
I normally don’t purchase extended warranties for equipment that sits around on the desktop, but for stuff that I lug around, (and, especially, small, handheld equipment) I have found that the warranties usually pay off...
I suppose. I just think of syncing because I don't trust google with much...would rather they not have good info on/about me.
Here’s a good fair review...it appears there is more than just xbox integration to win people over.
http://www.gsmarena.com/windows_phone_7-review-521.php
Wrong. Here are the September numbers, the most recent:
Wii - 687,000
Xbox 360 - 347,200
PlayStation 3 - 232,400
PlayStation 2 - 173,500
The Wii even surpassed the XBox 360 in total installed base a while back, despite coming out over a year later (now 74 million vs. 42 million sold). The PS3 isn't too far behind the 360 with 38 million. The recent XBox increase in sales to this high number is mainly due to a drastic price cut, not sudden overwhelming demand for the system.
Also remember that Nintendo was making money on every Wii sold from day one. The XBox only went profitable a couple years ago, and still hasn't erased the multi-billion dollar overall loss of the system since it's introduction.
Who said it needs to be better than BOTH? It just needs to do well in the areas it is focused on and if it’s what consumers want than it will sell.
You’re using both Android and iPhones to say Windows Phone 7 isn’t better.
Where did you get those numbers? Those are as wrong as wrong can be.
NPD stopped releasing #s for America to the public this month and Europe has never had reliable numbers. But here’s the only reliable info out and it says 360 sold the most.
http://www.vg247.com/2010/10/14/npd-september-2010-xbox-360-moves-483k/
Where is your link to prove otherwise?
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