Verizon and Motorola Execs Give Thumbs-down to Windows Phone 7 (MS oops)

Two of the most important players in the mobile industry, Verizon and Motorola, have essentially called Windows Phone 7 a failure, with a Verizon exec going so far as ...

This is clearly not what Microsoft hoped for when it launched Windows Phone 7 to great fanfare late last year.

I do want a strong third OS out there. ... But I still have doubts whether Microsoft will get the traction they are hoping for with Windows Phone 7.

If you look at our device pipeline for 2011, we have very strong relationships with LG, Samsung, Motorola, HTC, and now Apple. So I think it would take a really compelling device from Nokia or any new vendor to break in. It doesn't mean that it can't happen, but it would have to be really good.

Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services product management for Motorola, also weighed in about Windows Phone 7 at the Mobile World Congress, and had only bad things to say. ...

There were a bunch of things that we believed about Microsoft that ended up not being true, ...

In addition, Windows Phone 7 was delayed for so long that Motorola decided to only use Android, and bypass Windows Phone 7. Wyatt also said that Motorola favored Android over Windows Phone 7 because Android is open source, while manufacturers can't customize Windows Phone 7:

We would like an opportunity to create unique value and we don't feel we could with a closed platform.

Did you read the article? If you had, you would have read that Verizon Communications Chief Technology Officer Tony Melone said:

I do want a strong third OS out there. It gives the carriers more flexibility and balances the interests of all the parties. But I still have doubts whether Microsoft will get the traction they are hoping for with Windows Phone 7.

I don't think Verizon needs the Nokia and Microsoft relationship. Right now the three OS players we see for our network are Android, Apple, and RIM

So, let's re-cap. The Chief Technology Officer of Verizon, Christy Wyatt, Corp. VP of Software and Services Product Management for Motorola and I have all pronounced Win7 Mobile DOA.

And YOU say I've got it wrong again? I like my hand, I'm not discarding any cards. Do you need another 5?

I never said that Verizon wouldn't carry any Win7 phones. You carry the turds so your good phones look even better. Win7 is going to be the reference turd that all are compared against. As for the "One executive .....". I didn't know that Verizon was a Democracy.

Did you read the article?

Yes, I did. Twice. I read it when it first came out, about 1 1/2 months ago, and this last time. In the tech world, where news is being made on a daily basis, that's old news! Where have you been?

If you had, you would have read that Verizon Communications Chief Technology Officer Tony Melone said:

I do want a strong third OS out there. It gives the carriers more flexibility and balances the interests of all the parties. But I still have doubts whether Microsoft will get the traction they are hoping for with Windows Phone 7.

If you would learn to analyze what YOU read, the key word in that statement by Melone is "doubts", and doubts is not how a big corporation makes billion dollar decisions, especially when the WM7 was, at the time of the statement, barely 4 months old. That executive was making knee-jerk reaction statements about a fairly new player in the market. That's not good executive thinking.

I don't think Verizon needs the Nokia and Microsoft relationship. Right now the three OS players we see for our network are Android, Apple, and RIM

It's not about what YOU think. It's about a realization that, Microsoft is in it to stay, and become one of the biggest players and perhaps the biggest. Nobody in business or in his right mind would dare to give up on the biggest player in technology out there. That would be the ultimate in stupidity.

With Nokia, Microsoft automatically became one of the biggest players in the market, and perhaps, within a year's time, the biggest. Nokia is still the biggest provider of cellphones/smartphones around the world. To discount that reality is to be, again, the ultimate in stupidity.

So, let's re-cap.

That's so silly. Recapping nonsense. You first need to get into the real world, where knee-jerk reactions and fanboism are not the norm.

The Chief Technology Officer of Verizon, Christy Wyatt, Corp. VP of Software and Services Product Management for Motorola and I have all pronounced Win7 Mobile DOA.

Yet, they are stuck with providing cell-phone service, "just in case" it's not DOA like Mr Wyatt said. That's hypocritical, and not a wise business decision if it was really something that they believed to be DOA.

But, with ATT/T-Mobile becoming the biggest mobile service provider in the industry, Verizon will have to continue to support WM7, otherwise, they could be giving up to ATT, most of the business that would come from WM7, which a lot of other industry experts say is a very good OS, and to many, even better than iOS or Android.

And YOU say I've got it wrong again?

When you make PREDICTIONS, you don't know if you're right or wrong. You'd have to wait for the future to get here before determining if you were right with your predictions.

I like my hand, I'm not discarding any cards. Do you need another 5?

I would bet that, within 2 years, Microsoft will become, again, the biggest player in another field in which they were late to the game. One would have to be utterly stupid to disregard the biggest player in the tech field, especially one that cannot afford to give up on the mobile sector.

I never said that Verizon wouldn't carry any Win7 phones.

Yet, you like to quote others at Verizon who claim the "DOA" status for WM7. It sounds like you're wishing that Verizon wouldn't carry WM7 and turn it into the "loser" that you wish for.

You carry the turds so your good phones look even better.

NO! Verizon is being very careful, knowing that, WM7 is here to stay, executive statements notwithstanding. Those executive at Verizon were, more than likely, lighting a fire under Microsoft's ass, trying to get them to make their product "better", or at least competitive. Verizon was burned once before with the Kin, and they're not about to get burned again. So, while you may have seen the statement from the executives as a negative, I see it as a positive, in which Microsoft is getting s swift kick in the ass to get them to support their product better. It's more of a wake up call than a real belief that WM7 can't be competitive. Am i being too analytical for you. Are you keeping up?

Win7 is going to be the reference turd that all are compared against.

That's such a stupid statement, and it sounds like something that a 10 year old would say.

Look, the computing field has moved on to a new form factor, and as such, it's a wake up call to Microsoft and to Intel that they need to become real players in the "new" field. Microsoft has done so with WM7, and in fact, it already has a much better support system than Android or iOS, and after a few short months, it's got more than 10,000 apps for WM7. And, the infrastructure is much bigger than Android and iOS combined, where anyone that has ever developed or will develop, with Microsoft technology, will be capable of writing for WM7, and even the future tablet OS, WM8. So, your childish thought process is lacking in reality.

As for the "One executive .....". I didn't know that Verizon was a Democracy.

One executive does not a company make, unless it's a one man operation.

Verizon is huge, and I actually used to be a consultant with them before they became Verizon. Believe me, it's not a one man operation and it's not a one executive operation. Decisions and statements are made with very careful consideration. It's doubtful that what Verizon said or felt a couple of months ago is going to be the way forward with WM7. They, no doubt, will want to be the prime service provider for WM7/Nokia phones when they start coming out in a few months.

So, stop the foolishness and start thinking like a real businessperson would. Oh, I forget... you're just another MS hater and you're the type that believes in ABM.

BTW, that Verizon comment 1 1/2 months ago, generated a lot of discussions in a lot of different forums. I too was engaged in one of those at ZDNet, and that's way before you noticed this latest re-incarnation of that article. So, when it comes to being informed about tech news, it seems that it's you that's late to the news.

Source

This report is saying that MS has sold upwards of 3.38 Million phones since launch, of which 877K occurred in February. It then goes on to state that an update named "NoDo", scheduled for later this month will not add multi-tasking, something that the competitors have had for quite a while. The update that adds multi-tasking is scheduled for later this year.

Now, when you add the fact that many of the pushed MS updates have successfully bricked Samsung phones, that not only are they over a year late in delivery, but their delivery does not support features found in most modern phones, I find myself not feeling as optimistic as you do. Let's look at base competency, shall we? Late to market (that's SOP for MSFT), underfeatured, and here's the kicker. With LIMITED hardware support - they managed to brick a substancial number of their extremely limited hardware devices. Has MSFT ever heard of Software Quality Assurance? It would appear that MSFT thinks that paying consumers who depend upon their cell phones for day to day life; should also be their Beta testers.

Sheer size and funding of a company, cannot and has not successfully driven and sustained meaningful product sales. Let's look at the Zune and the MSFT Surface and Surface 2. If you bought a Zune, I'm sorry. MSFT has been fiddling around with Surface for nearly 10 years. And what do they have to show for it?

It's kind of pathetic, really. You call me a MSFT hater - and the fact is that I've been a MSFT user for decades. But, if namecalling is the best you can do; and that appears to be about all that you can do - so be it. I'm simply pointing out that MSFT has lost their edge.

Look at the stunning lack of maturity they presented to the public when they launched Win7 mobile a year late. They held a funeral parade through Redmond, dressed in black robes, with floats of the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. People everywhere cringed in embarassment. This was hardly the sort of display you would have seen under managment that propelled MSFT onto the world-stage. And it's indicative of where MSFT is going. Instead of delivering a solid, robust, feature rich, intuitive architecture that speaks for itself; it's become about throwing money and delivering a product that is obsolete before it hits the market.

RIM's fourth-quarter shipments of 14.9 million were slightly behind the 16.2 million iPhones sold by Apple in its fourth quarter ending December.

Why do you insist on continuing this silly argument?

I don’t have a horse in this smartphone race, and I really don’t care who wins or loses, as long as I can get done whatever I need to do with whatever is available. Get it?

My only argument is that, it’s way too early to call winners and losers in the race. Back in the late 1980s, Microsoft was way behind when it came to their OS for PCs, and yet, with perseverance, they outran everybody and ended up quite comfortably ahead of every other OS. It took them years to pull ahead and then a lot more years to increase that lead to the point where they’ver virtually unchallengeable on the PC OS arena.

They find themselves in the same position with WM7 against, basically, 2 other competitors. But, coming from behind is something that Microsoft has been able to do before to finally become the leader. Nobody expected Xbox to compete against the WII or against Playstation, but, with perseverance and with a good product and good support, they’ve finally pulled ahead of the others.

If history is any indication, Microsoft has the assets and the will and perseverance to make the gains necessary to become the “winner” again, in this new challenge. And, this is a challenge which they’re going to have to stay in, because, this is the new sector in the computing arena, and to pull out would be tantamount to declaring themselves dead and done.

So, no matter how much you wish otherwise, Microsoft’s WM7 is here to stay, and it doesn’t matter if their sales are moribund for a year or so. The competition is for the long run, and in a very finicky market, where people change providers and phones too often, and where there is really no brand loyalty, the market is far from settled, and the declaration of a winner is really years into the future.

The fact is that, when it comes to WM7, it’s already ahead of what iPhones and Androids offered at the same stage of its life. NoDo has been release and the updates are being carried out, and within a few short weeks, everybody will be caught up with the updates. Once the next update comes along, somewhere in the fall, feature-wise, there won’t be much of a difference amongst the smartphones. Everything from that point on will be dependent upon the support and infrastructure that comes with the OS providers and the cell phone service providers.

But, this is still a very silly argument, on either side, since, nobody can predict how the smartphone or tablet market will have changed in 1 or 2 or 3 years. This is a long-term battle, and I would put my money on Microsoft, not because I love them or anything, but, because, they are the ones with the muscle and the money and the infrastructure to pull ahead of everyone else.

Talk to me in a year or two, and we’ll see who was correct in the analysis and opinions and predictions. Like I said, I don’t really care who wins, but, I would be very foolish to bet against Microsoft.

Sales figures for a few months are meaningless when the battle will be around for many years to come. If sales figures were to be the determining factor for whether a company should stay or pull out, then the Xbox would never have become the winner it is today. Being simple-minded and short-sighted isn’t forward looking at all.

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