Microsoft's Director of the Windows Phone program, Joe Belfiore, has detailed a number of Windows Phone 8 features in a leaked video intended for partners. PocketNow managed to secure a copy of the video and the feature list is long. Through speaking to PocketNow editors, we can confirm that the video is authentic, intended for internal use only, and Microsoft is planning the following for its next-generation of Windows Phone:
Hardware
Belfiore details all the forthcoming hardware support for the software platform. Below is the list of the major hardware changes coming. We'd also add LTE to the list (although, that will be here before Windows Phone 8's arrival with the Lumia 900).
- Multi-core processors
- Four screen resolutions
- Full microSD card storage support
- NFC radio support with contact-less payments "wallet experience"
Windows 8 integration
Synergy between the phone and the PC / tablet is going to be a big one. Not only will Windows Phone 8 share the same Metro style user interface as Windows 8 for tablets and PCs, but developers can reuse the same code for both operating systems. Additionally, the Zune Desktop is being scrapped in favor of a sync relationship with a companion app and the Xbox companion app will have a partner client on both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. Similar to Windows 8, seamless SkyDrive integration will also play a big role with cloud syncing. And then there's NFC: in addition to providing that aforementioned "wallet experience" it will allow for tap-to-share capabilities between hardware-supported phones, tablets, and PCs.
Apps and Skype integration
Microsoft looks to be streamlining application development: there will be native code support for developers and app-to-app communication support. However, the biggest app details revealed are related to Skype integration. It is said to be fully integrated at the OS level. The camera app is also explained; OEMs can skin the app with viewfinders from third-parties; Microsoft is working especially close with Nokia on this.
Data management and business support
Like Android 4.0, Windows Phone 8 will do quite a bit on the data usage and management front. Windows Phone 8 will have a live tile for tracking usage and consumption. Called DataSmart, the feature will also attempt to give "WiFi connections precedence," says PocketNow. In addition, Bing local scout will include real-time location of nearby hotspots and Internet Explorer 10 will have built-in server-side compression to reduce data usage.
On the enterprise side, there will be BitLocker encryption support for full-disk encryption of Windows Phone 8 devices and a line-of-business application support for businesses to deploy apps behind company firewalls.
It's without a doubt a very hefty and exciting update, one that's expected to arrive later this year. Stay tuned as we learn more over the next couple of months, and perhaps at Mobile World Congress at the end of the month.
Update: Microsoft says it has "no official comment" on the leaked video.
Joanna Stern contributed to this report.
There are 330 Comments. Add yours.
Good to know that Microsoft is going for gold. Might actually get me to switch after owning iPhones for the last 4.5 years.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:28 PM EST reply Recommend (35) Flag actions
I’ve been lusting after WP7 just for a change, but having put down so much money on iOS apps, I feel pretty tied in
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:36 PM EST reply Recommend (8) Flag actions
Buy an iPod Touch! That’s what I did. I lost out on a few apps that were phone-specific, but it really helped. Traded in video games for mine, and I understand that it could be a financial hurdle for a lot people, but it’s a decent solution.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:38 PM EST reply Recommend (61) Flag actions
That is actually a fairly rational way of getting past the hurdle of switching phone OS’
Or if/when I get an iPad, i could run everything on there.
You are a wise man.as a consequence (har har) I recommended you!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:39 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
Kinda felt that way about Android too. That’s why I was excited to hear about that BlueStacks App player for Windows 8.
With all that said, I can’t believe that this is Microsoft we’re talking about here. I have 3 legit purchases I want to make with some kind of MS Branding: Kinect, W8 Tablet a new WP8 phone (or Lumia 900).
What year is this…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:15 PM EST reply Recommend (9) Flag actions
It’s the year Microsoft learns to throw a mean right-hook at Android and iOS.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:17 PM EST reply Recommend (34) Flag actions
We will see but for now I will keep using my Galaxy Nexus (GSM) over my Windows Phone and iPhone.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:34 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
nothing wrong with that… good thing we the choice to decide between great products! ….one thing i can tell you… WP is here to stay! Great product that wil only get better! :)
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 12:24 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I bought an iPod touch to get the iOS goodies. I carry my Windows Phone around.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:09 PM EST reply Recommend (10) Flag actions
What experience do you prefer?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:16 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Windows Phone.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 1:30 AM EST reply Recommend (14) Flag actions
I’ve heard this from others too. What is it that you like over iOS? Is it quicker to get on the net, send a text, load pages quicker, have better battery life, better apps, better camera? What is it specifically that makes it a better experience than the iPhone you owned before. (assuming you did have one before switching to WP7.)
Posted on Feb 04, 2012 | 1:10 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I find that it is better laid out and because of that it’s faster to do stuff such as I take a picture, I then can upload that picture to Facebook and share it with my grandmother over in America (I’m in Aus) all without leaving the camera/picture hub. It’s stuff like this that makes me prefer WP7 over iOS
Posted on Feb 04, 2012 | 1:25 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I did not have an iPhone before WP7. I had the iPod touch.
The UI, the Live tiles, the social integration, the Zune Pass (which is not comparable to iTunes Match), the integration of “MSN” and Facebook chat into the Messages app. I can jump in and out of whatever, quickly. I want to see an update from someone on iOS? I would have to jump into the Facebook app to check one section, then Twitter for more. Windows Phone? Just tap their name. Reading the day’s updates on the bus? Crack open the People Hub.
I also HATE organization of apps on iOS. Homescreen after homescreen and trying to remember where an app is before dropping back to Spotlight is infuriating. Windows Phone has what’s important to me on the start screen and everything is off to the side in an alphabetical list.
I’m not bashing iOS. If Windows Phone didn’t exist, I would go iPhone. The iPhone 4S has an amazing camera. It’s got better battery life than my Focus. The games are fun thanks to the native code support. What Apple has done for mobile is nothing short of stellar. I looked at iOS and I looked at what Windows Phone was doing. I decided iOS does not fit my needs for a device to keep on me.
Plus, there’s a very specific thing of iTunes for playing music that doesn’t fit how I listen to music. Zune fits me.
Posted on Feb 05, 2012 | 4:16 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Hell yeah! Get the most you can from all worlds.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:41 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
It’s a good solution if the apps you’re addicted to aren’t network apps, otherwise, not so much.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:10 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Internet Sharing
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:53 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Yeah, that’s what I always recommend to people that just can’t leave blackberry due to BBM, or because of BES connectivity. Just buy an iPod for media consumption, and then create a WiFi-hotspot on the BB so you can browse the internet as well.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 7:31 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Maybe you didn’t see the stats but a majority of BB owners aren’t using OS 7, and even a majority of them that have OS 7, don’t even have a OS 7 “version” with hotspot capabilities….
Fragmentation FTL…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 10:54 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Another solution: buy a WP7 phone outright while keeping the iPhone. Use WP7 like an iPod Touch. Compared to iPhone 4S, the iPod Touch will feel pretty slow.
One good thing about Windows Phone 7 is the first generation devices are really cheap. You can easily find Optimus 7, HTC surround, etc, for barely over $200 brand new. Used? You can get them under $200. That’s cheaper than an iPod Touch!
Sadly that’s because the first generation devices didn’t sell that well. But on the good side, they still run Mango very well and great bang for the buck.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 9:40 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I don’t know how but Microsoft did it… the upgrade wasn’t even officially announced yet but people are already figuring out ways how to make use of previously bought iOS/Android apps, because they’re definitely buying WP. Kudos Microsoft.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:42 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
If all of this is true, then there’s one more logical step to take that makes it the holy grail: all Windows 8 Metro apps will run on Windows Phone 8.
Then if you own a PC, you won’t have to rebuy your apps just for the phone, because they’ll work on your tablet and desktop too.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:39 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
They havn’t confirmed that it will automatically work, but since they use the same kernel, it will take very little work for developers to port from desktop to phone.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:31 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Someone in the Microsoft Tribe forums that when you put an app into the sidebar, it looks like it could easily ported to a phone in that format, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:42 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I remember seeing that. Metro apps should automatically come with mobile app equivalents, it they have them.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:55 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
All Windows 8 apps have to be able to dock in the sidebar, which is a perfect smartphone view.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 1:53 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
It is phone-like, but it’s not adequate to be a phone app. Most of the time apps are going to have limited functionality in the snap view because you can’t access their Application Bar, which is where most of the options hide (like the menu button in an Android app). Windows 8 Metro apps also don’t have Windows Phone’s signature controls like the Panorama and the Pivot that allow horizontal swiping, so their snap views aren’t going to be nearly as nice as genuine Windows Phone apps.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 8:01 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Going for gold indeed. This is exactly what they need, along with additional rights for developers (mainly more integration possibilities and the ability to schedule custom services in addition to the limited background services they provide atm.)
This leaves iOS in the dust. Now it’s Windows vs. Android, as it’s highly unlikely that Apple will be able to unify its operating systems anytime soon (i.e. unified app development across phone, tablet and even PC and a real tablet OS that has the same capabilities as Windows 8 for ARM and Android).
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:41 PM EST reply Recommend (14) Flag actions
Nilay predicted at CES that android on x86 will merge in full blown chrome as well. Microsoft has really put an impact with windows 8, now all three major OS providers are scrambling to follow suit. What I wouldn’t be surprised about, is if both Apple and Google get it out before Microsoft, since they seem to move at a crawl.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:44 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Apple has no chance of getting this out until the end of the year, which seems to be Microsoft’s roadmap. They have two completely seperate operating systems, no real tablet OS and no unified app development (apart from the tools/language). They’re far behind. iOS is not scalable enough, as contrary to Google, they didn’t focus on creating a good architecture first – they focused on the UI first and don’t have a good architecture, which is why they take so long to implement features like multitasking, notifications etc.
Google has a unified system for phones and tablets at least, which is a real tablet OS with the capabilities that are to expect and unified development and Android is very scalable, so they might be able to scale it up to PCs as it’s already almost powerful enough for a desktop OS in terms of features. They might actually beat Microsoft, but if everything from this article/video is true, it’s going to be hard.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:57 PM EST reply Recommend (15) Flag actions
Oh please.
“Real tablet-OS” – a fancy home screen with a few hundred tablets apps. None particular interesting. I still prefer my unreal tablet-OS with real tablet apps.
“don’t have a good architecture” – what architecture? If there’s something Apple got right the first time (beside the UI), it was the foundations of the OS, such as multi-tasking (I realize that the actual multi-tasking GUI and API’s were released much later), power management, UI (animation, gestures, multi-touch), tight hardware integration etc.
Android is still a mixed bag, despite some late efforts from Google, developers still can’t be sure exactly how their app will function (and look) on every Android device out there. There’s still a fair limited amount iOS devices. I think fragmentation is a far bigger issue. Is that good architecture?
Microsoft hasn’t unified Windows 8 and Windows Phone development either, but they probably will in the near future.
It’s obvious which strategy that works best, right now.
But I hope Microsoft’s will gain some real traction with Windows 8 and Windows Phone.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:33 PM EST reply Recommend (13) Flag actions
If you have an x86 Win8 tablet, you don’t need apps – you have a proper OS with proper applications. And when there is cross-platform integration like the one on Win 8, trust me the apps list is only going to get much much larger from now on. Blind Apple fanboy.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:39 PM EST reply Recommend (7) Flag actions
What? Only my last few lines were about Windows 8. Not that anyone would care, but I’m very excited with Windows 8. Plus:
I do have an iPad. And a Lumia 800.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:47 PM EST reply Recommend (9) Flag actions
Mmmmm, Lumia 800. Delicious. Anxiously awaiting the Lumia 900 here in the states.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:28 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Being able to run desktop applications on Windows tablets did virtually nothing for the last decade. Why on earth should this suddenly start mattering now?
Metro is the only thing that matters for Windows 8 tablets and in this aspect they are starting miles and miles behind the iPad.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:41 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Not really, I mean if you got an ARM Win8 tablet, you may find at first that there is a lack of apps (though I don’t think that will be too much a problem when you think about the splash it has made in the press since DP) it’s features seem on par with the iPad and in some cases miles ahead of what you can do on the iPad.
If you got an x86/x64 Tablet, same argument as above plus you will be able to do everything you can do on your current computer, though I don’t think the desktop will be used a lot in tablet form, more likely in docked form with a mouse and keyboard if anything.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:45 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
Metro does have some advantages over iOS on the iPad. Contracts and split screen dual apps look pretty good. However Honeycomb also had advantages over the iPad (widgets, better app-integration, more form-factors) and we all know that turned out. Lets just say that I’m doubtful that Metro on it’s own will be enough to massively change the tablet market.
I agree that docking is important for Windows 8 and I’d go as far as saying it could be a game changer. The idea that you could have one machine that you use as both a Windows laptop and a Metro tablet is definitely attractive. Unfortunately I don’t think the technology is quite there yet, the normal Intel chips use up too much power and generate too much heat for anyone to match the iPad 2 form-factor. The new Atom chips should fix that problem but are people going to be happy with Atom in their only laptop?
higher-end
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:00 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Then you haven’t seen the Samsung 7-Series tablet. It runs a Core i5 processor, and is an excellent device. Purchased one for the wife, and she absolutely loves it. I have shown her Windows 8, and she can’t wait for the improvements, and Metro.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:49 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
I’d say that rather proves my point. In comparison to an iPad 2 the Samsung 7-Series tablet is a third heavier, has a third of the battery life and costs twice as much. On a purely form-factor basis the 7-Series tablet is no where near as good as an iPad or Android tablet.
You and your wife might be prepared to put up with those disadvantages to get access to Windows and a high performance CPU but I doubt very many other people will. To be competitive I think that Windows 8 tablets will have to get pretty close to the iPad 2 on weight, size and battery life and because of that Sandybridge and (probably) Ivybridge CPUs are not suitable.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 8:04 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Good points, Not too mention with the iPad 3 coming. It’ll be tough, but competition is allll good.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 11:22 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Because Win8 is much more touchscreen optimized. Because we are getting devices that fit the concept (ASUS TF). Because putting an efficient i5 processor lets you have some battery life and at the same time gives you enough performance to run proper applications.
Put that on top of the normal Metro Apps Win will be getting and you know it is the right formula.
It will all come down to price – it really depends on how much a good tablet configuration will cost.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:54 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
In what ways is desktop Windows 8 more touchscreen optimised? The only thing I can remember is some mention of “fuzzy” targeting. Is that really going to be enough to persuade people that touching the desktop is worthwhile? Especially now that the iPad is firmly established as what a tablet should be.
I’m pretty sure that it’ll take another two or three generations before higher-end Intel chips will be able to be used in form-factors that match ARM tablets. Some people might be willing to put up with fans and less battery life in exchange for a Ivy Bridge chip but I doubt it’ll be anything more than a niche market.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:11 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
The only thing I can say is – we wait and we will see. what happens. :)
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:19 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I thought they said that you can reuse the majority of the code from a W8 app to a WP8 app.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:58 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Brandon Watson has already confirmed this will be possible with Apollo and Windows 8.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:50 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Freyberry, you keep saying that over and over. That Apple doesn’t have a good architecture. Time for a quick lesson.
iOS is based on Mac OS X. It’s a very capable OS. Just as capable as anything out there. iOS has had true multitasking from day 1, but only for OS apps. Mail could runs in the background to fetch your messages, etc. They didn’t ALLOW 3rd parties to have access to that feature. The reason being that exposing that kind of multitasking is not good for a phone and it kills battery. They waited till they designed the current multitasking that they do have which is not as powerful, but gets the job done for 90% of the people without a big hit to the battery. Android took the easy way and just gave everyone desktop level multitasking and as expected, the battery got hurt bad. WP7 is the same thing, it is capable of true multitasking, but opted for the more battery friendly kind.
Apple, and now Microsoft, are putting a LOT of emphasis on user experience, usability and battery life. Android doesn’t. They are finally starting to with ICS as far as user experience though. Long road for them.
Apple and WP7 have a great architecture which is easily proven by how smooth and battery friendly they are. Guess who doesn’t have that? Guess which OS has way too many cooks in the kitchen? Android. You have Google developing it, OEM’s slicing it and adding their crap in there at a very deep level, then carriers adding more stuff. All with different agendas and levels of software development comptency. iOS/WP7 on the other hand have a single company behind each one, very exprienced with OS development, pushing it forward.
Seriously… enough with that argument. It really makes you look bad since for those of us that actually practice software development professionaly can clearly see you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:57 PM EST reply Recommend (24) Flag actions
That and Apple (BSD Unix) and Microsoft (NT kernel) both knew to leave their architectures alone. Android went not-invented-here on some pretty fundamental pieces of a standard Linux install for non-obvious reasons. They replaced the normal glibc base system library with an incompatible in-house library and they ripped out the PulseAudio/JACK sound stack and replaced it with an in-house stack that’s buggy and has extremely high latency. If you’ve wondered why Android lacks professional audio apps compared to iOS, that’s why. A bug was entered in Google’s tracker 2 years ago about the problems and they won’t even set it to Acknowledged. Developers are ready to make many more cool apps, Google just needs to fix the bugs.
Contrast with WebOS, which at least in 1.x was recognizably a standard Debian install that was put on a diet. glibc was there, PulseAudio was there, GStreamer and SDL and ffmpeg were all there. It was great for developers once the NDK came out because it literally was desktop Linux with a different GUI.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:24 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
Scroll down please.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_operating_system
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:09 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The guys at The Verge missed it, but the next line of Google TV devices are running on ARM chipsets and have full Chrome like the first gen x86 Google TV. In fact, Russell Holly claims to have seen an early build of Chrome running on an Android phone at CES – http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/i-have-seen-chrome-for-android-and-it-is-good-20120112/
Android merging with Chrome OS is an inevitability. Google should make it a priority in the next version of Android (Jellybean) so that they beat Microsoft to the punch.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 9:45 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I wouldn’t count iOS out, but I feel like the Android statistics are horrendously skewed. Despite selling millions of Android devices, apparently they’re never connected to the Internet because they don’t show up in as large a number in mobile browser web share. If they aren’t even on the Internet (which would be "free’), do you really expect them to buy apps?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:49 PM EST reply Recommend (9) Flag actions
You can definitely count iOS out. It’s far behind, from an architecture standpoint. They will not be able unify the OS for the phone, tablet and desktop anytime soon, because they are facing huge challenges even implementing basic things like multitasking that are crucial for tablets and desktops.
Apple’s mistake was to focus on the UI first and not, as Google did, on the architecture first. If you want to have a future proof OS, you need to get the underpinnings right. That’s what Google did and it’s why they only recently started really tweaking and designing the UI – because that’s a much easier task than to fix a bad architecture like iOS, which inevitably leads to problems sooner or later.
Also, I don’t see how people buying apps and browser share are relevant here…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:04 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
That funny because android apps won’t even run on all android phones.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:16 PM EST reply Recommend (14) Flag actions
That’s not Google’s fault. If an OEM screws with the underpinnings that’s on them,.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:29 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Still makes getting an Android device a pain
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:43 PM EST reply Recommend (17) Flag actions
“you need to get the underpinnings right”
That’s hogwash. The underpinnings of iOS is OSX, which is far from being a “bad architecture” and fully supports multitasking and multithreading as any proven modern OS will do.
It has little to do with “underpinning” but more of the control choice made by Apple to keep the OS running as smoothly as possible at the expense of flexibility.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:38 PM EST reply Recommend (7) Flag actions
I was about to reply and say more or less the same thing. iOS is a subset of OSX. It could’ve supported multitasking from day one, if Apple had wanted it to – and, in fact, it did, but only for the built-in apps. Apple wanted to find a way for third party apps to perform multitasking functions without destroying the battery life, and they more-or-less succeeded in that.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:53 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
The problems with iOS is not the architecture, its objective-C and the tools that support it. They need a modern language and development environment, watch the rate at which Win8 apps will get produced This is largely because Microsoft just gets it when it comes to IDE’s and dev languages…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:47 PM EST reply Recommend (6) Flag actions
Yeah. I had aspirations of creating an iOS app, but I was discouraged by Objective-C. I come from the C# and Java world (depending on which point in my career we’re talking about), and Objective-C just seems like such a substantial step backwards from both. It’s a shame.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:27 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Not a step backwards so much as sideways. Same concepts, different way of expressing them.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 10:57 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Yeah, and overly verbose way of expressing them
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 5:31 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Guys you don’t know what you’re talking about. The kernel of Windows8 (at it’s core WindowsNT) is OLD. I worked on it 20 years ago. It is hardly modern. Many fundamental architectural decisions were made well over two decades ago.
You also forget that it (WindowsNT) was designed from the start to support different processor architectures (intel and mips). So why (if that was the case, which it is) you might ask, “Why has support for ARM taken so long?” It is NOT b/c of battery life issues.
Windows and OSX are roughly equivalent in terms of architectural age (to the extent that it matters, and I would argue it matters not a whit), and OSX lacks a number of elements of the Windows architecture that contribute to its (windows) insecurity.
Microsoft has a fundamental problem that has nothing to do with its software (thought that is a problem). It’s problem is that is has definitively LOST the race to be one of the top 2 mobile platforms deployed worldwide. It’s resigned to #3, and the ripple effect of that is only now starting to be felt on the desktop side of their business. You have only to walk into a startup bootcamp for entrepreneurs from an emerging nation and see 95% mac laptops and iPhones and android phones to know that MS has a deep structural problem in its developer engagement (to say nothing of enterprise and consumer, where things are starting to become equally dire). Windows8 alone will not solve this problem. They are too far behind, this will take a decade of consistent flawless execution to fix.
If it can be fixed at all.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 10:46 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Worked on it 20 years ago, perhaps, but when did you last work on it?
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 1:54 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I think a large part of startups devs are on mac laptop because most startups are focusing on mobile apps and less of the web.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 5:34 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t they change fundamental kernel architecture over 20 years? I mean just take prefetching and the new memory manager introduced in Vista as examples. Proof enough on me that the Kernel is being maintained constantly.
The reason why people use Apple hardware more so often is because they want to be cool. But for serious work (I’m talking about anything except office and graphics design) a Mac can’t provide you the vast amount of software Windows does.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 5:08 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Frankly anyone who thinks iOS can be counted out is blind and/or deluded. The iPad IS the tablet market, Apple’s PC marketshare is growing, and iOS is still holding it’s own and dominating app sale revenue.
There’s no reason to have a unified OS between different device types as one size simply doesn’t fit all. Microsoft couldn’t make it work so stuck two entirely different UIs into Windows 8. It’s a total mess from the get go.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 8:19 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Well going by Microsofts plan to have Windows 8’s kernel on Windows Phone and possibly Xbox vNext I think one size does fit all, otherwise they wouldn’t do it.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 8:44 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Yes, just look at the results, what a huge mistake that was… My primary devices are Android, but Android’s underpinnings are organized chaos at best.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 10:14 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The triumphant tone of your posts is a tad premature. Something slated for release 8 months from now ought to leave iOS 5 feeling feature lacking. The only “certainty” right now is that no one is lusting after a RIM device.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:43 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Well it isn’t exactly no one, there a few business users but that’s about it.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:45 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I think it is very bold to count iOS out, I have all the hope that Windows Phone will be huge because competition is good for all, but a 3 horse race is where I see it.
Sounds perfect, iOS the super closed, Windows Phone in between and Android, super open. Perfect.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:22 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
No one is counting Apple out but I am pretty sure they won’t have another profit like the last one – profit margins will come down when it is a three-horse race.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:24 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Profit margins won’t come down in the slightest, total number of sales might.
Profit margins are what they earn compared to what they spend.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:04 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I meant Quarterly profit figures.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:24 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
They did need consistency between the Windows 8 and Windows Phone dev environments, but unfortunately they’re standardizing around the crappier of the two. I’ve been developing for both WP7 and Windows 8 and Windows Phone’s development experience is so many lightyears better than Win8’s it’s astounding.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:52 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Windows 8 is in developer preview with BETA versions of of Visual Studio and Blend, of course they are on as good as the WP7 dev tools.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 5:36 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I’m not talking about unfinished features, I’m talking about deliberate design decisions they’ve made that aren’t going to change before release.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 8:05 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
@kieranajp…If you have an iphone, can’t you just continue to use the iphone as an ipod touch?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:14 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
That’s what I did. Granted, that iPhone 3G is still slow as slugs, but I can play a few favorite games when I need.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:16 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Maybe it’s different in iOS land, but I’ve dumped hundreds of dollars on Android apps and it doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal for me to switch at all. Most of those apps I’ve paid for aren’t even installed on my phone anymore. Replacing the ones that I actually use on a daily basis would probably cost no more than $20.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:48 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Cylons… they have a plan…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 11:23 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I would advise not to if you’re really into iPhone apps. The quality drops quite a bit from iPhone to Android and much more so from Android to WP7.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:40 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Sadly, it’s somewhat true. But I find that the apps are only getting better and better. Some great examples are Baconit, Metro Tube, FFFFound and Cascade skier.
In most cases, the only problems with the apps is that they can be slow. beyond that, the apps are great.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:42 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Yep! And the updates keep on comin’! I could almost say that the apps on my phone right now are not the same apps that I had 3 months or even one month ago.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:38 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I disagree. As someone who owns a Galaxy Nexus, iPad, and Samsung Focus, I can say that each platform has many good apps and many poorly-made apps. The proportions might be a little different from platform to platform but I feel like on each platform I can find the apps that provide the functionality I want while also being well-made.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:11 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
Agreed. Look at apps like FourSquare and EverNote. I think quality wise its WP7>iOS>Android for 4sq and iOS>Android>WP7 for EverNote. Yelp looks better on WP7 but I think it performs better on Android.
I also think 3rd Party developers are doing a hell of a job on WP7 in lieu of official apps (Like MetroRadio a WP7 Pandora App) or in some cases competing directly against it (here’s looking at you 4th & Mayor Best 4sq app I’ve ever used across all platforms)
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:24 PM EST reply Recommend (7) Flag actions
I have a WP7 device and many friends have iPhones. In regard to your first paragraph, I cannot speak for Android but I’m certain that iOS apps > WP7 equivalents. Look at the WP7 Facebook App, it’s got a bad scrolling bug that’s been persistent for a few months now – many complaints on the reviews but still not fixed. Twitter is a bit smoother but is definitely not as good as the iOS equivalent. I think developers have experimented with the UI of apps in WP7 though, the Facebook and Twitter apps mentioned above have great and unique UIs but performance lets it down.
Sorry for the rant…
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 4:37 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Well, there’s your problem right there. Why use the apps when the integrated experience is so good? I haven’t opened the facebook or twitter apps in ages.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 12:08 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Scrolling hasn’t been an issue since mango got released. iOS apps have been in development a lot longer than their WP7 equivalents, but the WP7 versions often look a lot better; they don’t all have the feature parity yet, but they will get there eventually.
Posted on Feb 04, 2012 | 10:44 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Actually, scrolling is only fixed in Mango if the app developer changes less then one line of code, not exactly hard to do so most apps now feature it but some don’t :(
Posted on Feb 04, 2012 | 11:21 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Agreed!
The I see the next gen of Skype/Kinect/XBL/Zune/Office Mobile all coming together into some beautiful designs from Nokia, Vizio, etc. They really need to get cracking on AirPlay for Windows, though. I’ll buy the next Xbox for sure, but I won’t buy a Windows 8 tablet or phone unless it affords me the ability to beam its content to the xbox with the same ease as Apple’s offering.
I really hope Nokia makes a tablet with the Lumia 900’s design language. nom nom nom.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:42 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Why would you want to beam…. that’s a horrible way to do things. With the next xbox/win8/wp8 the idea is everything would live on your skydrive and all the devices would read content off there (and use the companion apps to control things on each device).
Now they would have to start offering paid options for more storage with such a system but ms likes money so a service like that would be probable.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:49 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Since WP8 will be based on Win8 that means it is getting app contracts such as “play to” which is Microsofts version of Airplay so you have nothing to worry about.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:56 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Exactly, on the desktop side they had ‘Airplay’ with the introduction of Windows 7 – but the Xbox can only be played to in Media Center Extender mode.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:37 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
It’s already easy to “beam” content from a Win7 computer to an XBox. As long as the XBox is on the same homegroup, it will pull content from the other computers in the homegroup. The only problem is lack of complete codec support for my anime collection.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:12 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Side note – For the sake of all of us that watches anime, I’d be extremely happy if Xbox and Windows 8 finally came with MKV support out of the box. One can dream…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:02 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
Wasn’t it mentioned that it will support all major formats for media? I’m guessing that includes MKV since it has grown in popuality in the last 5 years.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:05 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I haven’t heard anything about media support yet but you’re right that it has grown in popularity so hopefully they will do that.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:12 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Not sure as it probably said it would support all major codecs. MKV is a container format not an actual codec.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 8:58 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Considering all the codecs are already supported, it’s really all about understanding the format that stores the data.
But I don’t think it matters that much because there will likely be apps that support MKV natively.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:10 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
True indeed! It didn’t cross my mind that it can be supported in the form of an app. Thanks :)
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:14 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Windows need to add multi screen support like Android has. I can run my Android tablet or phone as a 3rd screen right for my desktop. Windows can probably do even tighter integration.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:12 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I think that’s the only way to go about it now. Commitment to a platform is much more important than looks or features.
It’s not just the initial $200 consumer money, its the investment of time and money over the years on the entire platform that needs a corresponding investment from the company.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:19 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
What’s an eye Phone?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:30 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Great comment!. I am on the same boat. Tired of the stale iPhone UI and not a fan of Android because I hate the skins and the Galaxy Nexus has a horrible camera. Windows Phone is really making me take a hard second look in that direction, plus who wouldn’t want a Cyan colored phone!?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:43 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Screen resolutions: HVGA, WVGA, qHD, 720P? Or skip qHD and have something above that?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:29 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
You hit the nail on the head.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:38 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Makes sense to me.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:11 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
i really hope they keep WVGA and move to WXGA (1280×768) it’s the same exact aspect ratio. but if they’re able to add something like a HVGA/VGA resolution (more square) to support phones that have portrait keyboards like blackberrys or the motorola admiral/droid pro, i think it’d be a great alternative for people that are coming from blackberrys and are still in need of a physical keyboard.
if there’s one thing i wish windows phone had more of, it would be hardware iterations like the dell venue pro. such a beautiful device.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 3:23 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Well this seriously impacts my excitement to upgrade to the Lumia 900 in March. Maybe I’ll just wait…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:30 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
Only time I’ll think about hopping to Windows Phone is when Windows 8 comes out and they’re all synced up. SO I’ll be definitely keeping an eye on Apollo developments. In the mean time i’ll hold on to my LTE Nexus
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:36 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I’ve had the Samsung Focus since it came out and wanted the Focus S before the Nokia Lumia 900 was announced. Now I think it’ll be too late for me to upgrade without regretting to wait for Windows 8.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:38 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I don’t know… Lumia 900 at $99 is still awesome. Especially when the 900 gets the WinPho8 update.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:39 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
Yeah, but if Windows 8 brings something that’s absolutely better than the Lumia 900, I’ll have missed out. I mean, I’m pretty sure every high-end Win8 phone will be better in terms of specs than Lumia 900. At least, i hope so.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:46 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Dual-Core, NFC, and 720p would definitely make me save my $99 and put it towards the Lumia 1000
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:42 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
This. Especially the possibility of 720p.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:54 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
I’d be extremely surprised if the Lumia 900 didn’t get WP8.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:23 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Yeah but (later this year) would you want WP8 on the 900 when there are dual and quad-core WP8 phones on the market?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:12 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The problem is, there will always be newer, better devices on the way, the mobile space just moves that fast. At some point you have to just take the plunge.
Or just do what i did…buy off contract and then you free to sell it and switch phones whenever you like.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:03 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The 900 will definitely be getting the update. Even first gen handsets will be getting Apollo. It’s already been stated that all WP devices will receive major updates, though some devices will be skipped over when it comes to micro-updates.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 7:03 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Oh, well, that makes waiting for WP8 devices before jumping on board a bit more appealing. Let’s hope WP8 and the hardware tailored to it rolls around sooner than late October 2012.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:30 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Can’t wait to see some of this stuff in action….. Overall sounds like a bunch of good changes and new features.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:30 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Well, this makes me super happy that I had already planned on skipping the Lumia 900. Full microSD support! (Potentially) hi res screens!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:33 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This sounds awesome, when does WP8 hit?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:33 PM EST via mobile reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Later this year, I’d expect around October time.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:33 PM EST reply Recommend (7) Flag actions
Tom, I think there’s a typo in the Second paragraph of the article (under Hardware). It should be Belfiore, instead of Belifore. :)
Sorry for being a pedant. ;)
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:36 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Aw, it’s fixed now. nvm. T_T
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:57 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
SO SEXY.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:34 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
Oh man, as an early adopter of Windows Phone, I am super excited for Windows Phone 8!! I have the Titan I now, so I wonder some of the update will be compatible with WP8.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:35 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I’ll be shocked and disappointed if you don’t get all the software features. When phones are 2 and 3 years old, I can see them dropping support, but All windows phones are new enough that they should still get Apollo.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:47 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
Yeh the phone will take the update no problem. The catch is in the hardware. You wont be able to take advantage of things like NFC. Though I suspect less than 10% of the update will be hardware limited…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:55 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
I have a Titan and while I would like to get WP8 I didn’t get it on the assumption I would (it’s a fantastic phone regardless). If an update does come then I’m going to be pleased, rather than bemoan the fact that some new hardware related features don’t work.
NFC is nifty, but my debit and credit cards are all contactless already so I probably won’t care unless some specific (and amazing) use comes along that requires NFC on a mobile device.
Posted on Feb 04, 2012 | 10:59 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Unless they’re Android devices, then they loose support in 2 or 3 months.
Sorry guys, cheap shot, someone was gonna do it.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:24 PM EST reply Recommend (8) Flag actions
Yes! This is what it’s all about. Being smart and aggressive.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:36 PM EST reply Recommend (9) Flag actions
Or, actually doing something instead of ripping on competitors who are beating you right now. Microsoft needs to put up and shut up.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:42 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
What?
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 1:58 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I think he is just a butt sore Apple or Android user that feels threatened by Microsoft’s latest move with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 8:56 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
“Additionally, the Zune Desktop is being scrapped”
Son of a bitch. This sucks.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:36 PM EST reply Recommend (15) Flag actions
I actually think it’s a good idea they scrap it to separate phone management from music management. Check out the Windows Phone Connector on Mac and how it works. It’s excellent.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:37 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
But then what are you going to use to manage your music? Windows Media Player? Zune Desktop is the best music management application on the planet, I don’t want to see it go.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:38 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
The way I’m interpreting this is you’d still use Zune for media syncing, just not general device management.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:47 PM EST reply Recommend (10) Flag actions
Thats how i read it as well.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:52 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I hope that is the case cos I really hate windows media player, in fact I would prefer that to be scrapped and any missing features put in zune.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 9:04 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
or of course zune integrated into Window s8 entirely although I don’t know if MS can do that with all the legal troubles over the years
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 9:05 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I would hope that it is Windows Media Player. But that they take all the good code from Zune and put it in WMP for W8. It would be better for the ecosystem to have it unified and play nice with Windows, Xbox, and WP. Frankly I never understood why they wanted to me use something different to sync to a Zune and to play to my xbox. Unless I just never understood it right.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:50 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
Zune could be the new Windows Media Player
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:56 PM EST reply Recommend (10) Flag actions
Zune should be the new Windows Media Player.
Fixed that for you. :)
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:04 PM EST reply Recommend (16) Flag actions
I’m just saying that Zune Desktop is one of the key reasons why I switched to Windows Phone from Android. I love that app (and I really hate Windows Media Player, which is the obvious alternative for MS to move to) and seeing it go just deflates a fair bit of my enthusiasm for the platform.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:44 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
They are removing phone management, not media syncing. (how i read it)
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:53 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I dunno I think media syncing might go all together, and Zune remain solely as a media manager/player. If they build on the Libraries concept from Windows 7, then your music “Library” will sync through the phone connector. If the connector can pull a few extra bits from Zune using your LiveID – such as play counts, playlists, history, ratings – then there would be no need for a Zune media sync.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:01 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Why? The implication would be that Windows Media Player (or whatever the equivalent is) in Windows 8 is going to be on par with Zune, functionally, and being Metro-themed, it should look fairly similar too.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:37 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
That seems optimistic. Windows Media Player has been awful and nearly unusable through every version release it’s ever had, spanning about a dozen complete redesigns. Zune Desktop is so much better than WMP for library management that they’re not even close to being in the same league.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:40 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
I’m holding judgement until I see the sync software. I hope it’s still easy to go from listening to something on my desktop to syncing it to my phone.
Maybe we’ll see a simplified Zune (or something) client that is more music and video focused instead of it evolving into a twisted mess like iTunes.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:45 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
That would be fine, I’m not really crazy about managing apps in Zune to begin with. I’m just worried that they’re talking about scrapping Zune completely and forcing people to use Windows Media Player for music library management. WMP is awful.
A music-only Zune with phone backup functions handled elsewhere is just fine by me, that’s just not what it sounds like he’s talking about.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:48 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
They better not kill zune and leave us with Windows Media Player. That thing is a turd compared to Zune.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:06 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I hate WMP, did not like iTunes on Win. Now downloading Zune to try it as people here are recommending it.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:20 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Seems like windows store will be taking the bulk of the zune → phone responsibility. Also note, there hasn’t been any details on music purchases through the windows store that I know of, which could lead to zune going back to its roots as purely media distribution, perhaps with the Live label. Who knows though. Windows 8 can’t come soon enough..
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:09 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Everyone needs to read Paul Thurott’s post on this on WinSupersite. The new syncing will be much better than the resource hog that is Zune. Think SkyDrive.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:16 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
even if they don’t scrap it they really need to scrap the zune name. it’s synonymous with failure.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:17 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Are you nuts? That name is so unique, I’d consider it as a replacement for the Windows Brand outside of Metro OS.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:10 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Zune was a failure. Sadly. But as a brand name it’s actually excellent and one of the best Microsoft have ever come up with I think. So it would be a shame for it to be phased out for Xbox Live Windows Music Player 2012.
Or something.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:19 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Metro Tiles Music 2012
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:39 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Music.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:45 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I dunno, I was given a zune some years ago and everytime I say I had a zune people laugh. It’s not a great brand.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:26 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I highly doubt that.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:51 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I’ve had two iPods and two Zunes over the years. Zune wins everytime. Lasted longer and easier to sync. Not to mention, iTunes sucks.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 11:29 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
those were weird people..
Posted on Feb 07, 2012 | 5:19 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I was so excited until I read that line. I mean, it’s not a deal breaker, but I really do like the Zune Desktop app. It’s miles ahead of iTunes. I would presume that they must have some sort of replacement though. I don’t think they would kill off Zune Pass (at least I hope not)…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:12 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Do you really expect that they will replace with something worse than Zune? :) They must be total d***heads to do that, can’t see it happening.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:17 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Agree totally, I’d rather slim down Zune and expand it’s functionality instead of scrapping it for something else. As long as it’s Metro, though, I guess it’s okay…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:54 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Waiting for Apollo before I get properly into Windows Phone. I’ll buy the highest Nokia pre-loaded with Apollo.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:36 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
*highest end
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:36 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
Sorry, I’m enjoying ICS too much right now to even consider switching.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:40 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
OK
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:07 PM EST reply Recommend (14) Flag actions
Apollo is going to make ICS seem like a bad joke.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:11 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
So long as it stops people buying iPhones I’m not bothered.
Besides, there is enough room for Android and WP8, surely.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:14 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Well that was an useful post…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:25 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
a*
And thanks!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:56 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Whats ICS?
Internet Connection Sharing? Internet Connection Services? Inter-Orbit Communication System?
That last one would be really cool!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:06 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Ice Cream Sandwich.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:58 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Which isn’t as cool as Inter-Orbit Communication System.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 7:12 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
My veiled sarcasm was too much for this one.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 10:53 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I often mistake sarcasm for ignorance.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 4:19 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I’m super excited… still got my HD7 and loving it. I need Skype!! I will fall in love all over again with WP8
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:40 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
i got a suggestion for windows 8: multitasking , not the joke that “fast” app switching is
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:41 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Works well enough for me…and my battery is nearly double my HTC Evo battery life.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:54 PM EST reply Recommend (11) Flag actions
Exactly! No need for “true” multitasking, it just kills your battery. As long as certain background tasks can continue, like playing music, freezing an app in its current state is far better.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:04 PM EST reply Recommend (9) Flag actions
You know, this started out sounding sarcastic :P
But I honestly agree, I’ve never had any problems with the current multitasking.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:53 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I’m pretty sure you’re not going to get “real”/manual multitasking in Metro. They’ve already announced that Metro multitasking to going to be limited in much the same way that it is in iOS and WP7.5. The limits might be somewhat higher but fundamentally they’ve decided that limited but automatic multitasking is where things are going to be in the future.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:24 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
lets hope they show off one or two things at mwc…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:41 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
There is a strong chance that the reason for these leaks is that MS is getting the word out to press and partners before their MWC announcement.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:49 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I gotta masturbate now.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:41 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
ಠ_ಠ
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:51 PM EST reply Recommend (11) Flag actions
now people masturbate to updates for a phone OS? O_O i am slowly losing faith in humanity.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:22 PM EST reply Recommend (8) Flag actions
lmao, I guess you haven’t seen/don’t remember the Android community’s collective nerdgasm (myself included) when Froyo went gold.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:26 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
or SassiBob’s love affair with Cyanogenmod (youtube it, it’s funny stuff).
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:27 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:08 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I just literally laughed out loud when I read that. Normally, that’s okay if I’m alone. But I was sitting in a public cafe and just kinda embarrassed myself…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:14 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
Awesome I currently have htc titan and I love it. This new windows 8 phone update is going to be awesome and Zune is great for music management I hope the change is still awesome for my music.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:42 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
More sync integration will be good. I attempted to try out the full Windows 7 / Windows Phone 7 experience last year. I liked a lot of aspect of the phone, but the integration was terrible. Windows Contacts that didn’t sync with Windows Live Contacts. No Windows desktop integration with Windows Live Contacts. little things here and there that just seemed odd.
A more unified approach from Microsoft is a welcome one. It’s one aspect that attracted me to the Apple ecosystem over a decade ago.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:44 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Really I finid that contact syncing is great with Windows Phone 7.5 did you use Mango?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:51 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
It may have improved with 7.5, I was on the stock 7 experience. It was more the jarring disconnect between the phones contacts syncing to Live, and the contacts the OS saw.
I’ve spent the past decade+ in OS X land, now with heavy iOS integration. I have a huge address boob, built up from the early days of my first SIM based contact database. My 3rd party IM program knows how to hook into the address book, to put real names on “screenname1834”. These bits of data also sync to the iPhone, where 3rd party IM clients can also do the same. Getting a stable base for things like contacts allows a ton of innovation on top of the platform. Even though I’m an Apple user, I respect and understand that true competition is what leads to great innovations. I want Microsoft to compete well, as it drives Apple to keep competing. Both sides win, as new things arrive for users of either platform and their respective mobile spaces.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:28 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
#DamnYouAutoCorrect. Thankfully I have a proper address book, and not addresses written on a boob… :)
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:29 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
How is that better?
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 5:09 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
If you use the Outlook Connector or Windows Live Mail or whatever it is called this would take care of the desktop side of things for you. Of course neither seems to work very well.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:20 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Mine works awesome. I created a Live account using my ymail addy, now every time I make a new contact it’s clouded. I switched phones, logged into Live, and an hour later, all my stuff was back on my phone. Everything but the apps, of course
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:51 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I need to see how they play the revamping of Zune. An ecosystem is nothing without content.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:44 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
can we assume that current wp 7.5 phones will be able to upgrade to wp8?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:54 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
If WP8 is slapping in support for 4 resolutions, rather than the originally hypothesised high res option, I would think that current WP devices will be getting the upgrade. As for the multiple core side of things, it’s plausible that that may see advantages for devs rather than the OS itself,
I am rather hoping that Apollo will also cater for the lower tier devices, rather hoping to see some candybar qwerty devices from Nokia in the next 12 months or so.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:01 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Oh to have the money to go with a Surface/laptop/tablet/phone setup for all the 8s. Place the phone on the Surface, and out pop spokes with contacts, apps, pics, music… Drag the latest update over to the phone and off it goes… All frippery, but oh so nice.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:56 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Apollo is the game changer for Windows Phone
=D
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:56 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I have a idea for MS to get folks already invested in other OS to switch to WP7…As part of the Marketing $$$ set aside for WP, use some of them to to give back to potential convert users based on how much they paid in the other OS for the same app. Basically give the app as free (app basis) for those convert folks . Then everyone wins.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 2:58 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
They will already give new WP7 buyers a $25 app card (or whatever they’re calling it). That’ll cover a good bit by itself.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:08 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
But if they do it like i said, it gets the perception right :)
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:15 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
That does sound like a good idea. “Buy a new Windows Phone, we’ll pay for 5 of your favorite apps.”
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:27 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Is it safe to say Tom is on Fire at the Verge?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:01 PM EST reply Recommend (17) Flag actions
Indeed, he writes more then half of the Microsoft related content!
LONG LIVE TOM WARREN!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:14 PM EST reply Recommend (7) Flag actions
I love Tom’s posts. He’s one of the few that seems to be immune to the reality distortion field coming from certain companies.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:29 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
Some people argue that he is bias towards Microsoft (and I guess in some cases he is) but I’ve found his writing to be fairly unbias.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:36 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
He’s focused and balanced. Excellent work!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:13 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
Tom, you are fantastic. You are the reason I came to the Verge. I wonder how many people also came over as a result of you.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:04 PM EST reply Recommend (18) Flag actions
I know I did…. cant say I dont miss winrumors though :s
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 10:31 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
i wouldn’t doubt if about 60% of microsoft commenters are here because of tom. i sure am. he’s amazing :)
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 12:56 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I can tell you that the Microsoft News Hub has a lot more articles then before Tom joined, don’t know if the forum is more active but it does seem like it is.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 1:16 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I want to watch the video, anyne found anything yet? God, it sounds great. MS is going to kick ass in consumer devices, not just business, and hopefully revive Nokia!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:16 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
My Acer W500 with Windows 8 welcomes the future coupling with my WP8 Nokia Lumia 1000!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:16 PM EST reply Recommend (7) Flag actions
I’m giving up my android for an iphone. no one seems to be in charge of android, the release of updates are like gambling. apps get updated, stops working on one phone, starts working on another. Is it carriers fault or googles fault? It’s a cluster fuck. Windows is just too early for me to adopt, I won’t pay to be a beta tester.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:20 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Windows Phone is way past the beta stage. It has already had a major update and this article is talking about a completely different version, it seems like the perfect time to switch or wait until Windows Phone 8.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:24 PM EST reply Recommend (6) Flag actions
Respect your opinion. I can see where you’re coming from, however, it seems like WP8 is finally that incline section of the bell curve us early adapters have been waiting on. My suggestion, buy your next phone unlocked…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:30 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I really wouldn’t mind getting a windows phone, it’s just tough when you’re being locked into a contract for 2 years and I really don’t know anyone with one to see it being used in the real world. And these phones off contract or unlocked are expensive $5-$700 is a far cry from $2-300..
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:16 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
That’s true for any device…doesn’t matter if it’s WP, Android or iPhone///
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:21 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Let’s hope that current WP7 devices are upgradable. Cannot see any reason why not! Want a Nokia Lumia 900 badly!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:23 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I am pretty sure they will be, but Win8 devices will probably be multicore and thus faster :) So if you can wait, I think you should – I am sure Nokia will launch a true flagship for Win8 release – 1000?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:25 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
Slightly off topic, but I love how sexy WP7 looks, and the shot in the glass just exemplifies it!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:24 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Redmond just found turbo booster!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:27 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I think its great how Microsoft is taking a leading role in cross-device integration. I am really exited to see what comes of the Windows 8 / Windows Phone 8 (and hopefully also the neXtBox) integration.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:32 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I was going to get a Lumia 900 but now I just might have to wait. So long iPhone and Android.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:33 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
It will also finally get IPv6 support – http://wmpoweruser.com/windows-phone-only-getting-ipv6-support-with-apollo/
This is ironic, since Windows Mobile supported IPv6. Still, I’m not complaining.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:34 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I know am gonna get flamed for this but zune is the reason i got into reading tech news i love the darn thing.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:35 PM EST reply Recommend (10) Flag actions
Just downloaded it. All I can say is WOW. Forget about WMP and iTunes. Never going back hahahha! Keep them coming MS! I really hope they don’t screw up the next WMP and it is something similar to Zune. This thing looks great and judging from my scan through features does everything such a software needs to do right!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:44 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
Whether you’re referring to the hardware or the software, I agree. Zune is very underrated.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:21 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Damn…. This is a pretty impressive update.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:49 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Looks amazing! my contract will be up around the time this is supposed to drop. Then I will dump my iPhone 4 for a Windows Phone
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:49 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Does anyone else think that this may take away from current Windows Phone sales – at least among us tech-savvy?
I have a Samsung Captivate that is slowly showing more and more signs of aging. I was gearing up to pounce on the Lumia 900 sometime over the summer. However, since I like what I see here from Windows Phone 8 and there will be new phones with hardware upgrades, I think I will just tough it out another few months till next holiday season.
Either way, I am super excited about this, and looking forward to make the jump to Windows Phone sooner or later.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:50 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
It is actually a pretty well known fact that anouncing a great new product can be devastating for your current product’s sales – just can’t remember what the effect was called. I guess this is also why we’re often told that they are working on amazing things but they don’t tell us what it is.
It’s different with Windows 8 for Tablets as Microsoft wins if people wait to try Windows 8 out before buying an iPad or Android tablet.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:55 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
It’s called the Osbourne Effect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect
I question that Microsoft thought that it would not be leaked if they produce such a video… so I think they do not fear this effect in this case.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 7:18 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Constantly waiting for the next big thing is a losing game.
Nokia 900 will get the Apollo upgrade and will be missing very little in terms of functionality. The damn thing isn’t even available yet so you’re talking about passing up a future upgrade for something even further out, why not wait for WP9 devices in that case.
Now if only I could listen to my own logic.
Posted on Feb 04, 2012 | 1:18 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Little disconcerting when you’ve to always say the next version is going to be a game-changer for WP. But I’m a believer in this OS and have high hopes for Apollo. Hope MS pulls of what it imagines.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:51 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
No one said any of the previous Windows Phones were game changers, it’s been said that Windows Phone brings a lot of stuff to the table, NoDo had Copy+Paste which was #1 on everyones list for missing features, Mango got Windows Phone up to speed with Android and iOS and now with Apollo they are going to change the game.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:26 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I heard the 2nd processor core has been there all along, but was software-disabled. /s
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:52 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The Qualcomm QSD8250 and MSM8255 which are the processors inside all currently sold Windows Phone 7 handsets definitely only sport a single core for the operating system.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:56 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
“/s” is known to denote sacrasm.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:22 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
When I plug in the phone and I don’t see a new drive mounted I wonder…
I like WP and the HD7 but managing files via Zune… it’s something else… :|
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 3:53 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I am eyeing WP8 as a secondary device.
I want DEEP Xbox Live integration with the ability to play XBLA games with the same cloud save from my console. I will happily hand over my iPhone 4S to my wife if WP8 launches with this capability.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:05 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
That’s a bit too deep, don’t you think you are asking for a bit too much? Apollo will be much better than iOS without that feature, it is up to you if you want to take advantage of it or ask for something that is currently obviously unrealistic.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:08 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
iOS 6 will be out when Apollo is out. We know nothing about iOS 6.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:11 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Unless they completely redesign everything and lower the price…I can’t see iOS6 iPhones as being better than WP8 Nokias in terms of software. Well, Apple may surprise everyone and do it, but knowing how passive they are, I seriously doubt it.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:13 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
iPhone 5 will be a major revision. It’ll come with a revised OS. There are some things in iOS that need to be updated, especially the core apps like contacts, YouTube.
They will never lower the price. It’s not needed. And iOS will always look like iOS. It’s never going to change. Windows has looked the same for 15+ years. Android still relatively looks the same.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:28 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
That is what I meant by passive … as you can see, Win8 excites more people than a potential new iOS version. If they want to keep the public’s interest and the high margins they will have to change, otherwise they will fall back. You can’t expect to live on a the current (boring) design forever.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:00 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
i don’t think Apple will be ready for iOS6 anytime soon. We’ve barely explored the full fledge iOS5.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:32 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
iOS 6 will be unveiled in a few months if the usual schedule is still followed, April otherwise June. iOS 5 is over 7 months old since developers got hands on it. Though the public has only had it for almost 4 months.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:43 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Wouldn’t it more likely be iOS 5.5? If that?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:46 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Maybe with the iPad 3. But iOS 6 is less than 4 months away from a full unveiling, could be April, could be June.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:50 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Source?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:57 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Apples record of announcements. No one ever knows when Apple does anything. It’s always an estimate based on what they have done previously.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:05 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Historical trends say you’re dead wrong. Every year there is a major new version of iOS, with a smattering of minor updates in between. Every year. Like clockwork. Why would that change now? Last year was the first time we got that new version before we got the new hardware, but it still came out all the same, at the same time.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:30 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Siri will be out of beta and have become self-aware?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:57 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
No, I don’t think so.
MS last year showcased cross-platform play between Xbox and Windows 8. I should hope when Windows 8, WP8, and Xbox 720(?) finally releases, it will make for a huge selling point. MS could pull it off I think.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 12:30 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Didn’t they show off Win8 and WP7 cross platform play? Or was Xbox in that too?
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 12:40 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
That’s great but I’ll need new hardware for Sprint to take advantage of any of this. Hopefully MWC will have more devices across carriers.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:12 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
If the OS is as good as everyone expects it to be, expect Samsung and HTC to jump on it with some powerful devices of theirs. Combine that with the rumoured high-end Nokia after the L900 and should get at least one on your preferred network.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:15 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Stellar.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:15 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Going to be a make or break fall/holidy for microsoft this year. Late 2012 will bring win 8 to both desktops and tablets and now win phone 8. Only way this would be more crazy would be a new xbox, but i don’ think that’s happening yet.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:18 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
There is going to be some serious smart phones war this year. RIM might just get lost somewhere in the middle.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:24 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
It already is, sort of.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:25 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
What I find funny is the notion that MS are the only ones innovating.Like Apple are chilling in the back room smoking weed or something.. Apple have a 30yr history of making OS’s and hardware. 30 yrs!! I think people need to give them some credit for their R&D and design / architecture decisions. They are not amateurs!
By the time MS have an ARM tablet (with hardly any software on ARM metro) Apple will have an ipad 3 quad-core, retina display that looks like a real magazine and improved Siri.. Icloud, itunes store and access to over 500,000 mobile apps with around 200,000 specifically written for tablets..
all for $399/$499 dollars… plus, the coolest brand on earth with tons of high end “show rooms” with free wi-fi that dont harrass you for a sell and look more like museums..
On top of that they’ve bought up so many components in bulk for the next 5yrs or so that no one can make anything cheaper than them without making peanuts (or a loss i.e. Amazon). They are so far gone.. so far. No one I know in the real world even knows MS have an OS coming out.. no one in the real world even cares!
This is brand 101: People by PC’s because they need them, people buy ipads because they WANT them.
If you think MS are gonna walk this market cos they have a handful of cheapskate OEM’s by the nuts.. I suggest you have been in a coma for the last 5yrs..
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:33 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
I’m going to counter, yes Apple aren’t really innovating at the moment, all the stuff you mentioned is either upgraded Hardware or software updates, no real innovation there….
I mean I haven’t really seen any innovation from Apple in a while, they bought Siri, they remade their cloud server (MobileMe) and made it better then it was but still not the best (in my opinion) and iTunes hasn’t really seen an innovative update in ages.
One can argue that iTextbooks were innovative, and I somewhat agree, but to me it was just the next logical step but bravo to Apple for releasing cheap interactive textbooks that can only be read on expensive hardware and only on that because it’s not like anyone would use it ok a desktop.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:41 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
Vendors havent even caught up with what apple did 2 yrs ago, let alone now. Every company is following Apple’s lead after pouring scorn on their products. Macbook air was dissed when it came out. Years later Wintel crew are making ultrabooks! It’s hilarious..
Where’s the retina displays on other handsets? Where the battery life enhancements? Where is core graphics for every UI element in the OS? Compare icloud with google’s music locker thing? If Apple dont innovate why have MS (probably the best set of engineers in the world right now) copied the multi-tasking, gone back to native C++ on winRT, blah blah..
Where are the machines built out of solid aluminum blocks instead of that plastic crap that all laptop companies use. Who’s pioneered firewire and is moving forward with thunderbolt? 9-10hr battery as standard cos there actually moulding batteries to the shape of the device.. and so on..
Apple are an engineering company first and foremost, to accuse them of not innovating is just silly..
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:07 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I refuse to argue with anyone thinking that “Apple’s” “retina display” is an invention and even more Apple’s invention.
It is simply a high PPI screen manufactured by a completely different company and sold to Apple.
Multitasking? Seriously? Freaking old-fashioned Symbian has had multitasking for ages. You live in a dream world. Enough, can’t be bothered to answer all your stupendous statements. I don’t have the nerves. Live happily in blindness.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:18 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
They didn’t invent everything they use, what company has? But they put it all together in a nice package that made it easy for everyone to use. You may not like apple but you can’t argue the explosion of smartphones and tablets are all due to apple. Heck even computers that aren’t beige are due to apple. When jobs came back to apple and put out the iMac in different colors the community all screamed, a blue computer doesn’t make it faster than my beige computer!!! Those same people have glossy cases with lcd screens plexiglass windows and neon lights on their computer.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:23 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Yeah, Apple invented colors. Seriously? I agree on the iPhone/iPad thing – they did make them mainstream. That doesn’t change the fact that they have taken a step back and relaxed recently, which might bite them later when/if W8 does what it promises to do.
It is not that I don’t like Apple, I don’t like the price of their products. The iPad is great if you have deep pockets. Same goes for iPhone 4s and MBP. Good products but overpriced and buying software afterwards is more expensive than other platforms, too.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:27 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
And while I’m on it.. name me one Apple product that is far more expensive than a competitor with similar build quality and features. Name one?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:34 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Envy 15 and Macbook Pro, not exactly same but it’s $1000+ difference…….
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:49 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Name Two!!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:04 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Are you serious? lol
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:08 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Is that the laptop that can’t display the color red properly? Try again.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:33 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
If you actually read the article then you’d know that the HP Envy’s with that problem were from a bad batch and it doesn’t affect all the HP Envy’s sold and it’s now being fixed and customers unhappy with their HP Envy screens can get it replaced with a non dodgy screen.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 9:00 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
And in what universe is the Envy $1000 cheaper? I have no clue how you came up with that math.
Posted on Feb 04, 2012 | 3:14 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I’m going by the prices listed over here and I did mean the 17 not 15, according to that price there is a $1,400 difference.
Posted on Feb 04, 2012 | 11:27 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
innovation != invention
And seriously, iOS is a subset of OS X (which is Unix the mult-tasking king). The iphone was multi-tasking things they day it came out. The “innovation” is working out a way to multi-task without killing the battery (you know how your mobile phone is like .. mobile right? like not plugged into a power socket).
Thats “innovaton” (see what I did there??) :-)
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:31 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Might want to read Ars’ take on OSX Lion Server edition. Spoiler: it’s a complete POS. Lion is the Server edition’s less buggy brother.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 7:20 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Apple haven’t innovated for a while now…right now they don’t need to as they are getting all the cash, but when Win8’s ready and running on ALL manufacturers worldwide except Apple, then they might say “well, how do we compete now?” iOS has been stuck design-wise for ages now, many people are getting tired of seeing 5 screens of app icons – what is innovative about that if I can ask?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:03 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
That’s fair. MS has to put themselves back where they are needed, as well as being wanted by those who feel personal preference for their product. At the same time, it is looking like any remaining objective feature/spec deficit will be closed, and that plenty of people will subjectively enjoy using Apollo . That’s huge for MS/Nokia and likely to leave Android trying to justify their existence to consumers. Not overnight mind you, but Android and mass market has never been an entirely comfortable fit, but for the fact that iPhone was pricey and there was no one else worth looking at.
As for ARM tablets with switchable Win 8 and docking – enormously ambitious, but who can say whether it will change the game at the edges or turn it inside out.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:08 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Sounds great, bring it on Microsoft.
But for now, Windows Phone, meet the Osbourne effect.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:57 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Don’t see why… unless there’s particular hardware you want, current devices are going to get the upgrade to Apollo. I still plan on getting the Lumia 900, and am hoiding off on upgrading my laptop instead…
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 10:48 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
No, he’s right.
Microsoft totally just knee-capped/Osbourned their current line-up, including the Lumia line.
Somebody reading this news will just think, ‘Oh, if I wait until the end of the year, Windows Phones will sport high res screens, multi cores, NFC chips and microSD card slots, so I’ll wait to check one of those out.’
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 11:36 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Well they didn’t intend to, this wasn’t supposed to leak.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:34 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
But then, Nokia is no stranger to the Osbourning of their products, as they ham-fistedly did it to themselves twice over the last year, including announcing the end of Symbian before they had other products to ship on the market. Doh.
And they likewise did it with the Lumia 800 by not including a front facing camera…..and then Skype integration is announced a month or two later. Double Doh.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 11:40 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
There is no greater Osbourne than the N9.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:34 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
With news like this, I still won’t wait for it. I’ll buy a cyan Lumia 900 March and get the Lumia OMEGA unlocked later lol!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:39 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
God damn I miss Zune. I hate the fact it’s being further removed from the equation. Zune is easily the biggest attraction to WP7 for me. I’d love Zune hardware to make a return with an iPod touch style device. I love my iPhone a lot, and most of WP7 phones don’t match up to the quality of design, but all my Zunes blew everything out of the water. Give me another Zune HD microsoft!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:40 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Nokia’s high-end Lumia’s are the closest thing to a Zune HD. Why hasn’t anyone done some design copypasta already?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 7:51 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I love copypasta, with melted cheese B] but yeah, I do like how Zune uses artist artwork during playback! Best media app (visually) ever!
Posted on Feb 05, 2012 | 1:28 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
THAT AWESOME MOMENT WHEN YOU REALIZE THAT THE LITTLE VERGE LOGO ON THE TOP RIGHT HAS THE ABILITY TO SEND YOU BACK TO THE TOP BY CLICKING ON IT.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:51 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I’m wondering if the Lumia 900 is going to have NFC to take advantage of the “Apollo” software update. I really wanna by the Lumia 900 but I"m not sure if another Nokia Windows phone will out come this year that’s has better specifications.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:58 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This I (and my HTC Arrive) am willing to wait another year for.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:59 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
VPN SUPPORT??! I can haz?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 5:59 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This is pretty much everything I wanted. I can’t wait to see what else Apollo has in store.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 6:00 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This is a game changer, and RIM can start packing it’s bags fully now.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 7:43 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I absolutely agree. I made this point to a dedicated BB user on Engadget, telling him that the second Microsoft did that, companies will drop BB for WP8. It’s the perfect cross-device solution.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 11:16 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Poor RIM, they never expected the PC giants to come in, kick them in the head and eat their lunch.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:35 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
That would be great, I hate carrying my blackberry around. If I get a windows phone from work I wouldn’t bother getting a personal phone. I’d use my google talk number for my personal calls so I won’t have to change numbers if I change jobs.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 10:16 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The native code is an interesting one. I thought they made it entirely managed to increase security, reduce crashes which could give WP7 a bad reputation and remove the need for lots of testing on a range of devices.
I am wondering if they will be limiting who can use managed code (preffered developers) and what they can write in it. Perhaps even requiring the source in a NDA to guarantee there are no security issues.
I think native code is a good thing it will bring lots of games from android and iOS over quickly such as ones built on the unity 3D engine. I just hope security and stability is maintained.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 10:04 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
It won’t be limited to certain developers. Since Apollo will be based on the new WinRT seen on Windows 8, it essentially means you get as much freedom to develop on the phone as you get on the desktop, with high interoperability between both platforms.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:15 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The one thing that’s likely to change, or that Microsoft will likely backtrack on is Data Smart. On Paul Thurott’s site, it even mentions that it will be done at carrier’s discretion.
Come on, you really think wireless carriers want you to keep tabs on how much data you’re using, moment to moment. Carriers are out to screw you out of your money, so I don’t buy it for a minute.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 10:15 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
So……then the time to really buy a Windows Phone is not until the end of this year (Q4) or beginning of next year.
That’s when the platform will support high res screens, microSD card slots, multi cores and more software features.
Gotcha. Thanks for the tip, Joe Belfiore!
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 10:31 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This is literally exactly what I was hoping Microsoft would do. Well done!
Also, four resolutions! I wonder how apps built for WVGA will work on phones with different res screens.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 2:25 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Well I dare say that they will keep the same ratio, and since most apps are text based this won’t be much of a problem, the only apps I can see having a major problem with this are games (which make up a large percentage of apps in the marketplace) but again, same ratio so I think it’ll just be like what happened to apps on iOS when they released devices with that Retina Display (or whatever)
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 9:04 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Windows phone 8 is the future, it is going to overtake the other smart phone in future and I will take about 85% or more of smart phone in a near future watch the space the smart phone is coreally ming.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 4:06 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Windows phone 8 is the future, it is going to overtake the other smart phone in future and I will take about 85% or more of smart phone in a near future watch the space the really smart phone is coming.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 4:07 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I’ve had my ipad for a year and my wp7 HTC HD7 for a year…I cannot remember when I last used my Ipad to read mail and check FB..upload photos…my wp7 does it all so seamlessly…wp8 looks to be a game changer.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 5:00 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I’m really excited about WIN 8 and WP8 it is something WP7 should have done out of the box with WIN7 with that said though I think it’s going to work out just great. the one thing about WIN8 that I don’t like is I love having my desktop wall looking my way with photo’s that I’ve taken or Pictures that I have made. looking at the metro all the time I’m not so sure I will like that. so I’ll do it WIN8 on my laptop for the the WP8 movement but I’ll stay with WIN 7 for my main use.on my main machine.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 6:03 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I am really happy with all the work that Microsoft is doing and combining all Windows experience into one. I cannot wait now to switch to a Windows Phone and, of course, I can wait for Windows 8 to come out.
Thanks,
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 7:29 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Microsoft 8? will wait and see if they can get it right on the tablet front first, probably 1.5-2 yrs from now for them to offer anything close to a platform like the Transformer Prime….
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 9:52 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Heads are going to roll at M$! They must be pissed…..I’m already debating whether to wait for WinPho8 :/
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 10:12 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I
lovethe Zune desktop software, surely they won’t scrap it…at least just replace WMP with Zune?Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 10:49 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Love is not supposed to be marked out in my comment, but it is somehow, weird. I guess
dashesmark things outPosted on Feb 03, 2012 | 10:54 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Personally I would have preferred to call it Microsoft Zune OS.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 4:13 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Please tell me you’re being sarcastic….
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 4:14 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I just creamed myself :">
Posted on Feb 04, 2012 | 2:09 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Joe Belfiore leaked video, where can it be watched?
Posted on Feb 08, 2012 | 2:27 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
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