"The name Windows Phone applies to Windows Mobile 6.1, 6.5 and multitouch Windows Mobile 7. At least something in the Windows universe is forwards and backwards compatible. Features of the new platform (that is WM 6.5, a.k.a. Windows Phone) include back-up of all SMS and email content into Microsoft's cloud, remote disabling of the handset and inclusion of an iTunes-alike Windows Mobile software repository called Market Place."
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Member since:
2005-09-27
Calling it Windows Phone doesn't fix any negative feelings it has for the product. As it is the Windows part of the name that people feel negative too. Relating it to crashes on their PC and all the other negative press windows gets.
Secondly Windows Mobile barely uses any windows (you know those movable boxes) so it just makes it that much more silly of a name change.
Third most phone buyers buy the phone for what the phone has to offer not the OS. As still they are not expecting to buy a bunch of software that will last for decades like a PC. This could change however not yet. So renaming Windows Mobile will only attract the phone makers more then the End Users, and the producers of the phones are usually smart enough to realize that that it is the same product.
Forth in some contradiction to what I said in three. It will probably cause people who wants to use the OS for non-phone mobile devices off where it actually might make a good choice.
Member since:
2006-04-03
Member since:
2006-01-26
Member since:
2005-11-11
Member since:2006-05-10
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:
2005-07-06
I have been a long-time user of both the classic Palm (aka Pilot), as well as the slew of Windows devices - CE/PalmPC/PocketPC/HPC/WinMobile, etc. For Palms, I have used the Palm III, Several Sony devices (S360, etc) and even the Palm Centro. For the Windows devices, I have had a Phillips Nino, Uniden, Compaq, and now an HTC Touch.
The once constant in all the Windows [CE/Mobile/Etc) devices is how sluggish they are. Programs take a while to load, sometimes they just seem to hang (built-in ones, not 3rd Party), and I frequently have to reset the device to reclaim memory. It doesn't seem like a true multi-tasking environment, becuase background processing are forever tying up the device and keeping me from doing anything (stylus taps do nothing until the process finishes).
The Palm devices were lightening fast. The Windows "sprung" open. However, these apps were more like Dos apps - one bug in the app could easily reset the device, or lock it up, forcing a hard-reset. The worst was the Palm Centro, which required me to open the back and take out the battery to reset it.
Bottom line - there is a lot of room for improvement in the Windows Phone environment. Palm has already moved on to the Pre - which seems nice. Apple has the iPhone. I haven't tried the G1, nor any Symbian devices. But Windows devices still just seem to plod along. I think they need a new framework. The Windows paradigm does not scale down well (imho).
Member since:
2008-07-15
FTA:
I don't know about the rest of you, but item number 2 in that new features list strikes me as being rather ominous. Remote disabling of the handset... now, that sounds a lot like a kill switch. So who is going to have control over this kill switch, and why is it there now? Item number 1 I'm not too fond of either, I don't particularly want my email backed up into Microsoft's cloud as it's already in Google's cloud via gmail, so hopefully that can be turned off. The inclusion of an app store type system though was a rather obvious move.
I think I'll probably steer very clear of Windows Phone (sheesh, how... original) until I know who's going to have that kill switch in their hands and how one gets control over that.
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:2005-07-11
Member since:2008-07-15
All the same, I'd feel much more comfortable if activation of that kill switch was voluntary, i.e. so the carrier did not have access to it. That way, it could still be activated by a particular IT department on company phones and leave the rest of us out of it with our personal devices. Phone companies are asses enough already, at least here in the U.S. We don't need to give them any more control than they already abuse.
