Paul Thurrott, on Microsoft’s new Android launcher Arrow:
Consider the following.
You can now unlock your Android device with Microsoft’s Next Lock Screen or Picturesque Lock Screen. Interact with your apps, contacts, reminders, and recent items with the Arrow home app replacement. Access first-class Microsoft experiences via Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, and Groove. Use mobile-specific solutions such as Microsoft Wi-Fi, Health, Office Lens, Office Remote, and MSN News, Sports, Money and Weather. And even test-drive Android-/mobile-only Microsoft apps like Microsoft Translator, Send, Tossup, and Xim. You could configure a fully-functioning Android handset that used almost nothing but Microsoft apps (plus a few stragglers like the phone, messaging and camera apps, plus Google Maps).
It’s really happening. And Arrow is a big piece of the puzzle.
The Microsoft Android phone is incoming.
I hope not. I liked Windows Phone 8.1 a whole lot – though I use Android now, well, I want Windows to see success on phones. Nearly all the apps I use are free, anyways, so I could switch back easily enough (Hooray cloud!)
1. I don’t think Windows Phone is going away any time soon
2. It all depends on what a Microsoft Android Phone would be like: if they port .net and similar parts and create their own interface then maybe it’s not that different from Windows Phone.
New to osnews? Windows phone division is bled dry, it is basicly just bug fix devs left. No further release is likey unless they inject more people into the projekt.
What a complete and uther nonsense. I just received build 10581 last night and the release of Windows Mobile is basically “Next month”.
The same hardware wise. After 1.5 year of no flagship the 950 and 950XL (and a low-end 550) are about to be released
Edited 2015-10-30 14:47 UTC
I just love my Windows 8.1 Nokia… upon saying that I eagerly await the Windows 10 update, and if I find it good enough I will buy a new Windows phone that is designed with Windows 10 in mind.
Do I want to run Android software on my Windows phone?, There are cases this would suit, i.e my bank doesn’t support Window Phones for their apps so this of course would help nullify the ‘no apps’ argument for Windows phones, but in most cases I find Windows Phones have what I need.
Windows phone being retired an alld. It is highly unlikely that anyone will put the effort in to make updates for older phones.
And more FUD from you. It has been officially announced that ALL phones that run Windows Phone 8 will receive the update to Windows Mobile 10, with 2 exceptions:
1) Devices with only 4 GB of storage (not mem, actual storage) because those devices wouldn’t have enough empty space for the update. If you can find a way (Windows Device Recovery Tool) to get it on there it is very likely to work.
2) Non Microsoft/Nokia devices that are manufacturer/carrier locked
Basically there are now 6% of all Windows Phone 8 running Windows 10 Mobile. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is actually more (not percentage wise but actually more) than there are users that run the latest Android version!
Is it flat and stupid? – Check!
Does it offer no visible benefits – Check!
Does it look like it is made by a three year old – Check!
Is it proprietary – Check!
They can keep that shit.
Will this launcher send data to Microsoft? It seems to require almost every permission under the sun when I checked the Play store.
Not that unusual for a launcher, but there is no description anywhere what its ET behaviour is.
The irony is with the anti-monopoly regulatory bodies on Google throat MS can feel pretty safe they get level playing field on Android they need.
Most OEM’s saw Android and thought to themselves:
1) This is great we don’t have to do a lot of the heavy lifting engineering wise, and get access to great third party apps!
2) Dang, everyone can do it. Lets customize the crap out of it, make it look different and use our services instead of google. That will make us rich and cool.
#1 is more or less accurate, #2 is stupidity that Motorola, samsung, LG, HTC, sony, and everyone else fell into before having the truth beat into them. Just being different than stock with useless layouts, launchers and Ui toolsets doesn’t make your product better.