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This post was published 2 years 2 months 8 days ago which may make its actuality or expire date not be valid anymore. This site is not responsible for any misunderstanding.![phones[1]_thumb](http://www.mobilitysite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/phones1_thumb.png "phones[1]_thumb")
In February Microsoft announced its new Phone platform Windows Phone 7 Series(WP7S). For many it was extremely overdue because the current platform had fallen way behind (arguably) the usability of the iPhone platform. Since its introduction the market share of WM has continued to drop. What I believe Apple did is take the Smartphone platform to the consumer level. Prior to that most people used basic or feature cell phones. Only business users and technically oriented people used a PDA/Smartphone. So last year, as we know now, Microsoft did two things: They did some major tweaking to the WM OS and brought us WM 6.5 and they reset their strategy for WM7. In other words they started over.
What I first saw in February was both exciting and disappointing. I saw a very consumer oriented OS that seemed to put everything in a logical place and kept it all up to date. It integrated many things that People are using like social networking, entertainment, and PIM (Personal Information Management) in a way that had not been done before, all at your finger tips and all in the places you would expect to find it. There were some things that were not clear how they would be handled like multi-tasking but we were told all would be revealed at MIX in March. So I reserved my final decision as to whether I would move to this new platform or not.
Well March is here and in recent days a lot of information has been released at MIX, Microsoft’s Developer conference about what WP7S is and is not, as well as how to develop applications for it. I watched the Keynote on Monday and was intrigued at how seemingly easy it will be to develop for the platform. In all that I have read I have been both excited and let down drastically at the same time. Why? I will explain what I like, what I dislike, what is unexplainable and what I don’t know.
The Interface
The interface to me makes sense, you have what you need in front of you at all times. All of your content is in related hubs and it has all been formatted in the look of the Zune software, Window Media Center and from what I am told the Xbox. Everything is put into the proper category or hub and can be shared through your email and/or social networks. The tiles, as they are called can be updated live, letting you know at a glance what has changed so you can react to it as needed. Overall I think it is simple, intuitive and powerful.
Minimum Hardware Specifications
With the new OS Microsoft has determined that minimum specifications would be required for WP7S. Part of the problem with the current platform is the widely diverse platforms it is used on and so this prevents a consistent experience with the OS. Varying processors, screen sizes, and amounts of memory, both storage and ram, made some devices more capable then others and so no real way of easily upgrading your device other than new hardware in most cases. This also will ensure we don’t get short changed on things like a headphone jack, a hardware camera button and the like. This is a good thing.
Storage and File Access
Microsoft has said that in this new platform, there will not be user replaceable storage. That minimum specs require at least 8GB of internal storage which for me and probably most is enough. Undoubtedly some will have as much as 32GB or even 64GB of storage for those that need more. The hiccup for most WM fans is that this memory will not be accessible to the user as a USB drive to transfer documents and other items as we have always been able to. That’s right they are doing away with file structure access. Part of this I understand. If you let the average consumer access the file structure of the device they will delete something they shouldn’t. But at least let us access a document folder, don’t shut us out of the whole thing. I have an iPod Touch and this limitation, to me is a real aggravation. To have to use a piece of software or use a FTP to download or upload a file is a pain. Bad Microsoft.
Installing Applications
With the new WP7S for most consumers the only way to install an application will be through the market place. While this won’t be a big deal for most consumers who have never used the current platform, this is a drastic break from what WM users are used to. Undoubtedly someone will unlock the devices to allow this but this is what I think is a trade-off for a more stable system. Many of the problems with the stability of WM now is third party applications. My wife uses a Treo 750 running WM6.1 with no installed software at all. She has to do a reset maybe twice a year. Power users understand this consumers do not. So to make sure the application does not cause stability issues, having an approval process is, in my opinion, the right choice. As long as they don’t use it for censorship. For me this could be an issue because I have one piece of software that I side load that likely will never be offered through an app store.
Multitasking
Here is where things really start to get people upset. From what has been revealed, WP7S will not multitask, at least not the way WM has always done it. This, to me, is a mixed bag and really not as big a deal as many think. For years People have complained that the X button didn’t really close an application rather just minimize it and as a result have sought out for a way to close the applications they did not want to run in the background. This is because it caused the device to run slow, took up ram and ate up the battery. Instead we had to go into the settings and close applications manually to let the system run better. Microsoft never changed it and so manufacturers like HTC and third parties built applications to allow you to do that and allow exceptions to be made for your mail and other applications to continue to run. So really we asked for this, we got it and now we don’t like it?
Cut, Copy And Paste
I can’t believe I have to write this but here it goes. What!. Of all the things to leave out. Yeah I know, the OS can identify Phone numbers and web addresses, but still, to leave out copy and paste. We all, Microsoft included, made fun of the iPhone for not having this feature and having to wait until the third year to get it. No I don’t use it much but I do use it and it is inexcusable to leave this out. I want to think that they are just telling us this to throw competitors off the trail, but if this is true, I feel it will alienate nearly all the WM users that have a choice. Would this alone stop me from upgrading from WM6.5? Probably not but this combined with the iPhone-esque lock down would. Amazing just amazing.
Syncing
With the new platform Active sync and Mobile device center will be a thing of the past, All I have to say is hooray! While both are an effective (barely) way of syncing most of your content it has never been a complete solution. Especially for those who wanted to sync media as well as PIM and documents. To move to the Zune software and OTA syncing is just better. Now if they would just allow us to explore the device.
Things We Don’t Know
We still don’t know how Office will work except that we are told we will have Share Point and the ability to sync multiple exchange accounts. It may be that Share Point will be the means to access documents and such. We also don’t know how or if (at first anyway) the Enterprise will be able to load vertical applications on their devices. We also don’t know how much developers will like making applications for it. They seem excited about it now but only time will tell. A lot will depend on how they are treated by Microsoft and its marketplace. One real question I am struggling with is the apparent silence of those who would likely be under an NDA such as the Mobile MVP and others who have had recent access to the devices but are keeping their comments to themselves. Which may or may not mean there is more to this story then we are getting. We will just have to wait and see.
Final Thoughts
Looking at the mobile space in 2010, a clean break was needed for Microsoft to compete in the Mobile market. Too much was being left to the manufacturers to make things work, although some manufacturers like HTC made WM competitive longer than it could have on its own. But while a clean break inevitably causes change and loss of features, it shouldn’t do away with basic needs of your consumers. The openness, capability and ability to customize our devices has kept the WM faithful buying these devices when innovative companies offered easier to use and in some ways (Internet browsing) a better experience. I am not sure it is a good idea to alienate your core user base. I still will not buy an iPhone, or an Android device, but I am not sure I will by a WP7S device either. Until I find out more, or get the finished product in my hand to review it, for now at least, I will stick with and enjoy my Tilt2 running the old Windows Mobile accessing and flashing to my hearts content. If you have thoughts or insights let me know what you think by posting in the comments.
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