Windows Phone Thoughts: Microsoft Will Be Updating Windows 7 Phones Directly: No More Being Held Hostage to the Mobile Operators & Hardware OEMs

"...Microsoft itself will release updates to the OS. Thus, users no longer have to wait until the manufacturer or provider [issues] a firmware update. This should ensure less fragmentation in some versions of Windows phones users...These updates can be pushed to the users in two ways. "We do that through the Zune desktop software or over the air," said Kindel. "Whichever way we use depends on the size of the update." In practice this will mean that major updates from the desktop software can be installed, while the smaller updates are sent directly to your phone."

Over the years, there have been irritations with Windows Mobile - things that don't quite work the way they should, things that are broken, and things that are missing. Real pain points though were on a short list: sluggish performance, stability issues, and perhaps the most frustrating of all: a truly awful ROM upgrade story. From the very first Pocket PC that shipped, these devices have been seen as having a version of Windows; and you can upgrade Windows, right? That's the perception that customers had, so when a new version of Windows Mobile came out, people expected to be able to upgrade their phone. Some OEMs offered upgrades, some didn't. Things got much worse when Pocket PCs became phones and the wireless providers got involved; then it wasn't just about whether HP or another OEM wanted to release the update, it was about the wireless provider deciding if they wanted to be bothered. And more often than not, they didn't - even if tens of thousands of customers would have been willing to pay for it.

The good news? This pain is gone. Vanished. Kaput. Microsoft will be providing updates for Windows phone 7 devices directly, just as they do today with the Zune HD. You'll plug in your device, get notified about an update, and that update will be applied - just like the process used by Apple. In fact, the Zune desktop software is the conduit, similar to iTunes - I saw this demoed a couple of months ago, and it's amazingly slick. I've been awaiting Microsoft PR approval for a Q&A with the Microsoft Program manager who heads up this feature, because there are some really interesting things about it that haven't yet been shared. Hopefully that Q&A will finally get approved and I can share the information with you.

Another key quote from this article:

"Windows 7 Phone Release will not [be] 'feature complete': many cases will be added later. This is a conscious choice, Kindel said. "What we do, we do extremely well. This is a change from previous Windows Mobile versions, where as much as possible functionality in trying to stop. Now some things are missing at the launch, but the important thing for us [is the] user experience...then [we will] look at how we can extend that functionality."

Despite the rough Google translation, you can understand what Kindel is saying: that, unlike previous versions of Windows Mobile where the product was feature-locked months before it showed up on devices, Windows phone 7 will be a constantly-evolving operating system. By the time Windows phone 7 devices are available for purchase, I'm 100% sure Microsoft will have a firmware update ready that will have a couple of months of coding work behind it. That will mean fixes/tweaks for sure, and possibly new features. Copy/paste? Maybe.

The cynics out there might point out that at some point Microsoft themselves will choose to not offer a device update, which is true; the older Zune devices no longer get firmware updates. I think we need to be realistic here though; the Zune devices got updates for quite a while, and people who purchased a Zune 30 were still getting firmware updates two years after their purchase. I've always felt that if I could get minor patches along the way, and one OS update, that would be enough to make me feel like my investment was honoured.

Even with a few limitations, I'll take Microsoft's approach to updates over the carrier/OEM updates any day!