Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

Be sure to register in our forums! Share your opinions, help others, and enter our contests.


Digital Home Thoughts

Loading feed...

Laptop Thoughts

Loading feed...

Android Thoughts

Loading feed...





All posts tagged "windows phone 7"


Monday, February 6, 2012

Think You Can Do A Better Job Than Microsoft?

Posted by Nurhisham Hussein in "Windows Phone News" @ 12:00 PM

https://windowsphone.uservoice.com/...g-and-promotion

"If you're here, we assume that's because you love Windows Phone as much as we do - but maybe you're frustrated that word's not getting out to everyone about how great Windows Phones are? Just like with your suggestions on features to add to future versions of the product, we'd like your suggestions on how we can spread the word about Windows Phone itself via advertising campaigns, community or social media involvement and other types of promotions."

One of the big disadvantages of being a big company not named Apple is that its sometimes (ok, most of the time) pretty hard to have your ear to the ground and keep track of the pulse of consumer likes and dislikes. So what's a big company to do? A couple of years back I had the chance to read Gary Hamel's "The Future of Management" and one of the recommendations was for companies to co-create with their customers. I think we're seeing that principle in action here - Microsoft wants YOU, to help them market Windows Phone 7 to the masses. Here's your chance to write copy, and break into advertising!


Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Value Of Microsoft To Nokia

Posted by Nurhisham Hussein in "Windows Phone News" @ 10:00 PM

http://www.slashgear.com/nokia-micr...phone-26210827/

"Microsoft paid Nokia $250m in Q4 2011 for adopting Windows Phone, the Finnish company's financial results today have revealed, the first of a "platform support payments" scheme expected to eventually account for billions of dollars. The two companies have always declined to put an exact figure on the "significant investments" Nokia would receive, though this new stat lends weight to earlier talk of over a billion in Microsoft subsidies."

1327637866.usr14226.jpg (480×325)

Talk about getting paid - what kind of reward do you think would a CEO get from his shareholders, if he got another company to pony up a billion greenbacks? Conversely, what should the shareholders of Microsoft think of a billion dollars in cash going to somebody else, who isn't even a big name in the US (and losing ground everywhere else)? Still it shows the kind of lengths Microsoft, or should I say Steve Ballmer, will go to to get WP7 into wider circulation. As much hammering as Nokia has taken in the last couple of years, they're still a big presence in most major and emerging markets. This is a gamble, but given the competition, it's probably no time for half measures.


Monday, January 16, 2012

Samsung's 2nd Gen Focus - the Focus S

Posted by Don Tolson in "Samsung Windows Phones" @ 08:00 AM

Product Category: Windows Phone 7 Smartphone
Manufacturer: Samsung
Where to Buy: Expansys [affiliate]
Price: $775 USD (unlocked, no contract)
System Requirements: Comes with Windows Phone 7 Mango (7720) installed.
Specifications: 1.4Ghz single core CPU, 16Gb internal storage, 1Gb RAM; 4.3in WVGA (480 x 800) Super AMOLED screen; Quad band (850/900/1800/1900) GPRS, Tri band UTMS (900/1700/2100), HSPA+; GPS; 8mp colour camera w/autofocus + LED flash, 720p HD video recording; BT 2.1 EDR & A2DP; 802.11b/g/n; 3.5mm stereo audio jack; microUSB 2.0; G-Sensor; 124mm (4.96in) x 66mm (2.6in) x 8.4mm (0.33in); 110g (3.9oz). Full specs are available at the Samsung site.

Pros:

  • Large, bright screen with amazing contrast;
  • Light weight, but solidly built;
  • All round, an amazing phone!

Cons:

  • Positioning of the power button makes it easy to 'accidentally' hit and turn it on/off when not intended;
  • A keyboard slider version of this phone would be a big bonus;
  • Sorry, it only comes in black :-).

Summary: The original Samsung Focus, despite some niggling flaws, multiple versions, and difficulties with upgrades, has been the Windows Phone 7 'phone to beat' almost from the day it arrived. While the HTC Titan and HD7 have been making inroads, the Focus still holds a significant portion of the Windows Phone 7 user community. Now, Samsung has issued the successor in two slightly different models - the Focus S with better specs and screen, and the more budget-minded Focus Flash. While not quite the massiveness of the HTC Titan, Samsung has again shown that it can 'lead the pack' in design and features with the Focus S. Read more...


Thursday, January 12, 2012

20 Questions for Microsoft and Nokia

Posted by Nurhisham Hussein in "Nokia Windows Phones" @ 09:00 PM

http://www.wpcentral.com/wpcentral-...hields-ces-2012

"WPCentral was lucky enough today to sit down with Nokia's senior vice president, Windows Phone program management Kevin Shields and Joe Belfiore, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President, Windows Phone program management."

It's a fairly long interview, but what you get is some insight into Nokia's plans for entering the US market and the design process for the Lumia 900. Enjoy!


Monday, January 2, 2012

What Is Holding Back Windows Phone 7?

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 12:30 PM

http://ceklog.kindel.com/2011/12/26...t-it-taken-off/

"People ask me all the time why, if I think Windows Phone is such an excellent product, sales appear so lackluster. My belief is Microsoft's approach with WP7 has a impedance mismatch with the carriers & device manufacturers while Google's approach reduces friction with carriers & device manufacturers at the expense of end users. The question is: will end-user dissatisfaction with Android's inconsistencies and fragmentation be strong enough to allow the better product to succeed."

There is an interesting post over at the cek.log blog site that asks the question "Windows Phone is Superior; Why Hasn't it Taken Off?". Needless to say, this is not a trivial question and opinions will be broad. What is particularly interesting about the post is the market analysis that is provided. The post segments the market players into four categories or "sides": users, carriers, OS providers, and device manufacturers. The post continues on to suggest how Apple, Google and Microsoft have interacted or played with each market category. A critical aspect of the market interaction, according to the post, is that Microsoft has thumbed its nose at "both the device manufacturers and mobile carriers. WP (Windows Phone) says "here's the hardware spec you shalt use" (to the device manufacturers). And it says "Here's how it will be updated" (to the carriers).". The suggestion is that this strategy has, to this point, impacted Windows Phone's ability to develop better market acceptance (in particular, actual sales).

What are your thoughts? Is Microsoft facing too much of an uphill battle to continue on with Windows Phone, or will we see the relationship with Nokia and potentially others sway the market to make it a more viable success?


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Relive The Falklands At The Helm Of A Submarine

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 06:00 AM

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/a...3e-34113d898c79

"The year was 1982. Argentina invaded the Falklands and other British territories in the South Atlantic. The British sent an expeditionary force to retake the islands. In Submarine Patrol, you will relive this era as a leader of a submarine that patrols the islands and destroys enemy battleships."

If you like submarine warfare games, then this new Windows Phone 7 game will likely tweak your fancy. Based on Argentina's invasion of the Falklands and other British territories in 1982, you have the opportunity to relive the event while at the helm of a submarine. There are ten levels of game play. For only $1.99, it is well worth checking out.


Thursday, November 17, 2011

Nokia Lumia 900 Coming Too?

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 12:00 PM

http://gizmodo.com/5860427/nokia-lu...per-promo-video

"Ooops, looks like Nokia's let slip that it's got another Windows Phone up its sleeve, and it looks like the rumored Ace - perhaps its true flagship. The video was quickly pulled, but not before someone made a copy."

Our previous post talked about the Nokia Lumia 800. There are also rumors of a Nokia Lumia 900. Check out this video on the Gizmodo site that was captured before it was removed.


Nokia Lumia 800 Preorders Look Promising

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 11:30 AM

http://www.winrumors.com/nokia-lumi...s-at-orange-uk/

"The Lumia 800, which went on sale in the UK on Wednesday, has seen a phenomenal amount of interest from Orange UK customers. Preorders of the device have been higher than any other Nokia handset. 50% of preorders are from existing customers who are eligible for Nokia's free Xbox 360 promotion. "As a result of the level of interest we've had in preorders, we're really positive about the launch of the Nokia Lumia 800 which we believe will be really popular with our customers," said an Orange spokesperson. "This is the largest interest we've had in a Nokia handset, including the huge-selling N95 and 5800 handsets, and our marketing campaign hasn't kicked in yet.""

I'm not sure what you think of these Nokia designs, but I sure do like them. I'm looking forward to seeing one in person. It seems like other people may think the same thing, as preorders are setting records.


Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Spotify For Windows Phone 7

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 05:00 AM

http://www.businessinsider.com/spot...phone-7-2011-11

"The app itself looks incredibly slick, and is ultra snappy to use. Spotify catered the music streaming experience elegantly to Windows Phone's Metro User Interface, and includes all the features you'd expect, plus more."

The Spotify music streaming service is not available to everyone, but if you are able to connect to it then this app for Windows Phone 7 should be on your list. This is a very nicely-designed Windows Phone 7 app. Features include playlists, a news feed, "now playing" indicator, and a "People" screen that helps you pick out a friend and see what he or she is listening to. Well worth checking out.


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Why Microsoft Hasn't Upgraded Windows Phone 7 Minimum Specs

Posted by Nurhisham Hussein in "Windows Phone News" @ 11:00 AM

http://www.businessinsider.com/micr...eatment-2011-11

"He says the company gets better battery performance from single-core chips, and isn't sacrificing much. It also allows Microsoft to sell cheaper phones. Right now Microsoft is playing catch up in smartphones, so it's hoping that it can compete on price to make up ground."

Does this make sense to you? Granted the performance differences don't appear to be much, but as apps start demanding more in terms of hardware resources, there will come a point when single core chips just won't cut it. Microsoft might be handicapping itself by not allowing manufacturers more flexibility - you might still be playing catch up down the road because there hasn't been enough experimentation with more advanced hardware. And let's be honest, battery life even with single core chips isn't all that hot either.


Monster Windows Phone 7 in NYC

Posted by Nurhisham Hussein in "Windows Phone News" @ 08:00 AM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/...in-nycs-herald/

Think the Radar is big? What'll you see this one - Microsoft's built a 55 foot high Windows Phone 7.5 in the middle of New York City. It's not quite a working phone, but the tiles display live video feeds, and is a heck of an ad for the Metro UI which is also going to be the face of Windows 8. Maybe they're expecting King Kong to drop in?


Friday, October 28, 2011

The New York Times Applauds Windows Phone 7

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 05:30 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/t...p&smid=fb-share

"Windows Phone 7.5 is gorgeous, classy, satisfying, fast and coherent. The design is intelligent, clean and uncluttered. Never in a million years would you guess that it came from the same company that cooked up the bloated spaghetti that is Windows and Office. Most impressively, Windows Phone is not a feeble-minded copycat. Microsoft came up with completely fresh metaphors that generally steer clear of the iPhone/Android design (grid-spaced icons that scroll across home pages)."

David Pogue, New York Times columnist, Missing Manual publisher, and Emmy-winning CBS new correspondent knows a thing or two about the tech industry. If you are familiar with the Missing Manual series of books from O'Reilly Media, you will also be aware that David knows a lot about the Mac platform and all things Apple. So, it is with quite a bit of interest that I read his October 26 column on Windows Phone 7. In short, he is very impressed with it. The column covers both the shortcomings and nice features of the platform, including the new audio and visual searching, character recognition, translation, voice recognition, Xbox integration, and more. Pogue concludes the column with some analysis of why Windows Phone 7 is not as successful as you might expect, and he has hopes that the success will grow.


Sunday, October 16, 2011

Mango Talks And Listens Too

Posted by Nurhisham Hussein in "Windows Phone Software" @ 01:00 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF5I...player_embedded

Siri on the iPhone 4S has been touted as a game changer - fair enough, it's a fantastic implementation of voice control on a mobile. But Mango has speech highlights of its own so you won't feel too left out. Check out the video for how to get the best out of the new speech features of WP7.5.


Friday, October 14, 2011

HTC Radar Review

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 07:00 AM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/11/...c-radar-review/

"With its smaller screen, slower CPU and lower-res camera, it was easy to overlook the Radar as it debuted alongside its larger, bulkier sibling, the HTC Titan. Even we were blinded by shock and awe, but after spending time with the little guy, we must say we're quite smitten. Moreover, it's going to be a tearful goodbye when we're forced to send the little runt back home."

I'm certainly not afraid to admit it. I really like HTC smartphones. I've used one for the past fourteen months, and have really come to appreciate its build quality and design. So, it's no surprise to me that Engadget has become somewhat smitten with the HTC Radar. Its diminutive size next to the HTC Titan won't matter a bit to some people, and its 8 GB storage limitation won't trip up others. If you are one of those people, then this phone needs your careful consideration. It's another example of form and functionality that we would have simply not believed was possible even a few years ago. Specs, pictures and video at the Read link.


Thursday, September 22, 2011

Mango's Around The Corner

Posted by Nurhisham Hussein in "Windows Phone News" @ 09:00 PM

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_...-on-timing.aspx

""For months, we and dozens of our partner companies have been laying the groundwork for the Windows Phone 7.5 update-and making solid progress. As a result, we now expect to start rolling it out in the next week or two. At that time, we'll also refresh the Where's My Phone Update? table to reflect the worldwide rollout status."

It's almost here, but given the vagaries of the update process and the vagueness of the statement, I think an October 1st rollout is the likeliest, with as long as a month until everyone gets it. There's a real dependency on carrier testing, even if Microsoft's actually pushing out the updates, and given the trouble with NoDo, there's no guarantees the process will be smooth sailing.


Monday, September 19, 2011

Video Calling On Windows Phone 7

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 04:30 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/15/...tc-titan-video/

"Looks like Mango's got yet another trick up its sleeve -- at least, a trick that'll be noticeable on HTC's looming Titan. Windows Phone Director Aaron Woodman -- the same Aaron that stopped by our own Engadget Show a few months back -- recently paused to show off a Tango video calling application on the aforementioned handset. We knew good and well that the front-facing Titan camera would be put to use by something, and now you know."

As Mango-based Windows Phone 7 smartphones start to make their appearances it seems that video calling is a possibility if your handset has the capability. The mammoth HTC Titan seems to be able to do it!


Monday, September 12, 2011

Microsoft's Learning

Posted by Nurhisham Hussein in "Windows Phone News" @ 07:00 PM

http://www.bgr.com/2011/09/07/micro...-windows-phone/

If you're one of the few who've actually picked up a Windows Phone 7 unit (hey, if you're reading this, you must be!), then you'll know that the buying experience leaves a lot to be desired. Despite Microsoft's spending on topline marketing, getting info (and working units) at retail isn't exactly easy. There's little in the way of support at ground level, except what little the handset manufacturers are willing to put up. For example, even here in Malaysia, I see plenty of ads on the Samsung's Galaxy II and HTC's burgeoning line of Android devices, but few for the Focus or the HD7. The carriers here aren't exactly pushing WP7 either - it's mainly the iPhone4 or Android. That may change soon, as Microsoft's strategy has changed - they're going to concentrate more on sales level training if this article from the Boy Genius Report is to be believed. Not before time, with Mango round the corner.


Windows Phone 7: Making Solid Progress

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 01:30 PM

http://pocketnow.com/windows-phone/...ne-7-is-winning

"Market share numbers are important, but so is momentum. Momentum is the feeling of forward-progress; it's what creates excitement, draws anticipation, and makes people become true fanatics towards a given product. Momentum is the critical "X factor" that any new product needs to succeed. Windows Phone 7 has this momentum."

If you read smartphone-focused sites like pocketnow.com, you will probably be familiar with the name Brandon Miniman. As Editor-in-Chief he has a wealth of experience in the industry and I find his commentary interesting. His recent editorial on the state of Windows Phone 7 suggests that Microsoft is well on-track for success in this highly competitive marketplace. He analyses four aspects of the product's play in the market: the overall product experience, support from OEMs, competitive positioning, and Microsoft's financial wherewithal. I agree, for the most part, with his analysis. I think the new WP7 offerings from HTC (the Titan and Radar), for example, will help interest consumers in switching to the platform. Hit the Read link to read his editorial, then drop back here and let us know your thoughts on Microsoft's potential future success.


Thursday, September 8, 2011

Why Does T-Mobile Hate Microsoft? Or is it Vice Versa?

Posted by Ron Hostetter in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 01:00 PM

I’ve always been a Microsoft fan. Years ago, I worked for a consulting firm that was a Microsoft Partner, so I spent a lot of my time implementing various Microsoft technologies. A good portion of my salary was derived from the success of the Redmond company.

A few years ago, Microsoft released the Zune, and I jumped on board. It, of course, has become somewhat of a disappointment. I love the Zune Pass service, but the Zune music player device has already died. When Microsoft released their plans for a new Windows phone last year, I was excited. When I saw the early demos of the interface, I was thrilled. I thought that finally, Microsoft could put a dent in the iPhone universe. Read more...


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

HTC Radar and HTC Titan Videos

Posted by Jason Dunn in "HTC Windows Phones" @ 11:42 AM

Some video goodness for you. The first two videos in particular look great in full screen, 1080p, with your speakers turned up. :-)


Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...