So who's sporting a Windows Phone 7?

**sm2by** · February 11th, 2011 11:32 PM

Apparently Elop didn't know about this;
Nokia + Microsoft= FAIL...

[SIZE="5"]Why Microsoft's Kin Phones Were Destined to Fail[/SIZE]
By Daniel Ionescu, PCWorld Jul 1, 2010 6:29 AM

Microsoft has discontinued the Kin phones line, just six weeks after it launched the devices. The company blamed low sales numbers, and was reluctant to say how many it sold exactly. But the Kin's failure comes as no surprise, with a troubled Microsoft playing catch-up in the mobile world.

The Kin phones were too pricey from the beginning. They weren't exactly smartphones, but they were priced like one. The Kin One cost $130, and the Kin Two cost $150 with a two-year Verizon contract (before a mail-in rebate). Verizon dramatically slashed Kin prices earlier this week by $100, with the Kin Two at a mere $50 and Kin One at $30.

But Verizon's price cuts were not enough. Microsoft targeted the Kin at teenagers, as an always-connected device for their social lives on Twitter and Facebook. This Internet connectivity however, came at a cost: Verizon's data and voice charges for the Kin ranged up to $70 per month, an amount most teenagers working at fast-food counters would struggle to meet for their phone alone.

Microsoft and Verizon didn't want to give any indication as to how many Kins they sold in the first six weeks of availability, leaving plenty of room for speculation. A rumor from Business Insider said that Microsoft sold only 500 Kins, while a CNet source was much more generous, placing the figure "south of 10,000." Nevertheless, such reports point to a low number.

Although cool for a teenager, the Kin phones arrived perhaps a year too late. An interesting revelation in this area came from Engadget's Joshua Topolsky, who claims that the device should have made it to the market 18 months ago--but the Kins were delayed, as Microsoft allegedly wanted the operating system on the phones to be based on Windows, instead of the Sidekick platform, which Microsoft acquired with Danger in 2008.

Plus, the Kin OS had no apps or maps, and paired with a price tag too steep for its target audience, the Microsoft Kin was pretty much dead on arrival. Why would a teenager want Microsoft's expensive hipster phone, when they could get, for $99, an iPhone 3GS with iOS 4 and join the iParty? Alternatively, Palm's Pre and Pixi Plus phones carry pricing similar to the original pricing for the Kins, but have more software features--making them a better deal than a Kin.

Microsoft said it would continue to sell the Kin through Verizon (it probably has plenty of the initial stock left over), but the company said that it is now focusing exclusively on the Windows Phone 7 operating system, arriving later this year. Let's hope Microsoft has better luck with that product.

**oj88** · February 13th, 2011 10:36 AM

I think it's too early to bash Elop for his decision.

As HTC's Jason Mackenzie said in an interview about Nokia's direction:

"Nokia's following a similar lead to what HTC's been doing, in not investing in our own platform, taking solid platforms and filling the gap to deliver a solid experience to the end user," Mackenzie told Seattle Times.

- http://www.techpinas.com/2011/02/htc...rtnership.html

Sneak peek at the upcoming Nokia WP7. It's actually not bad.

- http://www.techpinas.com/2011/02/nok...os-leaked.html

**Monseratto** · February 13th, 2011 11:16 AM

Sana ma-integrate nila ang Xbox live at windows mobile.

A 2009 article still echoes a lot on the state of the smartphone wars now. Android OS has zoomed into 1st during the last quarter of 2010, while Windows OS is biting the dust...

http://www.htcphones.net/android-vs-...-to-look-into/

If you are thinking that having an 8 megapixel camera and a 4″ touch screen makes any smartphone great, then you are wrong. Nowadays successful smartphones are determined firstly by their OS – better UI, more apps, easy to use and of course reliability built on latest hardware platforms.

Apple may be the game changer in the Smartphone industry, but it seems like Android will turn out to be the leader (we judge about it from the following 5 points). The arrival of Apple and Google into the mobile industry was quite unexpected but their leadership has already made them the top competitors in the market. As a result, previous brands such as Symbian and Windows Mobile are already losing the most part of their market shares. Why are we seeing such change in the trend?

The change in the trend is the result of consumer’s rising expectations from Smartphone. Previously considered to be the only device for corporate professionals, has now turned into a fashion statement and a gadget of geeks. Android and iPhone became a cult similar to iPOD, and has already become an identity of the people. In this competing environment, Microsoft is finding it hard to stand as a strong brand. Much of Microsoft’s failure comes from their reluctance to innovations and being the leader of the industry. Leaving iPhone behind, which has already gained 30% of the market share; it’s more reasonable to compare the Windows mobile with the new Android Phones.

So what are the advantages of Android over Windows Mobile? Here are the five key points, which make Android a better choice than Windows Mobile. It doesn’t sound fair to compare devices with respect to technologies because they can be upgraded and improved with time. Hence, it might be better to look at them with respect to their business and consumer values. Here are my fives.

1. Open Source Platform
The strongest point of Android is its Open Source Platform. Open software community is one of the largest communities that have been leading the industry and their mere presence makes the technology better. Android is based on Linux kernel whereas Windows mobile is based in Windows CE.

Open platform ensures continuous innovation and fairness in the product. Large support groups will always be present to help customers to figure out their problems and solving the issues. It also confirms large repository of knowledge which will allow each individual to put some of his/her effort in making the technology lot better.

On the other hand, Windows Mobile is similar to Windows and has a lot of legal bindings. Windows may have led the industry due to their initial domination but the current situation is quite different and changing. It’s a new field with new challenges and we have many great companies in the market which have potential to gain the highest place on the leadership. Unless Windows Mobile understands the importance of consumer’s demand, it has less possibility of increasing its market share.

Further, the increasing awareness of consumer over open platform will certainly promote Android. Hence its Android has a great PR value over Windows Mobile.

2. Android Apps Market
Smartphone is all about third party applications and applications developer. The new way to lead the industry is by increasing the developer base of Operating System because an OS without an application is not of a big value to the consumers. In the forefront Apple, with its app store, is sheltering more than 80 thousand applications. Blackberry has only about 1 thousand applications and Windows Mobile have only around 800 applications. Despite their effort to increase their applications in their store they have failed to do so. On the other hand, Android which is only in its infancy has already gained around 2 thousands applications.

Despite Windows leadership for some years they failed to grasp the potential of application store and were reluctant to provide them to users. But Apple changed this bag tradition. Though Windows finally made their Windows Market Place live they are too late in the game.

The developers are already starting to prefer Android due to its potential and openness. It can be inferred that due to their association with Open Software, Android is bound to be more popular among the hardcore developers. This provides a great opportunity for the consumer to take advantages of new application and technology.

3. Google Power Products (Google Voice and Google Maps)
The most important part of Android is its association with Google. Google has a long history of innovation and dominance over the internet. On the other hand, Smartphone has become more than just a communication device, it has become a portal to access internet, and there is no better company that Google to lead the way. Within months of its launch, Google has already brought groundbreaking innovations in the field of mobile computing with its Google Maps and its integration over internet.

Google Voice, an Internet based voice communication, is a revolutionary way through which people can communicate over the internet lines. Though it was rejected by Apple, it has become a major application for the Android phones. On the other hand, besides long dominance of Windows Mobile in Smartphone, they were unable to bring any such applications that would be rather fresh to gain more enthusiasm of the customers. As Google is involved, it’s obvious that it will aggressively promote Android’s application to be highly compatible with web content. This makes a fair bet to choose Android over Windows Mobile.

4. More Hardware Platforms
When it comes to operating System, it’s all about its acceptance from the mobile device maker. As Apple controls its OS with its iPhone, it will be rare to see any other device maker using iPhone OS. This is one area where other Operating Systems players could find its place. Initially many device markers adopted Windows Mobile but slowly they are moving towards the usage of the Android.

Currently Windows Mobile has around 13 different mobile manufacturers including LG, HTC (it also has already launched top Android phones), Sony Ericsson etc, whereas Android has around 18 to 20 companies including some of the top PC makers Dell and Acer.

5. Increasing market Share
Lastly, it’s all about being in the trend. Would you choose a technology that is not performing well in the market?

After the arrival of iPhone and Android, Windows mobile and Symbian have seen major falls in their market share. Research shows that Windows Mobile lost 70% of their market share though its newer version of Windows Mobile 6.5 is still struggling in the market. Symbian, the other major OS for majority of mobile on the other hand held devices saw 29% fall in the market Share. Symbian is Nokia’s own Mobile OS.

Currently, new Android powered Motorola Smartphone, Droid, has smashed the sales record by 250 thousand sales in the 1st week of its launch. This is a significant achievement for a new OS that establishes Android as a major player in the industry.

**oj88** · February 13th, 2011 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by Monseratto

Sana ma-integrate nila ang Xbox live at windows mobile.

A 2009 article still echoes a lot on the state of the smartphone wars now. Android OS has zoomed into 1st during the last quarter of 2010, while Windows OS is biting the dust...

http://www.htcphones.net/android-vs-...-to-look-into/

Just so everybody's on the same page, Windows Phone 7 (WP7) is NOT Windows Mobile (WM). I've used Windows Mobile 6.x and it's nowhere near Widows Phone 7. They're both made by Microsoft, yes, but that's like comparing Windows 98 to Windows 7.

Windows Phone 7 was announced just last year and was made available locally just this year, so that 2009 article may no longer reflect the current phone OS climate. Maybe this move by Nokia would somehow springboard WP7 into real existence.

I don't work for MS, but I still believe that we should give credit where it is deserved. Besides, I love my Android phone so much right now. :D

As for the Xbox Live integration, you'd be happy to know that it's built into WP7: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/Live/Mobile/Home

**Monseratto** · February 13th, 2011 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by oj88

Just so everybody's on the same page, Windows Phone 7 (WP7) is NOT Windows Mobile (WM). I've used Windows Mobile 6.x and it's nowhere near Widows Phone 7. They're both made by Microsoft, yes, but that's like comparing Windows 98 to Windows 7.

Windows Phone 7 was announced just last year and was made available locally just this year, so that 2009 article may no longer reflect the current phone OS climate. Maybe this move by Nokia would somehow springboard WP7 into real existence.

I don't work for MS, but I still believe that we should give credit where it is deserved. Besides, I love my Android phone so much right now. :D

As for the Xbox Live integration, you'd be happy to know that it's built into WP7: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/Live/Mobile/Home

Sorry about mixing the 2 into one basket. So Windows Phone 7 is starting from scratch as far as it apps content is concerned?

**jedi** · February 13th, 2011 12:46 PM

huhuhu.... paano na itong N8 ko... sabi ko na ba dapat nag samsung na lang ako in favor of android.... badtrip naman itong nokia. lagi naglalag n8 ko

**hein** · February 13th, 2011 06:31 PM

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0-pxBZBvlM&feature=fvst"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0-pxBZBvlM&feature=fvst[/ame]
Windows 7 is not that bad, Its an interesting looking OS.

**oj88** · February 14th, 2011 04:39 PM

My boss bought the HTC Mozart last Friday. Earlier today, we tried to set it up to sync with our company's MS Exchange (email, calendar, tasks, and contacts). Half the time, it would timeout and not be able to sync (WiFi or 3G). We still can't figure out what's wrong.

Ironically, my Android phone works flawlessly with MS Exchange :D

Among the other quirks we found, no copy and paste and certain enterprise features are still missing. Well, to give credit to MS, I think they're working on an update to fix that.

**boybi** · February 14th, 2011 04:57 PM

No copy & paste? Is WP7 going the route of iPhone?

**Monseratto** · February 24th, 2011 08:17 AM

Anyone with a bricked Samsung WP7 phone?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12554499

Windows Phone update hit by bug
23 February 2011 Last updated at 14:29 GMT

Microsoft has withdrawn a software update for its Windows Phone system after it made some handsets unusable.

The problem appears to have affected a small number of mobiles made by Samsung.

Owners reported their phones crashing, and in some cases failing to start up altogether.

Microsoft said it was working to fix the issue and would send out a new update as soon as possible.

The download in question was the first update for Windows Phone since it launched last October.

"In some circumstances it renders the phone completely unusable and can't be restored to a previous version," said Leigh Geary, editor of Coolsmartphone.com.

"It is going to portray Microsoft in a bad light," he added.

Angry users shared their experiences of installing it on user forums.

"I've got an unmodified Samsung Omnia 7, now bricked," wrote one contributor to Microsoft's Answers site.

"My phone is currently unusable, even after hard reset," another user wrote on the same site.

Technical issue

In a statement, Microsoft said: "We have identified a technical issue with the Windows Phone update process that impacts a small number of phones.

"We have temporarily taken down the latest software update for Samsung phones in order to correct the issue and as soon as possible will redistribute the update."

Samsung Omnia 7 owner Alex Roebuck tried to upgrade, but found his phone became unusable.

He said it was unclear if he should take up the issue with his network provider or Microsoft.

"I do not want to be without my handset, so I have decided to wait for a few days to see if a solution can be found, either by Microsoft or the hacker community," he told BBC News.

The update problem comes at a bad time for Microsoft, as it attempts to grow its share of the lucrative smartphone market.

The company recently announced a partnership with Nokia to manufacture handsets running the Windows Phone operating system.