Assuage my WebOS-induced fears about WP7 and the Lumia

tekhna

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I'm a happy Android owner. I've owned an iPhone, but not for a while. However, my real love was WebOS. Nevermind the garbage hardware, the OS was brilliant. WP7 looks the same way. I have an upgrade and want to use it on the Lumia 900, because I've got a fairly recent Android phone to play with too, but I'm terrified of WP7 going the way of WebOS. Dying a slow, unsupported death. Now, the circumstances are different, but they're eerily familiar in some important ways. So convince we WP7 is not WebOS, and don't just say "Microsoft can't let it die, they have to keep WP7 alive" because that's what everyone said about WebOS. And now look where we're at.
 

Probaholic1

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Well not only can they not let it die, they've been in the game for a long time, but more importantly M$ is a big company and therefore have the ability to really invest for as long as they see fit.
 

tekhna

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Well not only can they not let it die, they've been in the game for a long time, but more importantly M$ is a big company and therefore have the ability to really invest for as long as they see fit.

Yep. Which is exactly what people said about WebOS and HP. So why is it different?

Edit: I should say, there's not a chance in **** I'd even be thinking about WP7 if not for the Android phone that will hold me through 'til the next upgrade should WP7 die.
 

Probaholic1

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I understand that, and believe me I know I followed the pre since it was announced was one of the first to pick it up before release day. But what happened with webOS (Palm) which was bought out, once that happened it was sort of obvious of what was going to happen next.

In this instance M$ is more inline with say Apple being a bigger more capable company.
 

rbrunner

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Adapt to rapidly changing technology

Technology in general changes fast, and mobile technology especially fast.

If you develop a strong emotional attachment to a piece of mobile technology, any such piece, you are in great danger to make your life miserable. You can never sleep well because anything mobile can change from one day to the next, and it probably will.

I once developped a large app for Symbian OS, UIQ variant, and over the course of the 3 years it took me to write the app the OS went from UIQ 2 to UIQ 3 which forced me to port, and when I finished that porting UIQ just died. I had then the alternative to port again, to Symbian OS, Nokia/S60 variant; I was just lucky that I did not go the way of this alternative because S60 is already dead as well, Elop murdered it and wants to replace it with WP7.

I am now writing a WP7 app. Am I terrified about how long Microsoft and Nokia will support that OS? Hopefully not, one never should be terrified about any technology! I plan to enjoy the WP7 party as long as it lasts. If it lasts several years, fine, if Microsoft cancels WP7 tomorrow, so be it, I learned a lot with my WP7 app, that won't go away even with an immediate death of WP7.

If the prospect of buying a smartphone with the "wrong" OS (wrong, because it will be dead soon) terrifies you, I would say smartphones are not for you. Stay with dumbphones 20 dollars apiece that you just trow away if they break. This way you won't develop a strong emotional bond to a 20 dollar piece of electronics, and thus you won't be terrified, not even afraid.
 

tekhna

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Technology in general changes fast, and mobile technology especially fast.

If you develop a strong emotional attachment to a piece of mobile technology, any such piece, you are in great danger to make your life miserable. You can never sleep well because anything mobile can change from one day to the next, and it probably will.

I once developped a large app for Symbian OS, UIQ variant, and over the course of the 3 years it took me to write the app the OS went from UIQ 2 to UIQ 3 which forced me to port, and when I finished that porting UIQ just died. I had then the alternative to port again, to Symbian OS, Nokia/S60 variant; I was just lucky that I did not go the way of this alternative because S60 is already dead as well, Elop murdered it and wants to replace it with WP7.

I am now writing a WP7 app. Am I terrified about how long Microsoft and Nokia will support that OS? Hopefully not, one never should be terrified about any technology! I plan to enjoy the WP7 party as long as it lasts. If it lasts several years, fine, if Microsoft cancels WP7 tomorrow, so be it, I learned a lot with my WP7 app, that won't go away even with an immediate death of WP7.

If the prospect of buying a smartphone with the "wrong" OS (wrong, because it will be dead soon) terrifies you, I would say smartphones are not for you. Stay with dumbphones 20 dollars apiece that you just trow away if they break. This way you won't develop a strong emotional bond to a 20 dollar piece of electronics, and thus you won't be terrified, not even afraid.

It's not about emotional attachment. It's about whether I'll have a functional, full-featured OS. Which WebOS was, and is not, and WP7 still has some work to do to match Android and iOS.
 

rbrunner

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Stay with Android

It's not about emotional attachment. It's about whether I'll have a functional, full-featured OS. Which WebOS was, and is not, and WP7 still has some work to do to match Android and iOS.

Ok, WP7 does not yet match Android, in your opinion. Should you now switch from Android to WP7 and then hope that WP7 continues to mature and finally matches Android (because Android stands still or at least does not progress as as fast as WP7 so WP7 can catch up) and ideally the new, better WP7 will be available for your phone as an update?

If you ask me: No, of course not. So much can go wrong here, it's downright frightening.

You want a functional, full-featured OS? You already have it, it's Android, right?
 

gapost

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I switched from WebOS to WP because of all the positive reviews on the Trophy on the Verizon website. I understand the OP's concerns as does anyone who went through the WebOS/HP/Palm debaucle. But, WP really looks like it is on a different path. Nokia is really banking on this phone and spending lots of money to sell and distribute WP all around the world. It would be good to see another maker get on-board and use WP as one of their premier devices. HTC may be able to do this.

Obviously, Apple and Google are the targets, but many think that the fragmentation of Android is going to hurt. That is what I like about WP (no fragmentation) and think that will help them grab market share at the expense of Android. Also, MS has the money and apparently the will to get developers on board. To me, WP is going to be competing with Apple in two years.
 

freestaterocker

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Well MS gets between $10-$15 in patent royalties from pretty much every android phone made. According to statistics there's over 700,000 androids being activated each day. Assuming about 70% of androids made are active, that's $10-$15 million $$ a day that MS can funnel back into WP to keep it going until it gains traction.
 
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aaronchow

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Hey, I also got my Palm Pre on day 1, and I also got myself a Pre 3 when it was officially dead, so please welcome our new home :)

Anyway, I think Microsoft is heading the right direction here. They are adopting the Metro interface to Windows 8 and Xbox, and I heard that the WP apps will be easily portable to Windows 8 as well, so I honestly don't see the whole HP thingy happening here.
 

jfa1

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Yep. Which is exactly what people said about WebOS and HP. So why is it different?

Edit: I should say, there's not a chance in **** I'd even be thinking about WP7 if not for the Android phone that will hold me through 'til the next upgrade should WP7 die.

Palm was the originator of the PDA as we know and lost their rudder more than once HPalm was never really given a decent chance to succeed with the hardware and could have stuck it out and gotten it back if they were willing to do that which they werent. MS will not do that look at the xbox situation then and now in terms of sales. Between MS and Nokia WP is here for the long haul!
 

Quills#WP

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I think you're safe with WP, but...

your thread title reflects the main reason that I went with android instead of WP after webOS was killed. WP is, imo, much closer to webOS in simplicity of function than android; however, I (told myself) that I wasn't going to get "burned" again like I did with webOS. (That, and I'm running CM9 on my TP...investing in 1 app market instead of 2 has its advantage$.)

Thus, I went with android, and am running Launcher 7 on my phone. It's like having a fake windows phone, with a richer marketplace (read: more apps, but the quality of the apps is hit and miss on android. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, having choices is a nice change).

Meh, who am I kidding; if Nokia offers a 900'esque windows phone on Verizon in the future, I'm getting on board with WP.

Go with WP, OP. ;)
 

jdevenberg

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The difference is that Microsoft is not Palm. If it takes 3-5 years for Windows Phone to really catch on, Microsoft can financially support that, as mobile is not their core business. Palm only had mobile, so WebOS not catching on cut off their only cash flow. HP, while a big company, isn't Microsoft big and couldn't support a failing product on already reduced cash flow. Look how long MS supported Zune even though they never really caught on. Microsoft launched Zune in 06 and didn't kill it till 11, so it supported it for 5 years. Zune probably never turned a profit, and if it did, it would have been a meager one. MS knows mobile is the future where growth is going to be, so they need to be a legit player in the mobile space if they want to remain successful and they have the bank roll to support a platform that loses money for years till it catches on or becomes irrelevant.
 

foosball

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First, I'd give WP7 a shot just to see what you think of it.

But as far as comparisons between Palm and MS, it's like comparing RIM to Apple. MS is alive and well with an ecosystem Palm never had. Realize that webOS never had anywhere close to 70,000 apps like WP7. Palm had a good run and webOS died a premature death but it was that company's last lifeline whereas MS is a ship on a steady course.
 

tissotti

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Yeah i think the differences are quite clear. Palm was unknown in Europe and Asia and was launching WebOS as it's final desparate attempt to gather consumer interest. It's financical situation was far from good.

MS in a other hand is gathering billions every year in profits and it knows mobile is the future. It needs to be there. That doesn't mean of course that all ends well, but the base still feels much more solid to me, especially as Metro is moving accross all Microsoft products.

Btw Nokia did snatch some Palm employes like Skillman that was VP of design on Palm. Nowadays he is working under Nokia's head of design, Ahtisaari. So if Nokia is to ever to modify WP UI, you might see some influence to WebOS, like on N9/MeeGo. ;)
 

Welve

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I'm a happy Android owner. I've owned an iPhone, but not for a while. However, my real love was WebOS. Nevermind the garbage hardware, the OS was brilliant. WP7 looks the same way. I have an upgrade and want to use it on the Lumia 900, because I've got a fairly recent Android phone to play with too, but I'm terrified of WP7 going the way of WebOS. Dying a slow, unsupported death. Now, the circumstances are different, but they're eerily familiar in some important ways. So convince we WP7 is not WebOS, and don't just say "Microsoft can't let it die, they have to keep WP7 alive" because that's what everyone said about WebOS. And now look where we're at.
If Msoft announced tomorrow they would stop supporting Windows Phone 7, it would still be an excellent and worthy device for the next two years. With mobile phones, expecting a device to be perfect and competitive two years from now is silly anyway with the pace that smartphones are moving. I guess what I am trying to say is that if you like Windows Phone, the commitment you will have to make is small enough that you shouldn't worry about it.
 

anon(5335877)

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I think you should read this.

Android devices will outnumber Windows PCs by 2016, Microsoft looks for a clean pair of shorts

Basically it's saying the reason why Microsoft tries so hard with Windows Phone and is intent on making it successful is because mobile is the future. If people buy iOS or Android phones and tablets rather than Windows PCs, Microsoft is losing revenue. At some point, some people will begin buying tablets as replacements for a PC and then Microsoft will be screwed, at least in the consumer market.

So yeah, Microsoft won't just give up on Windows Phone and the upcoming Windows 8 tablets. They need Windows Phone to be successful, and they'll make sure that happens.
 

bevt

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I'm laying down my Palm Pre Plus for a Nokia Lumia 900 next week. I can't imagine choosing Android or iOS (boring). HP wasn't a software company. Microsoft is software and they know having a solid mobile presence is vital to their continued relevance in the desktop market (imho). If I'm wrong so what... I'm going to really enjoy the experience of this Lumia 900 and the Metro UI for now.
 

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