So, Oct. 6th event over. Best product launches by any company ever?

[Citizen X]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

Wireless charging should just be assumed.

Number one selling phone in the world doesn't have it. Lumia 1520 the flagship in the US for two years doesn't have it built in. Simply showing it on a wireless charger charging and saying it will be sold everywhere with built in Qi charging would take a couple of seconds and be huge. They wasted so much time with cheesy cheer leader stuff.

User serviceable battery is huge. I mean they sacrificed the aesthetic of the phone for that feature and they don't even mention it! Unibody polycarbonate is nice looking and durable. But it is difficult to access the battery. MSFT should explain to the consumer why they ditched a better design.

The quick charge USB-C, Continuum, liquid cooling, etc all are much more important to talk about over a tech that debuted on the 920 at the end of 2012.

Would have been nice if they spoke about what a completely wireless Continuum experience is like. Would have been nice if they spoke about what you could do with external hard drives. Would have been nice if they went into other use scenarios other than wired and MS Office. They showed a video of a game... no actual game play in real time.

I posted a link to a video of a hands on reviewer who actually opened the phone.

Face it. These guys left so much out.

 

[paulxxwall]

Windows 10 has been on the market for 2 months. Windows 10 Mobile isn't out yet. Windows 10 for Xbox One is getting ready to roll out. Did you seriously think the app gap would have closed this soon? I don't know anyone that didn't expect it to take a minimum of one year or more just to start getting somewhere with it. You are proclaiming failure and it hasn't even started yet.

Many developers have contracted to start doing Windows 10 apps. We haven't seen them yet, because Windows 10 was only recently released and it takes TIME to develop proper apps. They will come.

I'm sorry but this is not ms first rodeo in mobile! How many time did they choose to restart? Its almost seem like cut and paste from 3 years ago. Just inserted win10 where w8 was! So for years ms was not trying to lure devs into its platform? But now it Is right? It's not the devs fault that ms wants to keep reseting mobile all the time. Your right I just don't get it. It just seem if ms is " investing millions into it's mobile platform" then in contrast how much is IOS and android pumping? Trillions? I doubt apple sells millions of iPhones in a weekend if there all junk. I guess for me and how my industry is evolving ( 12 volt) the WP dev support for apps has not happen. And from the word im getting from companies like Sony,Kenwood,pioneer,alpine,jl audio,none are interested in making useful apps for the windows platform. I sell alarms that have smartphone capabilities. Those apps have been on IOS and android for a long time and I waited but to no avail. I haven't just waited a couple of months to see WP explode it app game I've been here for years.

 

[donkiluminate]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

I have to echo what a lot of people are saying. The phone section was underwhelming but if you are a surface fan then today was your day. Those are awesome devices and I'm interested to see the Band 2 reviews.

I don't know why they bothered with any time on the Xbox. I love my Xbox but it's not new. I thought this even was supposed to be about new devices.

I understand MS was in a tough place because of all the leaks there was nothing really to announce that we didn't already know. I also understand nobody outside of people on this site care about windows phone. But why not cut the xbox bit and spend a little bit more time on the phone.

 

[Kram Sacul]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

It was basically:



More excited about the Band 2.

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

Number one selling phone in the world doesn't have it. Lumia 1520 the flagship in the US for two years doesn't have it built in. Simply showing it on a wireless charger charging and saying it will be sold everywhere with built in Qi charging would take a couple of seconds and be huge. They wasted so much time with cheesy cheer leader stuff.

User serviceable battery is huge. I mean they sacrificed the aesthetic of the phone for that feature and they don't even mention it! Unibody polycarbonate is nice looking and durable. But it is difficult to access the battery. MSFT should explain to the consumer why they ditched a better design.



Would have been nice if they spoke about what a completely wireless Continuum experience is like. Would have been nice if they spoke about what you could do with external hard drives. Would have been nice if they went into other use scenarios other than wired and MS Office. They showed a video of a game... no actual game play in real time.

I posted a link to a video of a hands on reviewer who actually opened the phone.

Face it. These guys left so much out.

The wireless Continuum experience is likely not supported quite yet. So how could they demo that?

What could you do with an external HDD? Did you not see the part of the demo where he pulled images off a thumb drive that was plugged into the dock? I'd assume HDD functionality would be similar. So the DID show something you wanted.

Why does the wireless charging matter so much? This is a feature that has been on A LOT of Lumias. It is not anything you spend time on unless you want to feature why it's NOT there. But it is there, so why waste time demoing it when you have SO MUCH MORE to get to.

They had a time limit and had to choose what to do. The Surface is a far more successful product and the Surfacebook is a far bigger news item that is an entirely new device. They needed to spend the most time there.

This is not an ad and most of the stuff you wanted to hear was already known. Seriously, you want him to go down a bullet list?

Maybe you should face it that your expectations were not in line with reality. They spent the most time on the feature that they felt was the biggest deal, Continuum, and they highlighted the newest features most, like liquid cooling.

Considering that this was not an event that was just about phones, I think they did a good job showcasing the 950 and 950XL. Surface was the biggest focus for them, clearly. That is one of their fastest growing businesses, one that is already at near $4 Billion a year and should grow well beyond that.

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

I have to echo what a lot of people are saying. The phone section was underwhelming but if you are a surface fan then today was your day. Those are awesome devices and I'm interested to see the Band 2 reviews.

I don't know why they bothered with any time on the Xbox. I love my Xbox but it's not new. I thought this even was supposed to be about new devices.

I understand MS was in a tough place because of all the leaks there was nothing really to announce that we didn't already know. I also understand nobody outside of people on this site care about windows phone. But why not cut the xbox bit and spend a little bit more time on the phone.

The Xbox was briefly highlighted to promote the lineup again and focus on it's place in the Windows 10 ecosystem. I also think they threw that in to remind people that Xbox users are not among the 110 million users yet.

They spent A LOT of time stressing the potential for growth in Universal Apps. Anybody else notice how they stated that more people now access Netflix via the app in Windows 10 than they do for a browser? Bingo. They were subtlety suggesting a paradigm shift in Windows as the Store becomes more prominent.

This is really the long term strategy in mobile. Mobile can always be a viable alternative if Windows 10 grows to 1 Billion users because the apps will be there down the line.

Just think of the paradigm shift if it is occurring. If people are more prone to want to view maps in an app that could lead to growth for Bing maps and a need for Google to make a Universal Google Maps app.

This presentation was a lot more about big picture and we know that picture will get further filled out with the presentations OEMs are making.

I will say it again. Look for LG to show a Windows mobile device at their event.

 

[Kram Sacul]

"Best product launches by any company ever?"

Sounds like an Apple commercial.

I thought it was okay. The Band 2 and Surface 4 (even with W10) looked great. Not impressed by either of the "high end flagships" or the MacBook wannabe.

 

[worldspy99]

Re: Microsoft's event just blew my mind!!

They whizzed through the phone section, probably because of the damn leaks lol...

Actually Panos said that he had to breeze through it because of all the leaks!

 

[Vexxed]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

I think phones got ample time considering their place and importance in the W10 lineup.

 

[Vexxed]

The Xbox was briefly highlighted to promote the lineup again and focus on it's place in the Windows 10 ecosystem. I also think they threw that in to remind people that Xbox users are not among the 110 million users yet.

They spent A LOT of time stressing the potential for growth in Universal Apps. Anybody else notice how they stated that more people now access Netflix via the app in Windows 10 than they do for a browser? Bingo. They were subtlety suggesting a paradigm shift in Windows as the Store becomes more prominent.

This is really the long term strategy in mobile. Mobile can always be a viable alternative if Windows 10 grows to 1 Billion users because the apps will be there down the line.

Just think of the paradigm shift if it is occurring. If people are more prone to want to view maps in an app that could lead to growth for Bing maps and a need for Google to make a Universal Google Maps app.

This presentation was a lot more about big picture and we know that picture will get further filled out with the presentations OEMs are making.

I will say it again. Look for LG to show a Windows mobile device at their event.

This

Universal apps is the big play here and its ingenious. If it doesn't work, nothing will and MS dies. They basically get to fix the mobile app problem by flexing their industry strength. They don't even have to pitch developers the phones to address this now because devs need to get on the surface line.

Us fanboys want to see MS throw phones at us over and over but I really think their new approach is more effective. If a company forgets its strengths when attacking its weakness, it is doomed to fail

 

[elindalyne]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

Lol what do you want... Panoy straight up said, "I'm not going to sit here and bore you with stuff you've already leaked".

 

[Citizen X]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

The wireless Continuum experience is likely not supported quite yet.

An assumption.

What could you do with an external HDD? Did you not see the part of the demo where he pulled images off a thumb drive that was plugged into the dock? I'd assume HDD functionality would be similar.

An assumption.

Why does the wireless charging matter so much?

You must be new here.

They had a time limit and had to choose what to do.

So they chose to do cheesy cheer leading instead of introducing and explaining features? Nice use of time.

This is not an ad and most of the stuff you wanted to hear was already known.

Which is why you started your post with a bunch of assumptions instead of facts?

Considering that this was not an event that was just about phones, I think they did a good job showcasing the 950 and 950XL.

The majority of Apple's revenue comes from phones. My advice is if you want to play in that market... you may want to get a little more serious about what you are doing.

 

[ArtificiallyYours]

Yeah but the pundits assume they 'rushed it' because they don't care. Never cease to amaze me, Engadget, with your slurry. I loved the phone presentation and also love that sexy 550.

The Surface Pro and Surface Book... First time in years I've been hugely excited about new laptops. Looks like the Surface Book is my go-to for next Laptop whenever its price drops significantly.

 

[ttsoldier]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

They didn't show off the hardware on the phone properly.
They didn't talk about in details about the camera or even demo it.
They didn't talk about the battery
They didn't talk about the memory
They didn't talk about FFC
They didn't talk about or Demo Iris scanner
They didn't demo or talk about Wireless Charging.

Sure.. We all know it's there. We know the specs, ya. But what about people who don't?

What about users who do not follow leaks?? They would not have all the information. They might look and think... "HA. My s6 has wireless charging and the new lumia does not"

I believe they could have spent a little more time and detail in showing off the new phones.

Again. I expected more, Microsoft.

 

[elindalyne]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

They didn't show off the hardware on the phone properly.
They didn't talk about in details about the camera or even demo it.
They didn't talk about the battery
They didn't talk about the memory
They didn't talk about FFC
They didn't talk about or Demo Iris scanner
They didn't demo or talk about Wireless Charging.

Sure.. We all know it's there. We know the specs, ya. But what about people who don't?

What about users who do not follow leaks?? They would not have all the information. They might look and think... "HA. My s6 has wireless charging and the new lumia does not"

I believe they could have spent a little more time and detail in showing off the new phones.

Again. I expected more, Microsoft.

It was already almost 2 hours long.... Anything longer than that makes people upset, and you definitely do not want the press upset with you.

They showed off the coolest features of the devices they had (Hololens, Lumia 950s with Continuum, Windows Hello with the 950, Surface Pro 4, Surface Book) given the amount of time they had.

What would you have cut out otherwise to give the phones more time? There really wasn't a whole lot.

 

[Aquila]

Leaks are hard to balance. They build buzz, but if there are no surprises, why watch an event?

Nexus 6 Assassin Edition. Android Central Moderator, Gonfaloniere

 

[Guitarpik]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

It was already almost 2 hours long.... Anything longer than that makes people upset, and you definitely do not want the press upset with you.

They showed off the coolest features of the devices they had (Hololens, Lumia 950s with Continuum, Windows Hello with the 950, Surface Pro 4, Surface Book) given the amount of time they had.

What would you have cut out otherwise to give the phones more time? There really wasn't a whole lot.

Maybe the surfaces should have had their own event then. They didn't really demo anything except continuum. Come on, they really needed to show more. I know all the leaks and I still have lots of questions.

 

[elindalyne]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

And I'm sure in a week or two when Dan has review units you'll get your answers.

 

[FinancialP]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

Windows Hello was demoed on the phone onstage. It was said to be a beta in the presentation, hence it not being available to the press audience. It logged in very quickly and got a round of applause due to its speed.

https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...2015event%2Fen-us%2Flive-event&token=g6oy25Fb

Go to the video 41:00 mark

They also applauded for 4K video and USB-C

Fast a few years ago maybe, but it's extremely slow compared to the GS6 or iPhone 6 or 6S. He stopped talking and it took a sec for it to unlock.

Im holding judgement but I'm betting Microsoft will be changing this to fingerprint or something else next year.

 

[pankaj981]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

I won't argue about the phone part of the demo being lackluster (purely subjective). My thoughts, I enjoyed the entire presentation as a whole..and wow someone give Panos the default product presenter position for Microsoft. He did an absolute fantastic job!! I enjoyed his presentation way better than Joe B's all presentations.

And on the comment about why a particular feature was not shown/demoed? You guys do realize that the software itself is not ready, what would Panos would have demo'd on a pre-release OS? His entire momentum and flow would have taken a hit. Personally a great event is what matters and I am glad it turned out be exactly like that.