so MS finally talks and says nothing.

[Averry]

Which is kinda bull**** anyways, because like the article that mgarcia posted, if you have an unlocked device on their network, you don't have to wait for them to test it out before you get upgrades.

Not to mention AT&T has stinted carrier branded phones with their HSUPA+ tampering.

 

[Luisraul924]

Which is kinda bull**** anyways, because like the article that mgarcia posted, if you have an unlocked device on their network, you don't have to wait for them to test it out before you get upgrades.

Not to mention AT&T has stinted carrier branded phones with their HSUPA+ tampering.

Well there are two sides two that story, there is the one you mentioned, and there is the argument that says even though you have an unlocked device, they are still providing service for you, which is something they dont have to do, they could easily refuse you service if you have an unknown device that may have an adverse effect on their network (like an email provider not staying on top of their sh!t and causing massive data leaks) they can't definitively point out a specific issue on any phone so if you are using an unknown device on their network and have a massive data leak then they see that as a really bad thing andwant to prevent that, however, given that T-Mobile is already scheduling the update, I don't see what the holdup with AT&T is... Well they have one more device than T-Mobile as well as the ****ty Samsung Focus and its firmware issues lol Samsung sucks man they couldn't even get their **** straight with their Android phones lmao.

 

[swantonsoup]

I have Verizon and have been holding out for the Trophy and am as frustrated and anxious as everyone else. I think people need to give Microsoft some slack. The Pre-NoDo update bricked the Samsung phones which really delayed this entire process. If it wasn't for this, we all would have NoDo by now. Its unfortunate that MS had the Samsung issues.

Also, its hard to compare it with Android. When Android was released in October 2008 the only phone was the G1 on T-Mobile. Android 1.1 came out 5 months later (February 2009) and this was, again, only for the G1 on T-Mobile. Android did not gain CDMA support until 1.6 which was released in September 2009. Please also note these updates were when Google released the updates to the carriers. The actual updates were in a roll-out process (like WP7) based on carrier/manufacturer.

People have to change their perspective on all this. Microsoft is last to the game in the mobile market so expectations are already at the top. The iPhone shipped missing many features (including copy/paste) but people still loved the device. It sucks for Microsoft because they really are in a tough situation given how far behind they are. Also, they tried to take on multiple carriers and multiple manufacturers which is something neither Android nor iOS did at launch.

I like the vision and direction Microsoft has with WP7 and I want to support it. It gets harder to with every day, but they should turn it around. Stay faithful. Lets hope to see the Trophy soon and Mango by the end of 2011.

 

[Averry]

Microsoft made their bed, now they get to lay in it.

They're just lucky there are SOME people holding onto hope that they can be competitive this time next year.


Part of me is sort of wondering if they're just gonna hold some stuff back to come out big with Nokia...but I don't see that having much of an effect in the US.

 

[Averry]

At least they had somebody at Microsoft to work on this video.

 

[spitothec]

"It's unfortunate that MS had the Samsung issues"... Microsoft has more experience pushing out patches than any other company in the history of the planet. There is absolutely no excuse for this to happen. Period. They make software that runs on hundreds of thousands of pieces of hardware on hundreds of millions of computers, and they patch it so much that people leave it for OSX. You cannot honestly say that we need to go easier on Microsoft's capabilities for patching something.

Comparing this launch to Android and iOS's launches does not quite compare, because they launched 3-4 years ago. You are up against what's out now, you can't compete against the past.. and either what you look at it, past, present, or future, Microsoft is floundering.. and in the sense of updating and simple bug removal, iOS and Android handled the situation better than Microsoft in the sense that they at least tried to handle it. Four years prep time. It's sad.

Let me ask you this. Since WP7 was launched, what has Microsoft done right? Honest question, I'm struggling to think of anything. They've patched the Xbox a number of times, they've patched Windows and it's software hundreds of times.. hell, they patched my Zune. They've launched a new server software.. hell, maybe I'm thinking about this all wrong. Maybe the fact that they're patching everything else IS the problem

 

[Michael-Dallas]

Which is kinda bull**** anyways, because like the article that mgarcia posted, if you have an unlocked device on their network, you don't have to wait for them to test it out before you get upgrades.

Unlocked or unbranded? If your phone is unbranded, then you can do whatever you want. However, if your phone is unlocked, but still branded for a carrier-specific OS build, then you're ultimately at the mercy of the carrier.

Not to mention AT&T has stinted carrier branded phones with their HSUPA+ tampering.

That is AT&T trying to keep iphone owners happy. The iphone is AT&T's cash cow and they want to keep the owners happy w/ a reliable and fast data connection. Allowing everybody else HSUPA increases the risk of degrading the iphone owner experience.

I think I've said it before here, but the Focus is my first branded phone in a long time and I am going back to unbranded phones as soon as a decent unbranded WP7 on AT&T's GSM bands becomes available. I will gladly pay that $600 for a phone that doesn't have the carrier BS on top of it. And I will further mitigate the $600 expenditure by going back to $15/mo unlimited data when my current contract ends.

Beyond that, money talks and BS walks. If you want to make an impact and get your point across to Microsoft, then simply don't buy the phone and spend your money elsewhere. Or sell your phone, cut your loses (money & emotion-wise) and move on. It's quite a quandry that Microsoft has gotten themselves in and they have alot of catching up to do. The way you guys talk about how Microsoft needs to do this or that -- they already know. If it were that easy, then perhaps you should apply to work at Microsoft and help fix the issue(s).

And please, don't mistake my understanding of reality as fanboyism. If I'm a ****** of anything, it's Nokia and I put my money where my mouth was -- I moved on to WP7.

Michael.

 

[Averry]

Unlocked or unbranded? If your phone is unbranded, then you can do whatever you want. However, if your phone is unlocked, but still branded for a carrier-specific OS build, then you're ultimately at the mercy of the carrier.



That is AT&T trying to keep iphone owners happy. The iphone is AT&T's cash cow and they want to keep the owners happy w/ a reliable and fast data connection. Allowing everybody else HSUPA increases the risk of degrading the iphone owner experience.

I think I've said it before here, but the Focus is my first branded phone in a long time and I am going back to unbranded phones as soon as a decent unbranded WP7 on AT&T's GSM bands becomes available. I will gladly pay that $600 for a phone that doesn't have the carrier BS on top of it. And I will further mitigate the $600 expenditure by going back to $15/mo unlimited data when my current contract ends.

Beyond that, money talks and BS walks. If you want to make an impact and get your point across to Microsoft, then simply don't buy the phone and spend your money elsewhere. Or sell your phone, cut your loses (money & emotion-wise) and move on. It's quite a quandry that Microsoft has gotten themselves in and they have alot of catching up to do. The way you guys talk about how Microsoft needs to do this or that -- they already know. If it were that easy, then perhaps you should apply to work at Microsoft and help fix the issue(s).

And please, don't mistake my understanding of reality as fanboyism. If I'm a ****** of anything, it's Nokia and I put my money where my mouth was -- I moved on to WP7.

Michael.

No, there are a few other problems at work here than just pandering to iPhone owners. Like say....selling you a "4G" device that does "arguable" 4G download, and 3g uploads. Something I'm not necessarily worried about however.

And again.....it's not do, don't, or die here...for reals. So now my criticism means I'm being a little sissy or something If I don't shove it and just not buy a Windows Phone?

Edit: I'm gonna buy either the Trophy or the HD7S, I have to wait and see how everything shakes out. But if by this time next year, after MWC, and the first Nokia products come out, if things still don't look a little more on the up and up, then i'll move on.

 

[Luisraul924]

but if by this time next year, after MWC, and the first Nokia products come out, if things still don't look a little more on the up and up, then i'll move on.

yup that's what I'll be doing of course if it does end up like that I dearly hope Android will have done something with hardware acceleration and the UI cuz if not then I really dont know what OS I would go with given that I dont like Android too much anymore and I've despised iOS since day one. I might end up having to give that OS Motorola is making a shot.

 

[Averry]

yup that's what I'll be doing of course if it does end up like that I dearly hope Android will have done something with hardware acceleration and the UI cuz if not then I really dont know what OS I would go with given that I dont like Android too much anymore and I've despised iOS since day one. I might end up having to give that OS Motorola is making a shot.

That's another thing man....alot of people here **** on Android....but right now Android's got the functionality. A year ago, they didn't have Matias Duerte from Palm (who designed Web OS). He did most of the design on Honeycomb.

Things could really change.

 

[Luisraul924]

That's another thing man....alot of people here **** on Android....but right now Android's got the functionality. A year ago, they didn't have Matias Duerte from Palm (who designed Web OS). He did most of the design on Honeycomb.

Things could really change.

True. However looks are one thing, FEEL is an almost entirely different story. I like the looks of WP7 sure, but it's the feel of the OS I fell in love with I like the responsiveness it has, it makes Android seem ancient lol. I hate that Android is so laggy and choppy the smoothest thing on the thing is probably that gallery app made by cooliris I believe? Even that isnt as smooth as WP7. So until they can fully integrate the GPU into the mix for some good hardware acceleration, I dont think the feel of Android will be a rich one.

 

[Averry]

Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide

Windows Phone 7, You Were Supposed to be Great. So What Happened?
Sam Biddle ? "Windows Phone 7 is the most aggressively different, fresh approach to a phone interface since the iPhone." We published those words half a year ago, hoping WP7 would be a radical firebrand in phone land. But it's stalled. We're disappointed.

Our reasons for cheering WP7 were (and still are) manifold. No really. It's pretty great. But last year's great isn't going to cut it.
It's beautiful?superflat, minimal, modern, refreshing. Its aesthetic purity stands out in sea of turgid gradients, UI trompe l'oeil, and fragmented Android hideousness.

It's thoughtful. Rather than taking the Microsoft philosophy employed since tech time immemorial, the WP7 team flushed everything and began anew. Windows Phone 7 doesn't play design catchup (which can't be said of its desktop cousin). No cues from Android, no theft from Apple?the clean, tile-based UI is as functionally refreshing as it is visually pleasing. It's simple, and simply good?intuitive, and intelligent. The menus are without bloat, responsive, and present information you want without flourish. Bottom line: WP7 required a lot of brain sweat, and not for nothing.

It was also, simply, an alternative. We like iOS?a lot! And Android has a lot of fantastic things going for it. But a two horse race is only good for the horses?a robust, lovely OS like WP7, with a fleet of good phones to carry it, could have shifted the whole smartphone brawl. Hooking up with Nokia will give WP7 the rocksolid hardware it needs, but Microsoft still needs to pony up the rocksolid software Nokia deserves. Without it, Microsoft (and its users) will continue to be spectators?Apple and Google have continued to duke it out while Microsoft sits ringside and puts on nail polish, gloves dangling idly at its side.

Get. In. The. God. Damn. Fight.

WP7 doesn't have Angry Birds yet. Angry Birds?a game so worn out and ubiquitous that there's a board game version of it. Many WP7 owners still don't have copy and paste?an update promised in February that has yet go universal. And even when that update (and others) pop, it'll be the same sad trot we've seen from Microsoft on desktops?catchup. This same lagging update is also supposed to fix slow app performance?an annoyance that's bothered us since day one. And, really, it's this, not the absence of stupid Angry Birds, that's hamstringing WP7. As great as it was six months ago, that was six months ago. If Microsoft thinks Apple and Google are going to slow down the pace, well, they're obviously wrong?Android and iOS are miles ahead in terms of functionality, performance, and community, while Microsoft struggles to squeeze out the fundamentals.

They need do what we told them to do last year:

"Update. A lot. And quickly. Do you remember how truly ****ty Android was two years ago, when it launched? Can you believe Android 2.2 is what it looks like now? Especially when you compare how much iPhone evolved in the same period? (A lot, but Android's gone way further, since it had to come from waaaaayyyyyy behind.) Guess what? Windows Phone is the one lagging now. It's the one missing stuff that iPhone, Android, WebOS, even BlackBerry and Symbian have. So Microsoft needs to play like Google. Fast, constant updates, every couple of months until it's caught up or surpassed everybody else. You've got the resources. Use them. (I'd bet $20 there were far fewer people working on Android than on Windows Phone.) Don't blow this."

It was good advice then, and it's dire advice now. Less advice than a shot of adrenaline into the moribund, overdosed Pulp Fiction Uma Thurman that is WP7 right now.

Microsoft: you have the head for this, or else you wouldn't have something so great to neglect in the first place. Christ knows you've got the money. Whatever's in your way?customers, carriers, anything?knock them aside, because Apple (and increasingly Google) aren't letting anything block their software march. You've got Nokia on your side?a big fat Finnish bargaining chip. Leverage your way through whatever's holding you up with this new ally. Make a Microsoft Nexus One. Deliver. Above all? get off your ass?because we really want to see you kill it.

 

[Averry]

No new phones, a minor update that most WP7 users haven't even gotten one yet.


The only press has been bad press.


And Mango looks to completely change Windows Phone for the better, but at best it's Vapor Ware until, basically, AT&T actually pushes that sucker out again.


Why Microsoft, have you allowed posts like this on Gizmodo to be made? Have you let the competitors and their mothers have all of the good press the last 6 months, and leave all of the exciting future features again shrouded in doubt about when we'll actually get it?

Again, yes, this update process has probably blindsided Microsoft with OEM and carrier problems....but if that's the case, push out incremental feature updates every 3 months, and let them flow down when they get there.

When it comes to the major updates, that's when all the new API's can come into effect.