Where's the Clock/Timer?

[Rhody#WP]

I had a poker party at my house. We decided on the amount of time between raising the blinds. Everybody looked at me to keep the time. I looked at my phone. Nothing.

One of my friends said, "alright, I'll do it. This is why you get an iPhone instead of that thing you have." I said, "I could download an app." He just looked at me dumbfounded.

He's right though. Why does WP7 not have stock timer/clock app?

 

[enahs555]

Because when Microsoft incorporates everything into their products they get sued for various reasons. When Apple does it, they get applauded.

Ignore his comment about the iPhone. If you like your phone then be happy.

You should purchase my app, called iPooey and load it up and tell your friend you installed iOS onto your phone and show him what you really think of the iPhone!
Download Zune.net

 

[TheDvlsAdvc8]

I thought the same thing... but really its such a minor thing who cares if its a 3rd party vs native app? Why doesn't wp7 have a native weather app?

The answer to both - each company decides where to put their resources and MS had bigger fish to fry, like facebook integration.

 

[rpm5101]

You should ask your friend why he cant get to his camera from lock or why his phone didn't have copy/paste, MMS, or a landscape keyboard for years after release.

 

[dtboos]

Once mango is implemented, there will be certain things not built into WP, but they are minor. There are much bigger things not built into the iPhone. The approach MS is taking is to have most everything you need built right into the OS. I'd say having to download a stopwatch timer app is a smaller deal than what you have to download for the iPhone.

Its funny he looks at you funny because the iPhone is very dependent on 3rd party apps which operate independently of the OS. Probably the most dependent. Without the app store the built ins, and phone functions are both pretty mediocre. Check this out for a Mango vs iOS 5 comparison of built in features. And keep in mind this is within the 1st year. You will see more stuff baked in in the updates post Mango as well.

Updated: Mango Features vs iOS5 Features

 

[thed]

Every platform has different built in features and design philosophies. iPhone users of all people shouldn't have an issue with using third party apps to get things done, since iOS is mostly just an app launching platform.

A timer app isn't something everyone needs all the time. You can get any number of timer apps in seconds just by searching for "timer" in the marketplace. I don't think MS should spend time making one when there are plenty of options and so many other things for them to do.

 

[Rhody#WP]

A clock/timer is such a simple and extremely common feature that it seems like a glaring omission to me. If you don't think MS should spend time making one when there are other options for them to do, just think about how much time it would take to make a timer (i.e., not much).

This isn't a big gripe, but it seems silly to me for a smart phone in 2010/2011 not to have even a simple timer function out of the box.

 

[jalb]

Hopefully your friend wont get a notification whilst timing something, or the timer might stop.

 

[dtboos]

A clock/timer is such a simple and extremely common feature that it seems like a glaring omission to me. If you don't think MS should spend time making one when there are other options for them to do, just think about how much time it would take to make a timer (i.e., not much).

This isn't a big gripe, but it seems silly to me for a smart phone in 2010/2011 not to have even a simple timer function out of the box.

I was surprised it didn't have one as well when I got the phone, but not a big deal when its such a basic thing and so many free ones are available. Do I wish there was one included? Kind of. But since its such an easy app to program, and so many are readily available with differing functionality and featuresets, I'd rather have a few options personally. Its not as significant as other built ins to me.

But in a way you are right. Its a utilitarian feature, and would have been a good idea for them to implement a basic one you could remove.

 

[jimski]

It's silly to think that MS should have a timer integrated in the OS. That's why they have Marketplace after all. Dozens of timer/stopwatch apps to choose from and satisfy almost anyones particular needs.

No need for MS to provide functionality for every little function and clutter up the OS. They have a built-in alarm app, but if other apps also worked in the background (coming w/Mango) my guess is most people would use a more robust alternative.

And what next, built-in; find my car, horoscopes, days since, unit converter, exchange rate, stocks, scores, notes, reminders, speedtest, benchmark, photo edit, flashlight, etc. Let MS focus on the tough stuff, like social network integration and leave the small stuff to the devs. People ask me why I have 150+ apps on my phone. Of course, I don't use them every day, or every week. But they are there, including a stopwatch app, when I need them.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[Rhody#WP]

And what next, built-in; find my car, horoscopes, days since, unit converter, exchange rate, stocks, scores, notes, reminders, speedtest, benchmark, photo edit, flashlight, etc. Let MS focus on the tough stuff, like social network integration and leave the small stuff to the devs. People ask me why I have 150+ apps on my phone. Of course, I don't use them every day, or every week. But they are there, including a stopwatch app, when I need them.

There's a huge difference between a clock/timer function and sport scores or horoscopes. Those are not simple functions that are common to every smartphone OS. Even WebOS had a clock/timer app at launch. Let's just say I recognize your failed attempt to extrapolate something simple to the ridiculous.

It's ok to say, "yeah, that is a pretty basic feature that could have been included," and leave it at that. You don't have to defend them about every little thing.

 

[Rhody#WP]

Hopefully your friend wont get a notification whilst timing something, or the timer might stop.

That's something that happens with some of the timer apps in the WP7 marketplace. Some of them don't run behind the lock screen. That's why I would prefer a built-in solution. Something as critical as the clock is best handled by MS, not a third party that's just getting familiar with a new OS.

 

[jalb]

That's something that happens with some of the timer apps in the WP7 marketplace. Some of them don't run behind the lock screen. That's why I would prefer a built-in solution. Something as critical as the clock is best handled by MS, not a third party that's just getting familiar with a new OS.

Touche.

 

[jimski]

It's ok to say, "yeah, that is a pretty basic feature that could have been included," and leave it at that. You don't have to defend them about every little thing.

Not trying to defend anyone. What I do know is that over many years, WinMo became a bloated mess, with all kinds of ad-ins and meaningless features. I don't want to see WP suffer the same fate. All things for all people is simply not possible. I like Microsoft's current approach of starting with a solid base and only adding things that make sense to further the platform.

I have a bunch of stuff that I would like to see added to WP, but I realize that if no one else is asking for it, it's probably not all that important. But hey, good luck with your clock/timer effort. Mybe I am missing something.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[bear_lx]

i agree in that is something simple and probably should have been preinstalled... but it really isnt that big of a deal when you can download one from the marketplace. iphone's slogan is "theres an app for that" how about a unified mailbox, iphone doesnt have an app for that...
or a new battery if the old one dies?

 

[cisco.leon]

I agree - not having a timer is a pain

That's something that happens with some of the timer apps in the WP7 marketplace. Some of them don't run behind the lock screen. That's why I would prefer a built-in solution. Something as critical as the clock is best handled by MS, not a third party that's just getting familiar with a new OS.

I jumped from an iPhone to Samsung Focus 3 months ago. Love Mango. But yeh I agree - not a show stopper - but definitely annoying that world clock and timer are not built in. Why? As above the apps I have downloaded do NOT run in the background. So I can't set a countdown timer and check my emails (cos the apps I have even paid for - stop!) I go back into the timer and its stopped.

Waiting for laundry, timing big amd small blind increases in poker, doing fitness stuff, cooking the ultimate thanksgiving turkey, getting up in time for my pathetic job. You name it. Its handy. I hope post Mango adds this. Remember - normal people (not tech heads) make the Apple iPhone the kind sh#t of handsets. Little things like this might go further than us 'techies' realise.

Another thing is I live in NYC but have family in Australia and in the Asia-Pacific. The world clock is so handy - I don't mind the app -but its slow Not as snappy as built in OS functionality. Hopefully post-Mango there is a built in world clock integrated with a countdown timer and stopwatch.

Oh I also agree that Windows focused on the true differentiators rather than 'oh we have that too' features. So now its time to add the 'oh we have that too and better' features I think - post-Mango.

 

[selfcreation]

funny how ur buddy gave you a funny look when you said you could get an app for that...

Iphon`s MOTTO is * i have an app for that * lol Iphone is the biggest app launcher in the world. Lol


would have been nice for them to add a timer in the Time/date section or something doh.

 

[Matthew Mazzenga]

I've had a Focus for almost a year now, and until I read this thread just now, I didn't realize the phone doesn't have a timer. Shows how much I need one. : )

 

[N8ter]

I thought the same thing... but really its such a minor thing who cares if its a 3rd party vs native app? Why doesn't wp7 have a native weather app?

The answer to both - each company decides where to put their resources and MS had bigger fish to fry, like facebook integration.

Microsoft has a 1st party weather app with Live Tile in the Marketplace.

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/ace44e54-1dd8-df11-a844-00237de2db9e

It's comparable to the iOS 4 Weather app in capabilities.

Not gonna comment on the Facebook stuff... ...

 

[firebrewd]

I'll admit I'm somewhat of a Metro nazi, so the problem for me of not getting a timer and other utility apps out of the box is that the design isn't perfectly Metro, and the apps aren't completely integrated (with Mango).

I'm all for Microsoft having these kind of apps available on the marketplace, but the problem is they don't even update them (the Weather app doesn't have a Live Tile), the performance is poor (check out the World Clock), the UI isn't intuitive or responsive enough (Unit Converter), and ironically, most of them aren't completely Metro (I think none have the usual transitions, at all). It almost looks like these apps were designed and programmed by some student interns before the release of WP, and were abandoned afterwards.

Another is that, sure, you could just download a Timer, Stopwatch of Weather app, but the regular user won't bother finding out if there's one by Microsoft (which isn't the best anyway), but will probably end up downloading a poor app. Two of the best stopwatches I've downloaded aren't top apps, and the rest are just poorly coded and designed.

My solution: either include all these utility apps on the system alongside the available ones (rename Alarms to Clock, and include Timer, Stopwatch, World Clock, etc.; Unit Converter inside Calculator; etc.), or have a section on the Marketplace called Essentials, and include all of them, designed and coded as if they were part of the system (i.e., perfect Metro apps).