If Bill Gates Owns A Windows Mobile Phone...

[Jon Westfall]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/07/30/bill-gates-yawns-at-google-phone' target='_blank'>http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2...at-google-phone</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The minor quibble we have with Gates' comments is that he may be missing what people see as the real appeal of a possible Google Phone. It isn't so much the software, which will have to be effective, but the potential for a Google Phone to be the razor sharp edge of a blade that cuts into the cellphone industry. We have high hopes that a Google Phone would be backed by a Google Network, with its services available for a far lower cost than what the wireless industry charges customers today. That's the real point of difference that has people interested in Google's efforts."</i><br /><br />News earlier this week quotes Mr. Gates as being highly critical of the rumored Google Phone. This got me wondering - If Bill Gates owns a cell phone, what phone would it be? Obviously it probably wouldn't be an iPhone, and if we assume that all of his infrastructure is Microsoft (duh...) then he'd probably want something that could sync to Exchange - hence a Windows Mobile device. So let's have a bit of fun today and theorize about Bill's Mobile. If we're lucky, perhaps someone in the know can fill us in on the answer ;)<br /><br /><i>So, what do you think?</i> If Bill Gates owns a Windows Mobile phone, what model do you think he's carrying around these days?

[emuelle1]

I believe Bill Gates uses a Windows Mobile Smartphone. He seems to be as excited about and biased toward the Smartphone platform as he is toward the Tablet PC, which is why Microsoft seems to be throwing so much work to the Smartphone while treating the Pocket PC as an afterthought. I believe after Win Mobile 6, the non-phone Windows Mobile device will be a dead platform.

I watched a webcast of a Bill Gates keynote (I forget which event) where he demonstrated the use of a Smartphone to carry data (including a developing MSNBC story) from his home computer on a commute to his work computer and then on to the airport. This was all setup on stage; he did not go anywhere.

[keithnet]

previously, he stated he uses a Palm 700w:

http://mytreo.net/archives/2006/01/bill-gates-uses-treo-700w-as-primary-mobile-phone.html

[rhmorrison]

previously, he stated he uses a Palm 700w
YES, in fact the Question / Answer from the link you provided is:

Which cellphone do you carry now and what's your portable music or media device?

Well, recently I've been using this Treo 700w that I think is a great product, Palm has done a good job on that. We've got quite a variety in cell phones with Windows Mobile, more and more people backing that, but that's one I've been using recently.

[sesummers]

previously, he stated he uses a Palm 700w:

http://mytreo.net/archives/2006/01/bill-gates-uses-treo-700w-as-primary-mobile-phone.html

I'd have thought it impossible for Bill to actually have USED one of these. Otherwise, the sheer idocy of the lack of a real close button, the utter incompetence of their Bluetooth stack and the ActiveStynk program, and the fact that after 5 years or more of the problem, they still haven't solved the "alarms sometimes don't wake the machine and go off" problem. (You'd think a pocket organizer would make sure to be able to sync the contacts and calendar with Outlook without duplicating appointments, and reliably activate alarms.)

Don't get me wrong- I've owned Pocket PCs since my Casiopia e100 more than 8 years ago- but they're far from perfect, and they don't seem to be getting better. I now have an HTC Mogul with WM6 (with 64MB of RAM) and I STILL have to add 3rd party software to make it easy to actually close apps, or it runs out of memory and won't start the camera app!
(Memo to Bill: DUH!)

[bearxor]

That interview is 18 months old. My first thought, however, was that he would be using a Treo. Probably a 750 by now.

[jsp91470]

That article is now a year and a half old. There's a good chance that Bill is now using something else. If he liked the Treo 700w, then he might well have a Treo 750 by now. Of course, a man with billions in his pocket can afford to get any phone he damn well pleases-- he earns the amount it takes to get a new phone in less time than it takes to change the SIM card. And, he could even have access to unreleased test models. For all we know he might be carrying a Treo 800 around.

[inteller]

That interview is 18 months old. My first thought, however, was that he would be using a Treo. Probably a 750 by now.

after the way ATT has f'd up the Treo 750....I doubt it.

I suspect he is running an unlocked phone of some variety that contains non of this carrier installed **** that all of us commoners have to put up with.

[virain]

I would speculate he uses his asistant's phone. He can afford not to carry his own. 0X And I would doubt it is WM, based on how fast it develops to be more more user friendly. More likely he is into UMPC :devilboy:

[jgrnt1]

edit: virain, it looks like you had the same thoughts about this as me, but you were faster posting them. I'll leave my post as is, since I hadn't read yours when I wrote it.

I wouldn't be surprised if he had a phone enabled UMPC and a Bluetooth earpiece. He wouldn't have to carry it himself. One of his paid entourage would carry it for him. I'm sure he doesn't answer his own phone at the office. He probably doesn't answer his cell phone either. An admin would screen his calls and hand him his earpiece, when he needed to take a call.

I'd have thought it impossible for Bill to actually have USED one of these. Otherwise, the sheer idocy of the lack of a real close button, the utter incompetence of their Bluetooth stack and the ActiveStynk program, and the fact that after 5 years or more of the problem, they still haven't solved the "alarms sometimes don't wake the machine and go off" problem. (You'd think a pocket organizer would make sure to be able to sync the contacts and calendar with Outlook without duplicating appointments, and reliably activate alarms.)

Don't get me wrong- I've owned Pocket PCs since my Casiopia e100 more than 8 years ago- but they're far from perfect, and they don't seem to be getting better. I now have an HTC Mogul with WM6 (with 64MB of RAM) and I STILL have to add 3rd party software to make it easy to actually close apps, or it runs out of memory and won't start the camera app!
(Memo to Bill: DUH!)

I have a Cingular/AT&amp;T 8525. I recently upgraded to the "official" WM6. It's bloated with AT&amp;T stuff, but the Bluetooth stack is much better and HTC included a little program to make the close button actually work. I agree it should be part of WM, but at least HTC included it in the ROM. Is it not in the Mogul ROM? On my 8525, it is the last item in Settings==>System. It is called "X-Button." It is an HTC applet, not AT&amp;T, so I assume HTC would put it on more than just one device.

[murph]

my guess would be an upgrade to something thinner by now. Dash or Blackjack.

[Paragon]

I'll bet he's using his assistant's Omni, or something even newer. ;)

Dave

[burtcom]

http://www.fahad.com/pics/1.3_million_dollar_cell_phone.jpg

Bill's cell phone??

From http://www.fahad.com/2006_07_01_fahadinc_archive.html

[melsam [MS]]

I did a little digging internally and heard that Bill doesn't use a mobile phone much, and when he does it is not identifiable for security reasons. He plays with a lot of different phones (yes, including the iPhone) but doesn't use a particular one on a day to day basis out of IT concerns about what would happen if his device was lost.

A lot of our other VPs use Moto Qs since they got those for testing WM6 during its development. Steve Balmer uses a Q at the moment and Ray Ozzie is an avid user of the HTC Advantage.

Keep in mind that these guys can change phones like we change clothes. Just because a particular MS exec uses a device doesn't mean any bias, preferance or endorsement. They use whatever they fancy or want to compare with Windows Mobile.

-Mel

[Jon Westfall]

Sounds like Bill has the luxury most Executives have had to give up, namely that he's important enough to NOT have to be responsible for his own communication channels! In the past it would have been inconceivable to tell a high powered exec that they had to carry their own telephone and answer it whenever it rang - that's the secretary's job!

I guess that sort of power does have it's downsides: It's too much of a security risk for him to play with his own devices for actual work! ;)

[Dyvim]

]but doesn't use a particular one on a day to day basis out of IT concerns about what would happen if his device was lost.

Uh ... couldn't they just remote wipe it? Or is the remote wipe feature as reliable as ActiveStynk and the alarms? :twisted:

[MitchellO]

Of course, a man with billions in his pocket can afford to get any phone he damn well pleases-- he earns the amount it takes to get a new phone in less time than it takes to change the SIM card.

Spot on ;) He could have a phone for every hour of the day.

I think he might be using a prototype HTC device, or maybe the Kaiser.

[dstrauss]

My immediate response when I saw this thread was "to heck with King Bill's phone, I want a carrier free Google" Just think what a Skype-like device, independent of carrier baggage, would be. I get so tired of carrier anal retentive control, I'd sell out to Google for that. In fact, I secretly (well, not so secretly, pretty vocally a year ago) Posted on every site I could that Apple should "go it alone" and just make a world phone that you could connect to whatever carrier you wanted (like HTC devices) and break the back of carrier control. Unfortunately, their concept of visual voice mail and Safari site rendering depends a lot upon backoffice hardware so they are stuck with AT&amp;T - and then end up with 2.5G no less.

[sdeetz]

Of course he could remotely wipe the device. But that's not the point. How much time would elapse between the time the device was stolen and when he relizes it and sends the wipe command?

If it is true that he does not use the phone that often, it is very possible that an hour or more could go by before he realized it was gone. In that amount of time, a hacker could easily get valuable information out of the phone.

It's just not worth the risk.

I work for a software company, and our CEO has said that he and all the officers use Qs, but do not carry any company information on their phones other than phone numbers.

They do not load any company documents on the phones at all, and for email they do not synchronize with our server. They have a special mobile website they built where they have to log in via a VPN each time to be able to access their emails from their phones. But the emails are not actually saved on the phone itself. The emails stay on the server and the phone just works as a viewer. That way if the phone is ever lost, the only info the thief could get is the phone numbers in it, which can easily be changed.

So remote wipe is nice, but if not caught in time would not prevent data from being stolen off the device. So most executives will not rely on this. It's just not worth the risk.