That also brings up an interesting point. If Google is giving Android away for free, what is in it for them? Can we expect to see advertising on our handhelds at some point or is Google's intention to eliminate the other platforms. If it's the latter, I expect the Justice Department will be spending more time on Google/Apple in the future.
That was clarified in an earlier post. Google wants a mobile OS to ensure that people use the Google search engine from thier mobile devices. Apparently they make a penny or something every time someone does. Not sure who is paying them. And apparently they feel the general populace is too ignorant to go to Google with their mobile browser once, and bookmark it. Cornering the mobile OS market so they can ensure their search engine's market share, would be the only way to go. Much like MS has done with IE. They likely haven't been watching the press or they would have discovered that in Europe they will be required to provide Bing and Yahoo Search on Android as well.
Google wants a mobile OS to ensure that people use the Google search engine from thier mobile devices. Apparently they make a penny or something every time someone does.
I'm not sure what the amount is but if you do a mobile search, there is a relevant ad at the bottom of every search. Google gets paid for that ad, and earns additional $ if you click that link.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sven
And apparently they feel the general populace is too ignorant to go to Google with their mobile browser once, and bookmark it.
Microsoft has pretty well proven this point. Up until very recently how many people bothered to change web browsers from IE, or even their home page from MSN, the default on most Windows installs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sven
They likely haven't been watching the press or they would have discovered that in Europe they will be required to provide Bing and Yahoo Search on Android as well.
I'm sure Google will gladly do this as soon as they have a 80% market share in the mobile phone market.
WinMo developers are still jumping ship to iPhone and Android in droves. I see this happening for 2 reasons:
- Developing an app that runs on most WinMo devices is Hell. Supporting how many different screen resolutions, supporting both touch and non-touch, D-pad, trackball/pad, and huge variance in CPU/Memory speeds all equate to an immense amount of extra work for many developers.
- Win32 on WinMo is ass. .NET on WinMo just isn't functional enough, yet. The tools are OK but the emulator is incredibly slow compared to the iPhone and Android simulators.
I think a better question would be "Is Microsoft Killing Windows Mobile?" Microsoft's complacency has opened the market to Android, Palm, Apple, RIM etc.
Yep, that pretty much sums it up. It's not murder, it's suicide.
Microsoft is making business sense by migrating or licensing products to other platforms ( just read MSOffice for Nokia) .. but what about WinMo OS ? Is it a accepted fact that few OEMs will keep manufacturing for WinMo lovers (a small segment) or devices like Omnia (samsung) who have already invested in WinMo makeover continue to support it. Microsoft doesn't look interested in WinMo license sales any more. I think sooner or later they will need to provide it for free & charge for office etc.
I don't know the figures .. but I wonder what WinMo enterprise sales team (with OEM partners) is doing with respect to Blackberry.
Well all this questions ask us to 'reconfigure' our Winmo development plans in align with Microsoft plans .. but .. is there a plan ? or May WinMo soul rest in peace.
WinMo developers are still jumping ship to iPhone and Android in droves. I see this happening for 2 reasons:
- Developing an app that runs on most WinMo devices is Hell. Supporting how many different screen resolutions, supporting both touch and non-touch, D-pad, trackball/pad, and huge variance in CPU/Memory speeds all equate to an immense amount of extra work for many developers.
- Win32 on WinMo is ass. .NET on WinMo just isn't functional enough, yet. The tools are OK but the emulator is incredibly slow compared to the iPhone and Android simulators.
Why is everyone bugging M$ for yet another WM? What must an OS basicly do? Let 3rd party apps run as good as possible. In that respect WM6 is good enough (I'd prefer it to be a bit faster but I'm not waiting for "better look" or more features). The rest is upto the App-developpers. THEY must create the killer-app, the OS is only the base. In fact I couldn't care less which OS my smartphone runs, as long as it does what I want.
In my own case I like it to have a choice of navigation software on my smartphone since I use it regularly for that purpose. It doesn't matter which OS runs beneath it or at least I don't care about it. As long as I find that particular program that I like. In this case the APP is important NOT the OS beneath it. The same is true for browsing, email or playing music. If iTunes was ported to WM6 then it wouldn't matter whether you'd use an iphone or a WM-player.
Also what's with these developpers these days? If it isn't easy enough then THEY consider the OS not good. For instance most o/t the OS takes care of the resolution, cpu or UI. If you're program properly writ ten then it shouldn't matter if you use VGA or WVGA or QVGA or whatever. In fact WinMo isn't optimised at all for the current crop of ARM-cpu's to provide the most marketpenetration. And why would care about "memory speed"... doh?! The API for touch and non-touch is provided by M$ so what's up? Too lazy perhaps? You can't read the provided documentation? Can you read at all?
From an end-user perspective I'm glad that M$ tones itself a bit down with regards to OS-releases. This way the platform can mature, the bugs could get ironed out. That some Apps stink, that's not M$ fault.
The only reason why iPhone get this (initial) success is because it's an overhyped product. By the time the end-users experience the disadvantages of iPhone they will revert back to their blackberry/Nokia/WM-phone.
There's only one point of concern for me. M$ must make work to get more performance out of the OS. I toyed with an android-phone a while back and found it a bit less sluggish than WM. The same is true for iPhone (iPhone GS feels really snappy compared to anything else).
So for me. I don't want WM7 if it's slower then WM6. I want WM6.1 turbo-edition :-)
Here is the problem with WM: Microsoft dropped the ball on the mobile market b/c of its ailing desktop sector (Vista anyone!?). People should be looking at its platform flexibility more than anything else. WM i think is a really good platform and i applaud MS efforts to do what it can to get by. That is a problem in itself, it's only doing what it can to get by. I have only been a user of WM for a couple of yrs now. My friend got an iPhone and it made me want to get a smartphone. I have a device running WM 5.0 AKU 2.2. With the induction of 6.5, i do not find anything compelling enough to want to upgrade. What i do appreciate about the platform is how a user can pretty much customize it for anything and the platform isn't restrictive in that you don't have to use its services. That is the one thing i am very critical of the other mobile operating systems.
What MS needs to realize is that most people are idiots when it comes to a computer. Many people think just because they can turn on a computer they are qualified to actually know how the systems work and what component does what. I love the iPhone and its OS is one of the best i have seen on a smartphone. It is simple to use, but it is too restrictive in using their services, their products, their hardware, etc. With my WM device, i find it easy to be able to sync with my PC, access files over the network, stream music and such over the network, receive e-mails, surf the web (i use Skyfire instead of horrible IE). It funny b/c WM is just like its desktop cousin: you don't have to use their services to do what you want at all. How many people on here actually use IE as their primary browser? I am sure most people use Firefox or Chrome.
My device when compared to my friend's iPhone (he has the 1st gen model), my device had more features overall, such as GPS, FM transmitter w/ RDS & TMC, a web browser that is user installed that can view any web page natively without the use of installing extensions. Everything else is pretty much the same minus the multi touch (which is cool but i dont find it practical for one hand use). I like drawing pics on my device w/ stylus when i am bored, and i like writing on the screen, which i think is fairly accurate especially for a mobile device.
Personally, i am waiting for Windows Mobile 7 to come out. WM 6.5 i think is a really good demo of what is to come and a good foundation, but i equate the current version to Windows Vista (not compelling enough to get but nice to look at). Don't forget, MS did put more of their energy toward W7 since Vista was a bit of a train wreck. In some ways, they did drop the ball, but to be honest it was needed b/c desktop OS is their primary money maker. There is a lot that WM can do, and MS has a lot of thing they can do to forge a better OS. I love android, and i really like iPhone, and i despise blackberry. WM is my choice for its familiarity and it made me appreciate the power a small device has. I customized the interface, and i really made my device my own personal computer. It really is my Pocket PC away from my laptop. I think in some respect MS is killing its own OS but i think their energy is focus on the next gen platform, which is WM 7. I hope the rumors are true in that it is a new OS built from scratch.
It's the apps, and MS ain't getting them
Linear Mode
