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  #1  
Old 07-27-2010, 12:00 PM
Ed Hansberry
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Default Should You Bother Looking At Windows Phone 7?

http://www.networkworld.com/news/20...question-1.html

"Windows Phone 7 is shaping up as the most innovative mobile UI since, well, since the iPhone introduction three years ago. In July, Microsoft released for developers the "Technical Preview" version of WP7, along with the first prototype handsets. The early reviews, from a user viewpoint, corroborate many positive things that developers have been discovering since they got their hands on the initial developer release in March. The first handsets, from LG, Samsung, Asus and others, are expected to be unveiled sometime this fall, along with carrier service plans."

I'd say that the UI is the chief factor driving buzz around Windows Phone 7. There are concerns, of course, about what the platform will lack, at least a launch, like multi-tasking and copy-and-paste functionality.

NetworkWorld takes a look at the overall platform. It is clear Microsoft is serious about it and while it doesn't have everything its competitors do, it does have enough, as well as some unique features of its own, that it is worth a serious look when it ships.

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Old 07-27-2010, 03:41 PM
efjay
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Where were all these types of articles when android was released? Will we see the same thing when meego or the next version of symbian is released?
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Old 07-27-2010, 04:18 PM
Fritzly
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Originally Posted by efjay View Post
Where were all these types of articles when android was released? Will we see the same thing when meego or the next version of symbian is released?
MS has started the WP7 advertising campaign........ :-)
 
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Old 07-27-2010, 05:49 PM
Brad Adrian
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I realize I'm coming a little late to the game here, but do I understand you correctly? There will be NO multi-tasking and NO copy-and-paste? Aren't those the two capabilities which we have always touted as making Windows Mobile more useful than the other OSs?

I have to admit that I stopped using Windows Mobile when Microsoft decided they couldn't get syncing to work, but what you're describing sounds like a death knell to me.

Just my 2 cents' worth.
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Old 07-27-2010, 06:29 PM
caywen
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad Adrian View Post
I realize I'm coming a little late to the game here, but do I understand you correctly? There will be NO multi-tasking and NO copy-and-paste? Aren't those the two capabilities which we have always touted as making Windows Mobile more useful than the other OSs?

I have to admit that I stopped using Windows Mobile when Microsoft decided they couldn't get syncing to work, but what you're describing sounds like a death knell to me.

Just my 2 cents' worth.
Honestly, multitasking is just not that useful. I lived without it on my iPhone for years without any complaints. And now that I have it with iOS4, I've only used it once, just as a test. I'm sure there are some use cases, but they just aren't all that common.

Same goes for copy/paste. The number of times I've ever used it, I can count on one hand. It's more useful than multitasking, IMO, but I just don't see it as a deal breaker for the vast majority of people. And it's near certain it'll be in the next revision anyways.

I think WP7's biggest downfall is that its tiles view appears lopsided and stark. First, there shouldn't be a big black strip down the right side. That's just wasteful, and it makes the contents appear unbalanced. Second, forcing perfectly flat colors sounds wonderfully simple, but is a bit harsh in its starkness. People want personalization, and all that has been taken away.

If Microsoft can eventually pull the reigns on their beret-wearing black turtleneck guy, and start making some sensible adjustments to the user experience, they might just have a winner.
 
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Old 07-27-2010, 07:03 PM
Craig Horlacher
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Brad, I'm with you. I use copy and paste as well as multi-tasking all the time. They kind of go hand in hand. If you're working on an email and you need to collect info from different sources for it, like web pages and contacts, you can't loose your place every time you go back and forth between things. You'll never get anywhere. I agree that, for me at least, they are very basic and very needed features.
 
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Old 07-27-2010, 07:35 PM
Fritzly
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Originally Posted by vector View Post
Brad, I'm with you. I use copy and paste as well as multi-tasking all the time. They kind of go hand in hand. If you're working on an email and you need to collect info from different sources for it, like web pages and contacts, you can't loose your place every time you go back and forth between things. You'll never get anywhere. I agree that, for me at least, they are very basic and very needed features.
What I find really silly is that when the iPhone came out without multi-tasking and cut and paste ability legions of Windows bloggers/"journalists", btw correctly IMO, ridiculized and trashed it for the lack of these functionalities; now, a couple of years later. MS is going to launch an OS with the same shortcomings....... and the same bloggers play down the same issue as irrilevant.......
 
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Old 07-27-2010, 08:48 PM
Brad Adrian
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Hey, I don't do rocket science on my devices, but I DO want multi-tasking and copy-and-paste for even the most simple things like:

* Copying "Appt. w/ Dr. Jones" from a date in June to a date in September
This sounds like a little thing, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to do and the kind of thing I do on nearly a daily basis.

* Moving information between my calendar and my Address Book

I'm not here to stand on a soapbox or anything. However, I do know that for people like Ed, me and others who have been in this game since the inception of the Pocket PC TEN YEARS AGO and beyond, the capabilties which we have today are NOTHING like what we envisioned way back when we oooh-ed and aaaah-ed at those early OSs.

Windows Mobile 7 represents the umpteenth time that Microsoft has "re-created the UI around the users." Sorry, but if that re-creation comes at the cost of the only two advantages which Microsoft has been harping all these years, I'm not very optimistic.
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Old 07-27-2010, 08:58 PM
stlbud
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fritzly View Post
MS has started the WP7 advertising campaign........ :-)
Ummm. Where? Has anyone noticed?

So far this has been just about as exciting as a deflating balloon. Microsoft has never done well with PR. Their Seinfeld campaign should have been exciting and explosive but instead fell flat with the general public. Windows 7 has succeeded only because business, home users and vendors alike were desperate for something new.

I'm glad they're doing something innovative and new. I want to be excited, but past history has shown that there won't be any more satisfaction in buying a Windows Mobile product than in the past. It will still be a boring and ho-hum roll out.

I want to be wrong.
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Old 07-27-2010, 09:08 PM
stlbud
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caywen View Post
People want personalization, and all that has been taken away.
Have you actually been paying attention? Each tile can be customized to suit the needs of the user. They reflect the features that you find most important and can be adjusted, moved, removed, added at any time. The features they show are customizable. You can limit them to a small group of activities or expanded to cover everything available.

http://www.winsupersite.com/mobile/wp7_hotornot.asp
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