The Windows Phone 7 Feature Availability Matrix, A.K.A. The Confusing Mess

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://andrewtechhelp.com/andrews-tech-opinions/115-windows-phone-7-feature-availability-matrix' target='_blank'>http://andrewtechhelp.com/andrews-t...lability-matrix</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Windows Phone 7 is available in many different countries across the world, but where you live depends on how much of the experience you are able to get. The 3 major features on the Windows Phone revolve around availability of online services and they are the Zune Marketplace, Xbox Live and Bing Local search. Microsoft has not made each of these 3 services available in every country that they are launching Windows Phone in and therefore have created a mess of what services are available on the phone in each country (with some countries even having partial access to some services)."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//wpt/auto/1295895864.usr1.png" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>Although I'm enjoying using Windows Phone 7 for the most part, I start to get an angry twitch whenever I stop to think about how fractured the product experience is for people outside the USA. This isn't anything new - I've ranted about this on Zune Thoughts for years - but the core problem is still the same. If someone wants to buy a Windows Phone in Canada, they can't buy music from the Zune Marketplace. What kind of sense does that make then for them to use the Zune desktop software to manage their phone and media collection, but not be able to buy new music - and that's not even the Zune Pass, that's <em>any music at all</em> from Zune. I've heard for years how hard it is to negotiate rights in every country, etc., but at the end of the day it has to happen or the product isn't going to succeed. And the consumer doesn't care about what's hard or what's easy; they want a product that works for them. If Microsoft can't provide that, they'll go with someone that will.</p>

[Fritzly]

It is confusing and frustrating indeed. What I do not understand, and I do not since the Zune launch, is MS slow pace to offer these services Worldwide; besides boosting hardware sales, at the end of the day they would make money out of any transaction and this make the entire story even more incomprehensible.
I can imagine that it is not an easy task but Apple did it and MS is not a Joe&Ann Co. kind of company. They have the resources and the logistics to achieve it too so there must be something else, something that we do not know.

[Sven Johannsen]

I can imagine that it is not an easy task but Apple did itThey didn't do it overnight though. From the Wiki article on iTunes store, they opened the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003....then on 15 June 2004, the iTunes Music Store was launched in France (http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/wiki/France), Germany (http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/wiki/Germany), and the United Kingdom (http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/wiki/United_Kingdom).... and it goes on from there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes_Store#Internationalization

Not saying it isn't very annoying for those that have to live with the disparity between the promise and the delivery. Just saying that a lot is due to the countries involved and their laws and requirements that need to be accomodated.

[Fritzly]

No they did not do it overnight but it seems that MS timing is calculated in "Geological eras".
I mean even the Zune software is not progressing very fast......

[Jason Dunn]

No they did not do it overnight but it seems that MS timing is calculated in "Geological eras".
I mean even the Zune software is not progressing very fast......

Agreed. The Zune launched in 2006. I'm still waiting to be able to buy music from the Zune Marketplace, and I can't. That's sort of pathetic when you compare it to what Apple has done in the same time frame. :(

[neo158]

I'm amazed that the UK still has no official podcast support, not really an essential though, unlike Bing Traffic, Voice Search and clickable numbers and addresses.

Not having those Bing services available in the UK is inexcusable, considering Windows Phone 7 launched here first, even more so when you consider that Android has had those features for ages.

On the subject of the other countries though, it's utterly ridiculous that they still have very little to no support.

[Fritzly]

Agreed. The Zune launched in 2006. I'm still waiting to be able to buy music from the Zune Marketplace, and I can't. That's sort of pathetic when you compare it to what Apple has done in the same time frame. :(

Can't you buy from Zune Marketplace even in Canada? I did not know that and yes it is weird. I mean you invest a lot of money to plan and lunch a device with related services and then you stop and do not push to open new markets? Either way you cancel the product or go ahead and push it.

[Jason Dunn]

Can't you buy from Zune Marketplace even in Canada? I did not know that and yes it is weird. I mean you invest a lot of money to plan and lunch a device with related services and then you stop and do not push to open new markets? Either way you cancel the product or go ahead and push it.

I can buy Windows Phone 7 apps. I can buy, but not rent, TV shows. I can buy or rent movies. I can't buy music, and I can't get the Zune Pass.

It's a mess. :mad: