Why Microsoft Hasn't Upgraded Windows Phone 7 Minimum Specs

[Nurhisham Hussein]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.businessinsider.com/microsofts-windows-phone-chief-says-spotify-facebook-did-not-get-preferential-treatment-2011-11' target='_blank'>http://www.businessinsider.com/micr...eatment-2011-11</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"He says the company gets better battery performance from single-core chips, and isn't sacrificing much. It also allows Microsoft to sell cheaper phones. Right now Microsoft is playing catch up in smartphones, so it's hoping that it can compete on price to make up ground."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/wpt/auto/1320850841.usr14226.jpg" /></p><p>Does this make sense to you? Granted the performance differences don't appear to be much, but as apps start demanding more in terms of hardware resources, there will come a point when single core chips just won't cut it. Microsoft might be handicapping itself by not allowing manufacturers more flexibility - you might still be playing catch up&nbsp;down the road&nbsp;because there hasn't been enough experimentation with more advanced hardware. And let's be honest, battery life even with single core chips isn't all that hot either.</p>

[paschott]

The dual-core argument was pretty weak. Performance of WP devices is on par right now with the other makes w/ dual-cores. Battery life is comparable, if not slightly better. Would it be somewhat nice to have? Sure. But it's not a "need" right now.

Others have mentioned low GPU specs - that would probably be a good place to put some focus so the higher end games would run better. From what I've read, they don't need CPU as much as GPU to run well.

Of course, I have to wonder how much of the poor performance comes from lazy coding. We've seen the apps that are sluggish for what they seem to be doing. Those are more than likely good examples of people making a lot of unoptimized calls. Sure, you should be able to write code that way and have it run, but it's a sign of a lazy coder more often than a sign that we need more CPU.

My biggest concern with their HW specs is still with the core requirements for on-board memory. 8G minimum is just foolish these days and there really isn't a good way to force a more competitive on-board storage minimum unless MS raises the specs to at least 16, though preferably 32 will soon be the minimum. If you want this device to play music, lots of apps, games, and then HQ video - we need more onboard storage. I don't feel a need for dual-core right now, but more RAM/Storage would be welcome for an out-of-the-box experience.

[Sven Johannsen]

I don't feel a need for dual-core right now, but more RAM/Storage would be welcome for an out-of-the-box experience.
Especially if they are telling us this is our Zune.

Boy what a skewed headline on that business insider article. I own an iPhone and a WP (or two), and I don't see any issue in the performance. Works for me if I get more performance more efficiently, and it keeps cost down. When I got my brand new Focus, I got it for a penny. Can't get anything but a 2 generation old iPhone for that price. Not particularly interested in Android, though I have a tablet sporting it. Reminds me too much of Windows Mobile, which I had no problem with, but I've moved on.