03-05-2010, 09:30 PM
|
|
Executive Editor, Android Thoughts
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,233
|
|
WP7S: The Backwards Compatibility Story Thickens
"One final note at today's event is that Microsoft has now officially confirmed for the first time that 7 represents a clean break from Windows Mobile as we know it today; existing apps won't be compatible. Though that's likely to be a pain for existing owners with specialized apps who are looking to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem, Windows Phone 7 Series itself is a very different beast than the operating system it replaces -- it feels different, seeks a different demographic, and symbolically represents a very important clean-slate departure for a company that had lost its way in the mobile space. The bright side for the 6.5 faithful, we suppose, is that Kindel closes by saying that they "will continue to work with our partners to deliver new devices based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and will support those products for many years to come" -- a message Microsoft has been echoing recently." 
In case you hadn't heard deduced this, our favorite third party apps won't work with Windows Phone 7 out of the box. Will this mean that developers will flock to technologies such as XNA and Silverlight to re-design their apps? Or do you think they may just leave the platform?
__________________
Dr. Jon Westfall, MCSE, MS-MVP
Executive Editor - Android Thoughts
News Editor - Windows Phone Thoughts
|
| |
|
|
|
03-05-2010, 10:14 PM
|
|
Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 50
|
|
Microsoft now has both sides covered:
Corporate - Windows Mobile 6.5 - for work/productivity
Consumer - Windows Mobile 7 then 8, 9 - for consumers and personal use.
iPhone = Consumer
Blackberry = Corporate
Google Nexus = Consumer
Windows Mobile = Corporate + Consumer
Also WM6.5 will be the only real top selling phone with stylus input.
|
| |
|
|
|
03-06-2010, 12:40 AM
|
|
Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 667
|
|
WM 6.5 will die off over the first couple of years. The idea that businesses want WM while consumers want the iPhone is completely contrary to my own experience. What I have observed over the past couple of years is that, when there was WM only, no one at my work had a smartphone except me. After the iPhone, they all have iPhones and I still have my WM phone. Anyone who thinks the iPhone isn't in businesses just isn't paying attention.
Here's what it's going to come to for MS. Either Seven is a big hit and earns its place is the media buzz or MS will fail in this market completely. WM 6.5 support will simply serve the role that XP support serves for desktops now. They'll not drop their existing customers off the deep end all at once and so will continue to offer a bit of support for a few years. But no matter what they say, the only future MS has in this market is Seven.
While it won't be painless to have to start all over with new applications that may or may not be moved over from the old ecosystem, sometimes it's necessary to make a clean break and this is one of those times. It's more important that they get it right than that they get it compatible. As to whether companies will start all over to code for this platform, well... if there's money to be made they will.
|
| |
|
|
|
03-06-2010, 03:19 PM
|
|
Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 197
|
|
I was already sure that WM apps wouldn't make a transition to WP7 (since they would, at least, require a GUI remake). That's why I've said that WP7 puts Microsoft "on-par" with all the other manufacturers in my mind. When (and I'm sure it's not "if") I make the transition to my next phone OS, MS will be weighed equally with all the others because I'll need all new apps no matter which I choose.
I still think the MS strategy with 7 is the right one, but it saddens me to lose all my past investment.
__________________
HTC HD2 US (unlocked) + 16GB micro SDHC (in holding)
HTC Evo + 16GB micro SDHC (in use)
|
| |
|
|
|
03-06-2010, 07:38 PM
|
|
Intellectual
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 251
|
|
I agree that it was time for a clean break. I am also saddened by potential (definite?) loss of support for my existing purchased apps going forward onto new hardware. However, I am hopeful that the developers that do choose to create 7 apps will offer some sort of discount for the loyal customer.
m.
|
| |
|
|
|
03-06-2010, 10:19 PM
|
|
Sage
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 740
|
|
I can live with the idea to replace all my apps; what I could not tollerate is having to buy all apps through Market Place or whatever is called. I like cabs stored in house and this was one of the reasons I dropped the iPhone.
As for support for WM 6.5 I have no illusions: check how quickly and abruptly MS killed Essential Business Server (EBS), not a piece of software costing few hundred bucks but thousands.....
I am afraid that in the future I will have to carry an Android phone.
|
| |
|
|
|
03-07-2010, 12:29 AM
|
|
Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 251
|
|
Microsoft Windows Phone 7 development meeting:
No existing phones able to be upgraded to Windows Phone 7 CHECK
No existing applications will work on Windows PHone 7 CHECK
Well then, our job is now complete!
Man, I wonder sometimes if Microsoft has 2 brain cells to rub together when it comes to the smartphone market.
__________________
2.4 20" aluminum iMac - August 2007
2.2 15" MacBook Pro - January 2008
8GB 1G iPhone - January 2008
|
| |
|
|
|
03-11-2010, 10:25 PM
|
|
Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 214
|
|
It's a fallacy to believe that the iPhone is a consumer product. I've worked in several jobs where the executives all had iPhones, and there were in-house apps written for iPhones. The film industry has many purpose built apps for iPhones.
Android is also becoming more common for use in business, especially with places that use custom built apps because the IT departments seem to love those phones.
I'm all for MS's clean break I guess, but if I'm going to start over, Android looks a lot more attractive with its already abundant supply of apps. I think MS needs to start over with a phone reboot, but I think it'll take time for the market to adapt to it.
I really hate Apple, for reasons that probably aren't logical. MS has disappointed me for too long. When my current Imagio is out of contract, I'll be more open minded about what I choose next. By then WM 7 will be out for nearly a year, so we'll see where it's headed. I wouldn't want to be an early adaptor.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Linear Mode
