Microsoft kills Zune phone talk

Microsoft has killed any lingering hopes, fears, dreams, suspicions or conspiracy theories involving a Zune challenge to Apple's iPhone. At the same time, Microsoft executives committed to improvements in Windows Mobile, saying the software's been too square for consumers. But the company won’t commit to the possibility of …

[EnigmaxxUK]

Windows 7 Mobile edition

Oh god, I can imagine it now....

Press Power Button, wait for 5 minutes for windows to power up and install the updates you hadn't noticed the phone had downloaded on your data plan costing you the equivalent of a small country's annual turnover.

Let windows load, only to find that the phone driver wasn't recognised and is now listed as 'unknown device'

Reboot again to get the device to work and then try to make a call. The problem being that the device still hasn't completed booting.

Decide to phone your mobile provider and sort out the settings for SMS, only to find that SMS settings isn't available to people with the Windows 7 Home Premium Mobile edition, only to users of the Business or Ultimate edition, of which you can only upgrade to the Ultimate edition from Home Premium.

Purchase and install the Ultimate upgrade, set the phone up and enjoy using it, resolving never to let it go flat as it takes 2 full batteries just to boot the phone.

Move on 2 months, your mobile bill looks suspiciously like the number for an american premium rate phone sex service. You investigate and find that 30 viruses (virii?) have infected your phone from your home PC and have been spamming iPhone users with 'buy cheap online prescriptions' emails and that all your contacts, including the hot blonde you met at the club the night before now dial guatemalan minicab firms first.

No good can possibly come of this.

[Big-nosed Pengie]

Oh yeah.

I've been the proud owner of a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone for a week now. Like its predecessor, it's the most buggy, unstable, counterintuitive piece of shite you can imagine. It must have taken an unbelievable amount of effort, even for Mickeysoft to design something this bad. The record so far for uptime between reboots is 3 days.

The best thing I can say about it is that it makes Fista look good.

If this is what they see their core business as, all I can say is "good luck, fellas".

[James O'Brien]

@EnigmaxxUK

"Purchase and install the Ultimate upgrade, set the phone up and enjoy using it, resolving never to let it go flat as it takes 2 full batteries just to boot the phone.

Move on 2 months, your mobile bill looks suspiciously like the number for an american premium rate phone sex service. You investigate and find that 30 viruses (virii?) have infected your phone from your home PC and have been spamming iPhone users with 'buy cheap online prescriptions' emails and that all your contacts, including the hot blonde you met at the club the night before now dial guatemalan minicab firms first."

As much as I want to say stop being a fanboi I will refrain in this instance. The 2 full batteries boot up started the chuckles but what really sealed the deal was the American premium rate phone sex number comment and the Guatemalan minicab firm.

I will say that you owe me a keyboard though. Nice job on the post

[Anonymous Coward]

x86 support for Windows Mobile?

FFS.

If I wanted x86-based mobile devices, I'd already have bought one of those nice quiet Honda 700watt generators and I'd keep it with me at all times.

In other news, Microsoft announced that as yet they had no plans for Windows Mobile for IA64.

Get a freekin clue.

Anyway, Intel own VxWorks/Wind River now don't they? If Intel really want an embedded OS for x86 based mobile kit, they don't need Microsoft any more do they.

http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20090717corp.htm

Summary: it's the power consumption, stupid.

[Goat Jam]

Oh goddamit

That's one less fail that I'll be able to laugh at. I sure hope they continue on with the M$hop plans.

[Anonymous Coward]

All their best people

Thank god MS have decided to move their real talent into this project. What this really needed was some proper Keyboard & Mouse experience. This expertise will be particularly valuable on products where the only input is generally a touchscreen. I wonder if they can spare anyone from the canteen to put the finishing touches to Windows 7?

[Anonymous Coward]

@Enigma

They've been doing Mobile patforms far longer than Apple or Google, so far nothing like you have said like above....

And if they develop for specific hardware, they don't need the 100's of thousands of drivers they currently deliver.

Hardware is extremely expensive to develop, better to stick to software than risk investing billions into hardware no one may want.

[kingwahwah]

User here who...

...went from Blackberry to HTC HD windows Pro 6 months ago.

Yes its dull but on the whole great features (I am amazed what’s still missing on a IPod) as long as you or the service provider add extra apps. Opera browser is essential. Orange build is good. There's been not any windows updates. Boot time is 1 minute.

If there can be criticism for me...

Central management means buying expensive MS software. So would still consider BBs for large businesses.

You have two inboxes one for outlook email one for SMS. Thats really dumb. A message is a message.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha!

"If I have a critique of our phones it is that our experience is very good in the business case," Bach said pointing to things like integration with Outlook and Exchange.

That's not a critique, it's just bumming up his own product. "Oh look, our phone can access our other technologies - aren't you impressed?". Well, as far as I can tell the iPhone can interact with Exchange too. (I don't have one so I can't tell how easy it is but my guess is that it's pretty easy).

As for the whole but about having a device that can access more sites than an iPhone. I think he's missing the point entirely, it's not the number of sites that is important, it's the user experience. My experience of Win mobile wasn't good, so bad in fact that I've now got a Motorola and I may even buy an iPhone to see what the fuss is about.

[Martin Nicholls]

Management

"Central management means buying expensive MS software. So would still consider BBs for large businesses"

But at least you can do it, which is why many companies are (rightly) terrified of going near the iPhone, not that Apple care - they don't want the likes of you [yes, you] scum near their hardware anyways, as proven by recent reports.

On another note, don't know who came up with this stupid Microsoft phone rumour - but they clearly know absolutely nothing about Microsoft's business.

@Big-nosed Pengie / "If this is what they see their core business as, all I can say is "good luck, fellas"" - see above.

[RichyS]

'?' is not a title (apparently)

Can anyone tell me why anyone in their right mind would want full Windows on a device slightly larger than a phone?

XP is bad enough on a netbook screen.

Steve: just because you can put Windows on everything, doesn't mean you should.

[Anonymous Coward]

@ Martin Nicholls

Quote: "On another note, don't know who came up with this stupid Microsoft phone rumour - but they clearly know absolutely nothing about Microsoft's business."

They seem to know a fuck of a lot more about it than MS do given how badly they are executing their strategy these days.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmmmm, Windows Mobile

First off, I'm not a huge Microsoft fan, nor a small one come to that although I do recognise that they have made my job far easier since I only really have to be familiar with one O/S stream and on family of applications in order to support my clients effectively

I should also mention that I've had an HTC TYtN II for 7 months now and it has been generations better than the Sony Eriksson P990i that it replaced. On a daily basis I wanted to throw the 990 through a window to get rid of the pile of steaming ordure that it was - despite having the latest patches etc etc it would regularly (at least once a day) decide to reboot when I tried to answer a call and had the temerity to reboot with the message "Phone is rebooting to improve customer experience".

What utter B*LL**KS - sounds like the current Govt - we are re-shuffling to replace some of the current sh*t with some fresh manure

The HTC crashes infrequently, only runs slowly when I forget to close applications (rather than the mobile equivalent of "minimise") and this is even after a full water immersion over 3 months ago.

Don't like the tie to Orange tho, I can't download the latest upgrades from HTC because my S/No is registered with Orange and HTC won't take it on - which is a bit of a shame. Other than that - phone is fine, may replace with HTC when next upgrade can be freely leveraged out of my carrier.

[Monty Burns]

@Andy Poulton

"I can't download the latest upgrades from HTC because my S/No is registered with Orange and HTC won't take it on "

Yes you can.

Go to forums.xda-developers.com and look at all the fantastic "cooked" roms you can play with. Enjoy!

[Dustin 1]

I must be doing it wrong

I'm on my second Windows Mobile phone in 3 years......never had a crash and battery life has been very good, my current phone can go uncharged for much longer than my girl's iPhone. Windows mobile never should have been used for a phone in the first place, it's a PPC, PDA OS. Before the iPhone, a windows mobile device was about the best (opinion) Pocket PC option as they started adding phone and GPS capabilities. It's also designed for use with a stylus not fingers. A stylus makes a huge difference in usage. I guess MS is trying to focus on thier PPC roots and not finger friendly phone interfaces, as one could infer by looking at WiMo 6.5 and 7. HTC has proved that a HW dev team can build a unique touch interface without MS intervention. Unfortunately, they are they only team that has come up with an interface that is worth a damn.

Speaking of worth a damn, my GF showed me an iphone app, a small onscreen KB that makes fart noises. I tried to play it musically, but the touch performance was nearly useless. I hear from iPhone worshippers about the number and veriety of apps available. How many of them are this useless?

[Richard 102]

@Martin Nichols

"On another note, don't know who came up with this stupid Microsoft phone rumour - but they clearly know absolutely nothing about Microsoft's business.'

Must have been Ballmer then.

Mine's the one with the Dance Monkeyboy embroidery patch

[CrankyArchitect]

At least Ballmer recognizes they're screwing up.

True confessions: I'm a Microsoft fan, and an avowed Apple hater. And I now own an iPhone 3GS. And love it.

I've had 3 CE-based PDAs and 2 WinMo phones... and got thoroughly sick of waiting for MS to acquire a clue and produce a mobile OS that's thumb-friendly from top to bottom, and not reliant on a vendor skin (e.g. putting lipstick on a pig.) I looked at the Pre and Android, but neither syncs with Outlook without relying on Google or Exchange.

There's several things I'd change about the iPhone, but there's no way I'd go back to WinMo right now.

Just maybe when my 2-year contract is up, MS will have produced a mobile OS that's worth a damn.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Dustin

"Before the iPhone, a windows mobile device was about the best (opinion) Pocket PC option as they started adding phone and GPS capabilities." I disagree. The Blackberry was the best business option, and still retains that crown.I can honestly say that you'd have to pay me a lot to even consider Windows Mobile as a platform again. It is a typical half arsed Microsoft platform that is nowhere near as good as the current competition from Apple, Nokia and Google. I'd have another Blackberry without question. Given the choice between Blackberry and iPhone, for me, iPhone wins hands down. Of the smartphones I've owned, the iPhone is simply the most usable. My first Nokia 2110 was more useable than my Windows "smart"phone ever was. Here's the thing, Dustin. People such as yourself like lists of features. You seem to think that having more features is better. You have scant regard for *how* these feature are implemented and by and large they are just really poorly done in Microsoft products, Windows Mobile being a prime example of this. There are some absolute gems on the App store, Things for example is superb, and nearly all of them are priced correctly - unlike the shower of shite that is available on the Windows Mobile app outlets like Handango. Finally, to turn the tables on rabid Microsoft fanbois, the iPhone is fast becoming one of the best mobile platforms for gaming. Discuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

My message for the first two posters

WM7 screens and dev have been seen

A final WM6.5 isn't out yet

[EnigmaxxUK]

@James & AC

James - I can honestly say I detest the Iphone, I find it amusing when people show me their new iphones, yes, you paid a lot of money for a phone that took 3 years to be able to copy & paste, comes with (on average) 18 month to 2 year contracts yet is superceded annually, can only run 'authorised' software unless you hack the phone etc etc (I could continue but this is a windows for phones comment page)

AC, I currently use a TyTn II, which replaced a Hermes 100 (Orange SPV M3100) which replaced a HTC Universal (XDA Exec) etc right the way back. My next phone will most likely be a HTC (Though Orange aren't currently listing a WM based HTC phone other than Touch 3G unless you are a business customer)

The point I was trying to make however was that there is a plethora of virii for the standard x86 windows platform, comparatively few for the WM platform, and the worst possible thing I can imagine from MS is the inception of an OS which SHIPS on 4.3Gb of media, has more security holes in it than Paris Hilton has had spam javelins, expands on the drive at a seemingly exponential rate, boots marginally slower than your average 3 yr old can solve integral calculus in their head, and is less stable than your average serial killer.

Especially when that OS is targetted at a platform which is inherently designed for the purpose of placing calls. If the person who came up with the idea of a full windows version on a mobile phone was an animal, they would probably get caught in a trap, chew 3 legs off and still be stuck.

and finally AC.. yes, it's a good job MS stick to making software, they wouldn't make any money in hardware, they would probably name their hardware something silly like Xbox, or Zune or... oh, wait.

The tiering of the OS was due to the way the Vista platform works, the way Windows 7 will work, and the fact that there are 2 versions of Windows Mobile 6, the Pro version (has office and a few other things) and the Standard version.

What's next? Windows for washing machines? "Fatal Error, The drivers for your socks caused an unexpected fault in nose.exe"