Windows Phone Series 7 -- Is it Competition for the iPhone?
Microsoft today announced their long anticipated -- possibly long delayed or oft re-started -- Windows Phone Series 7 and showed off a brand new user "experience" including deep social network integration and full on Zune services. (Every Windows Phone is a Zune, but they're not Zune phones -- clear?).
So, after my recent Round Robin Windows Phone review concerns, how did they do? My quick take, after the break!
some 3 years post original iPhone 2G, they showed off a new Start screen that's a series of big square or rectangular tiles. This is the least impressive part to me, however, as I'm not sold on the glance-ability or use of space. Even the animated flips and slides, as slick and sexy as they were, didn't really amaze me as much as something else Microsoft showed off -- a deliberate, decided attempt to reduce the amount of taps it takes users to accomplish tasks, and to make workflows (and fun-flows!) as streamlined as possible.
We've had great looking on Windows Phone before, thanks to HTC, Sony, and others. Now Microsoft is pulling a Palm and aiming for great working. That's key, and huge kudos to them for it.
And while I'm not sold on the static screens of the UI (Georgia remarked that big blue screens/squares is something Microsoft has trained us not to enjoy), the typography was phenomenal, with Microsoft raising the bar on their already fantastic ClearType. (Apple and iPad need to pay attention to that).
There was an Xbox Live! tile, so we'll keep our fingers crossed there, but it was unclear how apps would deploy at scale. While 180 icons currently fit on an iPhone screen, many users don't use anywhere near that many -- still, apps are where it's at now and it'll have to handle whatever users do require. Hubs, as shown for pictures and contacts, might be part of that answer.
Microsoft -- again like Palm -- has re-invented themselves for the modern mobile era. They even said the phone isn't a PC, something everyone else got years ago but when turning a ship as big as Microsoft is still worthy of a cheer.
Furthermore, our old friend AT&T showed up to be their premiere partner for launch. Maybe that's why we haven't seen much Android from them, and why we expect iPhone-on-Verizon rumors to bubble up again as if on cue. But at least it shows some traction.
Some problem areas might be the reported lack of Flash as a differentiator (it's coming later), no or limited multitasking (not sure about that yet, could just be a rumor), and no or limited backwards compatibility with previous Windows Phone/Windows Mobile apps (again, nothing solid on that yet).
While many clamor for an iPhone 4.0 UI overhaul as well, Apple keeps stating they've just trained 75 million people to use their UI, so while a Lock Screen/Home Screen reboot could happen, they likely don't want to lose or confuse existing users. And could you imagine if iTunes App Store apps didn't work on iPhone 4.0? (They work on the iPad, after all). That's a problem Microsoft faces on the Windows desktop side, but was obviously willing to risk on the mobile platform -- and who can blame them at this point? (Due especially to fragmented UI in Windows Mobile 6.x -- HTC Sense, Sony Xperia, Microsoft Tatanium, etc. probably helps them out here.)
All that aside, however, Microsoft worked wonders last year with the Zune HD and ultimately the mainstream market didn't care. That has to be the Windows Phone teams greatest concern right now. Is there still any mindshare left for them?
So is Windows Phone Series 7 competition for the iPhone? Hopefully enough for Apple to really give us that A+ 4th generation iPhone Steve Jobs referenced following the iPad announcement, but likely not enough to dent mainstream consumer market share. At least not yet. If Microsoft was really serious about it selling, they'd have quit the typically ridiculous "Windows Phone 7 Series" branding and released it as the Xphone, along with a Call of Duty Special Edition.
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Woot! 1st post!!! =)
Love the UI. Will definitely consider this, especially if there isnt a major change in the iphone ui
The user interface looks nice but seems complicating
Second? Well this looks interesting enough. My biggest hope of course is that this forces Apple to step up their game, both in terms of UI, OS and of course specs on the iphone (PLZ give me a higher res screen!). All in all, this is an exciting new addition to the mobile OS's, and I definitely look forward to seeing where this goes.
It doesn't actually do anything better so what's the point?
:roll: Ughhh...
Yay apple will finally be forced to make the changes people are clammering for!!!
I think the UI is fugly...lol. And if you watch the video, the guy giving the demo has to make swipes multiple times to get them to be recognized :D I just hope this means the 4th gen iPhone with OS 4.0 will be ballin'.
Nice. Puts them well clear of Android, but unless they deliver on xbox gaming - it'll stay behind iPhone.
MY DREAM COME TRUE!!! this is the game breaker right here folks!
I will never use another phone ever again!!
XBOX phone for life!!!!!
I think the UI looks crazy and disjointed. I guess I am one of the few that does not want such tight integration with Facebook and other social networking sites. I still like the clean and organized structure of the iPhone Os. It just makes sense. This Series 7 stuff does not look intuitively obvious. I hand this phone to someone to make a call and they will be lost!
I don't need there to be a huge refresh for iPhone Os 4.0, just a better notification system and some minimal multitasking capability. Don't make me relearn everything or make all my previous App purchases obsolete.
But again that is all personal preference I guess.
"likely not enough to dent mainstream consumer market share"? They are in 3rd place, VERY close behind Apple in the US, and quite popular abroad, as well. Microsoft has a good product, a ridiculous number of carriers, a few BIG names (xbox more so than zune, certainly) and most importantly, more money for advertising than any other competitor. (Microsoft is sitting on more money than Apple.) I think this is probably going to make a splash.
@Nabil: not among consumers. They're huge in enterprise but Apple has just created a gianormous consumer market and that's clearly where MSFT is targeting some this. :)
Hey Rene,
That is a fair point, but ultimately, I am not sure it matters which segment buys the phones, as long as they are bought. I definitely have bought apps for the crackberry that my last job provided me, and I think we all know that if you put money into an ecosystem, you are reluctant to get out of it. That is really the big reason for me to buy an iPad. I like my iphone well enough, but I am ready to move on. My concern is that I have spent hundreds of dollars in the app store. Had work given me an iphone, or palm pre, and I spent that much money in the store, I would definitely have to think hard about not buying one for a personal phone, just to maximize my ROI. So if work hands me a WP7 device, and I sink money into that ecosystem, my natural reaction is to seriously evaluate it as a personal device. And as a network engineer, the phones I think are rad are MUCH more likely to end up issued to my coworkers.
I guess what that wall of text is getting at is that people know, and like, Xbox, and some even like Zune, as brands. I think that the 4.0 update for my iPhone needs to be earth shattering, or Apple will have a very tough fight on its hands.
I agree that the UI looks a mess. Microsoft is trying too hard and they're losing sight of the fundamentals - clarity, ease of use and consistency.
The iPhone 4.0 needs to be earth-shattering??? Why? Nothing I've seen from anyone else has raised the bar significantly over the iPhone 3GS. Apple will push things forward again this summer, and the rest will still be struggling to put together a truly compelling alternative.
This time next year, we'll still be hearing about xxxx phone being a potential iPhone killer. lol
I seriously doubt the iPhone OS 4 would break functionality with many existing apps, even as a hypothetical. As long as the frameworks and APIs are there, the app has something to run atop of.
Palm, and likewise Microsoft have long since needed a reboot. Good on them! As I wrote last year Apple was going to get competition on all flanks, they really need to step up.
That hubs thing they talked about was rather interesting. I'll be interested to see what the community does with that.
The UI is a nice change but as we all know using it is the important part. For that we will have to wait naturally.
Still. Good start and about time.
@keepitreal: Yes. I believe it needs to be earth shattering. I never mentioned anything about an iPhone killer. If you would like me to, I can. Here goes: platform stagnation is an iPhone killer. The current iPhone design language is starting to show its age. It's not in the same boat as WM was, or PalmOS, but it is starting to get there. Although the iPhone was the first on the scene with a really touch friendly UI, I think that other devices, WebOS primarily, are much better. Not the hardware, or the number of apps, or any of that. The purity of interacting with the device itself. I think that if Apple doesn't do something with 4.0, we might not care as much about 5.0...
I love the integration with social networking
I still don't think anything "earth shattering" is needed. Yes, stagnation is bad for any platform, but let's take a reality check. The original iPhone was a huge "taser up the jacksey" to the smartphone industry, despite lacking some basic features; then came the iPhone 3G at a price point which effectively set a ceiling for every other smartphone manufacturer; then the App Store, which, again, set the industry alight; then the iPhone 3GS which set a performance and quality bar against which other manufactuers have struggled to compete. Yes, WebOS is neat - but Palm's total offering falls way short of the of the standard set by Apple and the iPhone. Will iPhone 4.0 leave the others scrambling in the dust again? Possibly, and it won't need "earth-shattering" changes to do so.
I have no idea what Earth Shattering entails, but its pretty clear to me that the iPhone springboard needs a rework.
It was never intended for the number of apps that find their way to most people's phones. The entire concept breaks down after about 4 screens full of icons, and the search function was a very lame substitution for functional menus.
The rest of the UI still seems quite workable.
I'll say this...I'm not going to give up my iPhone easily, but WinMo7 has the chance to do that. If they can promise the practical Zune experience I've had since its release, it would definitely catch my attention.
I hate hate hate! user experience with iTunes. It took me 20 minutes today just to add one ringtone onto my iPhone cause iTunes thought it was a must that it backup, sync EVERYTHING else, and then grab my ringtone. I almost screamed.
So please Microsoft, hit it big, and I will give up my iPhone. Although, Apple may just impress me with their newest creation this summer.
@ keepitreal I have to agree, you hit the nail on the head with what you said about the iPhone and the Palm Pre. About Windows Phone 7, I have to give kudos to Microsoft for being bold enough to redefine their OS and speak with their own voice in terms of UI design and language. However I have to say that I'm not a fan, for me its all too complicated. They didn't just over cook the egg, they burnt it. What makes the iPhone so successful if its ease of use and its simplicity, most people actually communicate visually, almost pictographically in fact. All that text, while beautifully handled typographically, is all too complicated and makes it harder for people to communicate with and through their device.
@JohnnyPancakes
Just like my laptop, I back up my phone at the very least every few days. It's a good practice, and it'll keep those sync times down. I, for one, like the fact that I can load iTunes, plug my iPhone in, and all my data gets backed up and synced. It makes sense to me. That said, try clearing out your camera roll...that usually causes the backups to take forever.
Look good. I'd be willing to give it a shot. And yes, this will force Apple to update the iphone UI. It was great 2 years ago, but its time for some updates.
Apple isn't going to change anything that already works better just because some users are bored.
I agree with icebike that the springboard concept breaks down after about four screens of icons. But, that's why I never have more than three or four screens. For me, having 16-24 apps immediately visible to launch is far better than any "list" menu I could ever imagine scrolling through.
I see nothing else about the iPhone UI that would bother me even if still unchanged for the next couple of years (but of course, I'm Jailbroken, too :) ).
Of course, Windows users will want to seriously consider switching to this mobile platform. But any former Windows users who have recently switched to Mac are in for a rude awakening if they think this will play nice with their Macs, MobileMe, iTunes, etc., etc... because it most certainly won't, I can promise you.
Ooops, should've read "16-20"
I think it looks interesting. A total restart was what they needed to do, I wanna see this in action now.
Hey Rene, we had NPR on in the lab at work and they were talking about this; then was I pretty surprised when I heard you! Cool stuff.
I chuckled at how, during engadgets video hands on, he asked the guy if there's any multitasking. He completely sidestepped the question and they went on as though he never asked in the first place.
iPhone on Verizon rumors bubble up, again? Ahah. Obviously! Give us another month or so for the Verizon geeks to give us another "tip" & "factsheet" on the iPhone coming to Verizon.
As for this WMO7 series phone, I really think this IS competition. Although I haven't even played with it yet, it looks far more cleaner than an Android device.
One,- it's not an app look-alike, styleish look-alike, wannbe iPhone.
&Two,- Androind just plain ol' sucks and looks like it's trying too hard.
Therefore, I'm actually excited for this new phone. So excited that I already forgot there was a Nexus One on the loose right now. I mean, c'mon!! Have you ever played with a Zune HD? It's exactly the same thing except it's all that, and is now integrated into a mobile device. making the UI possibly even better, and sleeker than the current one. (Multi-touch is second to best than the iPhone, and the resolution is AMAZING!) Also, Microsoft is making a good approach with this phone. Just like Apple did to the iPhone. Bringing their whole multimedia into a mobile device.. :) I can't wait!
WMO7 is more attractive than Iphone UI. Microsoft 1 Iphone 0
That's a really big change from WM 6.5. I agree that the UI looks a little busy, but as Rene mentioned, the typography is really stellar.
Apple has gotten people to want an iPhone en masse, which is more than most cell phone manufacturers can say. There's a little bit of that with the Droid, a little less of that with the Palm Pre. More than anything, what I think is not so much that Apple needs to respond to WM7 but that Nokia needs to produce something to catch up to both Apple and MS. Apple, IMO, is doing just fine -- what they need to do is bump up the hardware specs on the iPhone, and from what we've seen from the iPad and the A4, I think Apple won't disappoint with the next iPhone in that regard. What I really hope Apple will do is figure out some way of improving the performance of iTunes for Windows.
No.
In 8-10 months, when it comes out, it will be competition for the iPhone.
By that time, one would hope Apple will have one hardware release, and at least one major and at least one minor software release. Then, one can make a fair comparison.
But yes, Apple needs to keep stepping its game up in the face of this and the speed at which Android has been improving.
this is definitely something im sure will keep Apple Engineers up for the next few months burning the midnight oil.
I think the UI on WM7 (and thus Zune HD) is the best shown thus far. MS has taken information and made it simple. I almost thought people were trolling when they said this looks complicated lol.
This is one to look out for, i am considering selling my Bold now and get a HTC HD2 lol.
Take a look at this video they showed during the Windows Phone 7 presentation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MoVc6NLMDU
I wonder which smartphone that were poking fun at! :)
User boredom is very important. Apple doesn't want to start losing market share because a prettier device came out on the market. Let's face it: as awesome as the iPhone is, a large part of its appeal to first time smart phone users was a fashion appeal. It not only acted awesome, it looked awesome. If we're still looking at the same old UI next year, I guarantee you the less than die-hard users will drop off for something with a little more pizazz. I'm hoping for a UI/hardware refresh before I buy the new model this summer, if not I may reconsider.
@ddx: I think the UI is busy, not complicated. It relies a little more on text than icons. One design choice I question to some extent is when, for instance, the user selects an option like "people," and is brought to a partial list of contacts that extends off of the right side of the screen. Looking at a portrait screen and scrolling through a group of 80 icons horizontally arranged, 4 icons high and 20 wide, seems a little bit of a strange choice to make, IMO. However, I expect there will be extensive UI customization options, possibly from 3rd party developers.
For those who question multi-tasking of course it has multi-tasking, look at it. Windows (and palm) have finally brought competition to the iPhone, Yes this at the current moment Windows phone 7 and Palm 1.4 are better than the most recent iPhone OS. You see I don't care to be pretty boy fashionista, and truthfully as much as I am hoping that we will have pocket computers and not just phones with all the features of a computer. At the end of the day I want to live a life with the world around me and not a phone that a txt message puts me to sleep at night. For those who ask is it better or can we win this battle with Microsoft I dare you to compete in a different arena, to truly challenge yourself.
god, i hate this ui. i just watched a video of it and it looks terrible. ive never really played with at zune so i suspect its the same thing,
but this looks jumbled and confusing. i'll stay with the iphone.
Microsoft is following Apple's lead, but they are starting at iPhone OS 2.0 ability :P...
Here's how this happened. Apple went in a strange direction, closing everything up, sandboxing, push notification-sending, not allowing multitasking, and now Microsoft is following them in that exact same direction. Little does Microsoft know, in a few months Apple will make some huge changes, and Microsoft will be left in the dust. They are extremely short-sighted.
OH and, their home screen is so ugly I feel like vomiting. Such a poor use of negative space, such horrible overuse of one colour at a time.. puke
Most significant is how they are doing mutlitasking. Instead of allowing everyone to do multitasking, Microsoft will look at each app on a case by case situation. IF Micro$oft is transparent about this and allows a timely review process this could be a significant improvement in the market. The two extremes are the Pre and Androids which allow almost any app to be multitasked (and have crash issues related to that) and iPhone (which allows no multitasking apart from the built-in apple apps). This is a great compromise and IF it works could certainly be extrapolated onto the other mobile platforms. Of course if the Windows Mobile 7 (or iPhone 4.0 OS) allows music streaming in the background and more user configuration options (based upon whether a device is plugged into a certain hardware) that would eliminate much of the needs for multitasking on phone sized devices. When used with larger screen sizes (such as 7-10') multitasking may be much more useful.
@Wil
"Yay apple will finally be forced to make the changes people are clammering for!!!"
Ummm, last I checked, Apple HAS been doing that with most of the iPhone software updates.
"WE WANT APPS!" Apple gave us WebApps (which everyone seemed to praise Palm's WebOS for, yet bashed Apple saying it "wasn't good enough").
"WE WANT NATIVE APPS" Apple gave us native web apps
"WE WANT COPY AND PASTE" Apple gave us copy and paste (and cut, and select, and select all, and soon "replace").
Windows Phone 7 Series WILL be competition for the iPhone. Will it be "good" or "successful" competition? That remains to be seen. We won't be seeing any WP7S devices for about 9 or 10 months by some reports, and by then we will have the 4th gen iPhone, the iPad, iPhone OS 4.0 as well as revs to the Android and GoogleOS platforms. 2010 will be quite the interesting year.
"Microsoft is following Apple’s lead, but they are starting at iPhone OS 2.0 ability :P …
Here’s how this happened. Apple went in a strange direction, closing everything up, sandboxing, push notification-sending, not allowing multitasking, and now Microsoft is following them in that exact same direction. Little does Microsoft know, in a few months Apple will make some huge changes, and Microsoft will be left in the dust. They are extremely short-sighted.
OH and, their home screen is so ugly I feel like vomiting. Such a poor use of negative space, such horrible overuse of one colour at a time.. puke"
Tell me your joking Adam. Obviously if you dont know both companies and how they work then I dont think you should speak. Microsoft is trying to take a different direction yet at the same time improve on what the iPhone did? Instead of using one app at a time they are allowing you to use multiple apps and update once and share it across all your social networks. It has Xbox Live and Zune Marketplace support.
In a couple of months Apple will unveil the iPhone 4G and change absolutely nothing except maybe add some stuff and improve speeds and increase storage. Im not saying Apple does not innovate, but think about it how is the call quality on the iPhone? How is the sound quality on the iPod compared to the Zune? Both Apple and Microsoft are short minded, Apple might innovate at certain points in their time, but once they do that with their product they leave it as it is and add new stuff.
Another thing is how is the WP7S home screen ugly? If you dont like it, then change it. Its gonna be customizable so hey, why dont you change it? About the colors I think you can change it as well, not only that but they are gonna give you LCD and OLED phones. So for OLED the screens colors are gonna be much more crisp.
So now... you Adam the Apple Fanboy (also weird considering the Adam and Eve story) have been owned.
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic article post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.