Samsung ships 5 million Galaxy S smartphones

Earlier thread:

Verizon's Galaxy S to Blast Off on Thursday ( Webinfo out now on Samsung Fascinate @ Verizone )

posted on September 7, 2010 .

I like my captivate. Does a lot of neat things and after having my old ‘smartphone’ for 2 1/2 yrs, the phones are a lot smarter now.

And still we have :

Nearly Ninth Inning For Microsoft Smartphone Effort

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Sep 10, 2010 at 11:10am ET by Greg Sterling

Pardon the baseball metaphor but it seemed appropriate: the impending debut of Windows Phones (Windows Mobile 7) is a very high stakes moment for Microsoft, especially in the wake of Kin’s recent failure. Redmond is now poised to spend a great deal of money to promote the new mobile OS in a highly competitive environment with little guarantee of success.

If consumers and enterprises “take” to it Microsoft will be back in the mobile game. If not Microsoft may be shut out of a critical market (smartphones) for at least the foreseeable future. That would then probably require some hard-to-imagine radical moves — because within the next decade (or sooner) more Internet access will happen on mobile devices than on PCs.

The fate of Windows Phones and Bing’s future are not necessarily inextricably linked. Bing has diversified beyond Windows Mobile and can succeed potentially even if Windows Phones fail. But it needs to succeed on its own merits rather than count on default search deals like the one with Verizon (which has seen some user backlash).

So far it the forthcoming Windows Phone OS, which will debut on multiple handsets, has received one generally positive, if mixed early review. My hunch is that this will be the tone of other reviews to come.

I would like to see Microsoft succeed and offer a competitive OS and user experience. A more competitive market is good for consumers and accelerates product development across the board. Witness the iPhone’s (and later Android’s) impact on the smartphone market. A formerly sleepy segment became, in the course of two years, the hottest part of the handset market and essentially gave birth to the mobile internet.

A recent smartphone forecast from Gartner, however, assumes that Microsoft will not make any gains in the smartphone segment and will see further diminishing share:

Beautiful display but search is set for using Bing. May not be easy to circumvent. Any users out there with actual experience, or am I crazy? Decided on a Droid instead.

Good,....but there is more choice coming ...and listening to a segment on CNBC,....there may be price cuts on the Horizon as well....

All of the late to market folks are going to have to do something.....

So was that the single biggest factor in your choice?

From july....

Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Preview

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by Boy Genius on July 19th, 2010 at 12:01am

Once at the top of the smartphone pack, Microsoft’s current mobile operating system, Windows Mobile, has quickly fallen from grace. Luckily the juggernaut in Redmond, WA decided finally to do something about that. You call it whatever you’d like — a restart, a do over — but Microsoft has entirely changed course with Windows Phone 7, and they have broke most everything in the process. That means old Windows Mobile applications won’t work, the entire OS has been redone, and practically nothing from the user’s perspective has been carried over. A good thing when you’re now playing in a world of Androids and iPhones. We have been testing out a non-final, never ever going to be released to market Samsung prototype Windows Phone 7 device for a week, and we’re excited to let you know what we think of the operating system.

I’ve got a Captivate as well, and I like it a lot. The GPS stinks (still waiting for the rumored firmware patch for this) and the battery life isn’t great (though that is to be expected with a device that does so much), and I could do without akl the AT&T bloatware that can’t be removed, but other than that I love it.

The display is excellent, the email, messaging, internet browsing, music player, and camera are all quite good, and there a lots of great free games and other apps in the Android Market. Oh yeah, and you can make phone calls with it too, I think. :-)

From what I heard on CNBC....there is an announcement Monday from Microsoft...

Trying to verify that....but haven't been able too just yet.

Just found this note at BoyGenius:

Samsung releases OTA update to address Vibrant GPS issues

Although I consider myself a bit of a technut or computer geek I can not for the life of me justify the expense of a smart phone.

I barely use my simple flip phone as it is. It irritates my wife to no end that I frequently leave the house and forget to turn it on.

To me the cell phone is more of an annoyance than boon to my life.

Thanks! Hopefully they will roll one out for the Captivate as well.

Well,...clearly you and I need some education.

My wife has the Vibrant. The screen is a thing of beauty.

From Zdnet:

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 challenge: Innovating quickly

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Larry Dignan | October 7, 2010, 2:39pm PDT

Comments from Verizon president Lowell McAdam indicate that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 isn’t top of mind, but the software giant’s chore is clear: The software giant has to innovate beyond the initial launch.

CNET News’ Maggie Reardon quotes McAdam on Windows Phone 7:

Innovation in wireless devices and applications is moving so quickly. Our device suppliers have to demonstrate to us that they will be developing leading edge products. And if they are not leading edge, then we can’t afford to carry them in our stores. But if they are innovative, we’ll offer them.

Those comments raised a ruckus, but is McAdam’s take all that surprising?

Verizon is partnered with Android because there’s always something new. McAdam might as well said “it’s the innovation cycle stupid!” Verizon wants a stream of new devices and features to tout. Apple has a similar mojo and may be coming to Verizon. McAdam also referenced Research in Motion.

My wife has the Vibrant.
My wife has one of those too, she keeps it in the night stand.... Oh.... wait a minute :p

Pursuing what is going on with Microsoft...we have....Posted by Nick Eaton at October 7, 2010 12:35 p.m. :

Verizon prez: 'Microsoft is not at the forefront of our mind'

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Some juicy remarks today from Lowell McAdam, president and COO of Verizon Communications and CEO of Verizon Wireless, about Microsoft and its standing -- or lack thereof -- in the mobile business.

Some background: Three weeks ago we learned that Microsoft's upcoming mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7, is not ready for CDMA-protocol wireless networks (Verizon and Sprint in the U.S.) and will launch this fall only on AT&T and, maybe, T-Mobile. Verizon, meanwhile, is working on launching its 4G network with a protocol known as LTE -- support for which Microsoft hasn't even mentioned.

Found it....

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Windows Phone 7 launch event coming Oct. 11

One week from today, Microsoft and AT&T will host a Windows Phone 7 launch event in New York City, where the companies are expected to announce the release dates for the new mobile operating system.

Reports have pegged a Europe release on Oct. 21 and a U.S. shipping date on Nov. 8.

Windows Phone 7 is largely seen as Microsoft's last chance in mobile as the Apple iPhone platform and Google Android operating system run away with the U.S. mindshare. Just Sunday, Goldman Sachs said Windows Phone 7 must be "immediately successful" to get Microsoft back in the mobile game.

But within the past few weeks, we've learned that Windows Phone 7 is not yet ready for wireless carriers that use the CDMA protocol: Verizon and Sprint. And last week word got out that the new operating system will launch only on AT&T, with the other carriers in the pipeline for 2011.

As such, Windows Phone 7 will initially compete head-to-head against the wildly popular iPhone. That means Microsoft will miss out on the opportunity to capitalize on AT&T customers' desires to leave what is largely viewed as the wireless network with the worst service -- a consumer attitude that has helped Android (and Verizon) considerably.

On Oct. 11 Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Ralph de la Vega, AT&T's president and CEO of mobility and consumer products, will make their announcement at 6:30 a.m. PDT. I'll have the information and updates here on The Microsoft Blog.

Microsoft also will begin accepting Windows Phone Marketplace app submissions on Oct. 11, giving "November" as the ending period for early submission.

Updated 11:31 a.m.: Meanwhile, Engadget found an agenda for the Oct. 11 event that includes showing off Windows Phone 7 devices from T-Mobile (the other U.S. GSM-protocol carrier, along with AT&T). Some have wondered whether this means the OS will indeed launch on T-Mobile for the holiday season.