How Windows Phone 7 Trumps Android and iOS

techtree ^ | Oct 15, 2010 1815 hrs IST | Rohan Naravane,

[SmokingJoe]

Last week, we told you the things that work against Microsoft's new mobile operating system; Windows Phone 7. Today, we list the top 5 things that actually work in its favor. Actually there are six; but since the first one is obvious, we'd rather not discuss it at length.

With Apple you just have two iPhones to choose from. Windows Phone 7 trumps it there with at least four major manufacturers for now - HTC, Samsung, LG and Dell. Different people have different needs; some want a hardware QWERTY, some don't. So, it gives people a wider choice than what is in Apple's store. The following five points are more in correlation to Android than the iOS:

Strict hardware requirements

Forcing manufacturers to use high-end hardware in their phones for WP7 gives competitive OSes like Google Android brownie points for its ability to run on inexpensive hardware. But on the positive side, this ensures a few things. For one, telling manufacturers to put a 1 GHz processor and graphics acceleration gives Microsoft a minimum benchmark to ensure that the User Interface runs buttery smooth.

In Android, manufacturers have a free hand to make phones with 528 MHz processors that tend to slow the UI down, thus spoiling the experience a little. Initially, WP7 devices will have 800 x 480 pixel capacitive displays, but from what we've heard, lower HVGA displays (320 x 480 pixel) will be supported at a later stage. It's reassuring to know that low-end QVGA displays won't be used like the ones on the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini Pro that affect readability due to the blurry text.

[for-q-clinton]

I do agree Microsoft screws up when they think customers want a closed system (like iPOD). They screwed up with Zune by copying Apple’s closed system. The one thing people hate about apple is that it is closed. They should attack their weaknesses and copy their strengths.

However, in WP7 I do think they have a possible win on their hands. The phone is becoming the new computing platform. Viruses will be taking off and android will be vulnerable to these more so with it’s open platform. iPhone and WP7 will be more secure as there are standards in place. It doesn’t mean they will be fool proof and impossible to get a virus but it does lower the risk (if implemented properly).

Personally I’d like to see them have an option to stay on the closed network or go “free” and assume the risk all by yourself without needing to jailbreak the phone. That would be a winning solution. Just give the user all sorts of warnings and such but allow them to jump off the reservation. And then they can come back by wiping and loading the base OS. That would be sweet.

[for-q-clinton]

general prognosis has been that WP7 is a better product than Android is.

Android really isn't a product. It will suffer the same fate as windows mobile (not windows phone). It's too fragmented and allowing the OEMs to control the user experience is a bad idea for the brand. Some users will say they had an andoid and it sucked because they bought a cheap crappy phone. While others will swear it's a great phone. My Tilt2 is the best phone I ever owned (AFTER I flashed it with a custom WM6.5 ROM). Not many people will do that though so most have the crappy experience. Same will go for Android.

[for-q-clinton]

I’m not sold on the Tiles. I really need to see it to understand how it’s better. I don’t like having the SMS, Email, and Phone indicator each having its own tile. Too much wasted real estate.

The People one is cool though as it appears to pop in the contacts that are online. Also XBOX live integration is cool.

Tiles appear to be just really big icons to me.

[for-q-clinton]

Microsoft has dropped the name windows mobile (that refers to the old line of phones). The new phone is referred to as Windows Phone 7.

[B Knotts]

IMHO, Microsoft forcing all those “mandates” on phone manufacturers is counterproductive. Besides the fact that if feels like the Federal Government, it is not necessary and will drive certain consumers away. If consumers demand certain features and specs, the manufacturers will provide them.

But this is the typical Microsoft approach; just thrown more hardware at it! Efficient design is completely foreign to them.

This approach worked in the desktop PC world, but will not work so well in the mobile world.

[Above My Pay Grade]

Well, the reviews I've seen so far seem to be schizophrenic. They mention few if any advantages of WM7 over Android or IOS and few serious shortcomings, yet say it seems good. They go something like this:

“WM7 does not support cut and paste and they won't answer our questions about multitasking. It apparently does not support Pandora Radio. I will not be available on Verizon or Sprint until at least a couple of months into 2011 (after the iPhone is on Verizon). The hardware it is being launched on are almost up to par with the latest Android and iPhone devices, but not quite.

The things it does better than IOS and Android are (crickets chirping). It uses innovative “tiles” and this is superior to IOS and Android because (more crickets chirping).

In conclusion, it looks like WM7 will be a major player in the smart phone market.”

[for-q-clinton]

Huh? That isn’t why they set standards. It’s not because the OS is inefficient it’s because they wanted users to have a common experience that they could ensure was good and so devs could create apps to that standard.

an iPhone dev knows exactly what the end user will have in their hand when he writes a program. That’s a very very good thing. An Android dev doesn’t have a clue what is out there or what cheap phone may ship next...so what standard does this dev write to? Does he make it work on the latest and greatest or does it find the cheapest of the cheap and try to make it work on that phone? Does he create 10 versions of his app to work on different builds?

The standards were set for devs and consumers not because of an inefficient OS.

[for-q-clinton]

You’re assuming the consumer goes in and says I won’t an android OS phone. Some will many will look at what’s there. Now there will be this consumer for the iPHone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaxU0ut5tUw They have that market down pat.

But most consumers will shop by looking at each phone and price. When they hear mixed messages about Android (due to market fragmentation) they may steer clear of it. So they will look at iPhone and WP7. They are both in the same league...so which one will they choose? We will see.

[DesertSapper]

The smart-phone market is growing and morphing daily. MS is definitely not too late to the game and it's very premature to announce winners and losers. WP7 shows MS still has 'new tricks' to show us. We'll see how the 'newcomer' fits into the market after giving buyers about a year with WP7.

I don’t see Blackberry users, iPhone users or Android users changing.

My wife has a year-old blackberry and wants to drop it for a WP7 phone. My son's iPhone took a dirt-nap and couldn't be revived - he's using an old 'dumb'phone and waiting until next year to choose his next phone because he wants to test out WP7. Two of my coworkers purchased Android phones in the last 3 months and both have said they'd probably have bought WP7 phones if they were available then.

Of course I also know many people who are completely satisfied with their iPhone, Blackberry, or Android phone. I agree that another major OS in the market will probably just help out the consumer. Give me some good old competition!

[moehoward]

"...4 years late...."

Maybe more.

[dayglored]

> Personally I’d like to see them have an option to stay on the closed network or go “free” and assume the risk all by yourself without needing to jailbreak the phone.

I see what you're saying, and grant that it would be neat for the users. But I doubt any company would allow it, since it immediately becomes a support nightmare, with users lying about what they had or hadn't done. Having done support, I would run screaming from such a scenario.

> iPhone and WP7 will be more secure as there are standards in place. It doesn’t mean they will be fool proof...

When Man invents something "foolproof", Nature (or the market) invents a better Fool. :)

[for-q-clinton]

Also the area it does better in is in cloud integration. You can store your pictures in the cloud and they are always available on your phone. From PC to PHone from Phone to PC. It’s seamless integration with the cloud is a huge advantage.

This is an area google can compete, but Apple isn’t able (yet).

[B Knotts]

Yes, but they’ve set the target pretty high, presumably because the environment is not as small/efficient. Now, that said, there is a place for this kind of environment, but they’ve kind of painted themselves into a corner by changing their name from “Mobile” to “Phone”, at precisely the wrong time. They should be moving from phones to an array of mobile devices, as there will increasingly be devices between the PC and the phone, like iPads, other tablets, handheld mobile computers (N900), etc. (See: MeeGo/Maemo/Harmattan)

It just sounds to me like their platform is going to be a little fat to really prosper primarily on phones.

All of this is, of course, MHO.

[Above My Pay Grade]

I tend to agree. It sounds like, at best, it might be on par or slightly behind Android and IOS, in a few months when (if?) they get the C&P and multi-tasking worked out.

As I see it, in order to compete with the already very popular Android and IOS OSs WM7 would need to be significantly superior. Even if it is 10% better than Android/IOS I think it will be a huge flop. It needs to be at least 30 or 40% better to push the established OSs out of the way and grab some market share. Why take a chance with and learn a new OS when it is not noticably superior?

I have nothing against MS and was hoping WM7 would be a good comepetitor for Android, as competition would force everyone to get better. However, I have serious doubts that it will succeed.

[JAKraig]

Microsoft has dropped the name windows mobile (that refers to the old line of phones).

__________________________________________________________

I know that Windows Mobile gets a bad rap but I truly don’t understand why. I have had several Win CE & Win Mobile phones, the last one being the HD2 and I have loved them all.

My friends have Android and Iphones and are jealous of my Windows platform. Having a true excel and Word app is kind of nifty. There are several free file explorers apps so having drag and drop on the phone is not a problem.

I don’t know if I will like Windows phone 7 and the tile format, I don’t even know if I will try it but I do like my Windows phones.

[for-q-clinton]

I can see a company doing that. All they need to do is say...run this wipe and load to bring your phone back to factory condition and call me if the problem still exists.

Heck google can take this idea and sping it the other way. You love your freedom, but we know there are bad things out there...opt in to the google cloud and we will control all that for you. Sure you will be limited on what you can do, but you will get safety in the process.

Same thing governments do to steal our freedoms. They promise security if we sacrifice a little freedom.

[Above My Pay Grade]

>>>Microsoft has dropped the name windows mobile (that refers to the old line of phones). The new phone is referred to as Windows Phone 7.<<<

Thanks, I didn’t know that. Does this mean it will work on my landline as well? :)

[for-q-clinton]

I don’t think the OS is “fat”, but you do have a good point about the name change. I guess they can give each device it’s own name.

Windows Tablet. Windows Picture Frame. Windows xxx.

[montyspython]

Google has finally come to the realization that they need to control the UX more tightly. The superior UX of the iPhone is precisely why Apple has been so successful.

The claim that some how Tiles are a superior taxonomical convention is nothing more than hyperbole. I’d like to see the usability test results.

[for-q-clinton]

Here’s a fair review.
http://www.gsmarena.com/windows_phone_7-review-521.php

It will tell you where it does better than Android and iOS. BTW: It does have multi-tasking just not 3rd party multi-tasking. But 3rd party apps can receive notices sent from the OS. So let’s wait to see how bad it is before we declare it critical to the OS. I’m personally fine with no multi-tasking as it helps my battery life. Many devs write crappy code and drain my battery in the past...so this makes sense. What I’m not fine with is no tethering! I need to tether as I do today on my Tilt2.