Thread: Mini-Microsoft on the State of Windows Mobile

Quote: Originally Posted by Jonthepom Microsoft has already lost me - I got and Android this year and I'm going to keep it because it upgraded itself this morning. But I am sorry to say good by to PPC Thoughts. You never know what sites we'll be launching in the future, so maybe we'll have one in line with what you're now using.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jason Dunn Now that's something I don't mind doing. I knew there was a way to do that, but hadn't bothered to look into it. Thanks! Hope it works. Sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away and highjack the thread...back on topic! This is one big reason I love WM. You won't see anyone heavily customizing the iphone. It's stable, but locked down. There are so many ways to edit the OS and...

"So personally, while I would love to get every new release of WM free from MS, I have learned not to expect it, have come to terms with it, understand what I am buying, and am pretty happy with the capabilities of the platform I have in my hand. To me, it is going to be a matter of what do I buy when my current contract runs out, or the itch gets too bad. There is a good chance MS has something for me that is compelling with WM7. Guess...

Quote: Originally Posted by Jason Dunn Well, with Apple they have a ridiculously easy job because they have one form factor, one screen resolution, etc. With Google, we're actually starting to see them have the Microsoft problem - there are some updates for Android that aren't coming out for all phones...I think the new HTC Sense for instance isn't coming for all previous Android phones, only some of the newer ones. So HTC is...

Quote: Originally Posted by Gerard I put it to you that the many volunteers who cook custom ROM images for users prove that it is not really beyond Microsoft's powers to release OS upgrades for end users directly. Sure, there are a lot of devices, different screen resolutions and button layouts. But if solitary, part-time hobbyists are able to re-invent existing ROM versions to suit alternate devices, it seems a bit of a stretch to...

'Back in the day' (7 to 8 years ago) Microsoft was reported to be earning about $28 per license of the Pocket PC OS from the manufacturers. Nowadays it varies between about $10 and $15 as I understand it. Also back then, Compaq (then HP a bit later) offered OS upgrades for existing devices for about $30, and many were sold on CD. I don't see why MS couldn't use a similar pricing to pay for the relatively trivial...

Quote: Given what we've heard from Steve Ballmer over the past 12 months about Windows Mobile, I think that the leadership finally does care about the mobile space. I just can't agree with this. Ballmer has said things 5 years ago, 4 years ago, and so on about how WM was so great and how they care and how they are the leader and yet nothing has shown them doing anything about it. I really dislike Ballmer. Gates was good.

I think the corporate justification for WM/PPC was always to use it as an extension for selling Microsoft Office, with the main selling point being the synchronization with Office. Now they're caught in a battle for market share, in an environment where the market is to sell Microsoft's corporate image as being in touch with the technical marketplace, while there's really no money to be made in the market itself. And MS is...

I think Windows Mobile is in a world of hurt right now. In my opinion, they have repeated the mistakes of Palm in that they got stagnant. Microsoft really hasn't done much to catch the eye of the average consumer like Apple and Android OS have done. In addition, most people aren't going to shell out big bucks to buy a new phone just to get a new version of WM. They see the upgrades by Apple, Palm, & Google and wonder why...

Mini is correct. The reality of Windows Mobile is that the device lives only about a year; then vendor stops supporting it. Even major bugs left unfixed. Rarely we can expect to get official OS version update. The latter I'm afraid is caused by Microsoft itself. Microsoft should have offered uprade for existing devices for free to vendors. Another thing is the same as for OEM vendors of desktop Windows: crapware. But it's much worse...