Microsoft touted heavily that Windows Phone 6 Series had one key advantage over iPhone: native code without any gatekeepers. Groundbreaking apps like GPS, SlingPlayer, Rhapsody, and so on, and so on, could exist on Windows Mobile… while they took years for Apple to turn around and support.
Innovation was a key ally to Windows Mobile, and now, that ability to innovate without gatekeepers is gone. Read more to see why you can now dismiss Windows Phone 7 Series as a viable platform.
Indeed, the allies of native code sans any restrictions are not thriving today. Apple has yet to be contested on unconscionable terms in their developer agreements. And, this past week, AT&T seemingly got off scott-free by launching the first Android phone that doesn’t permit unsigned code to run. That’s potentially deceptive marketing, as Android is a platform touted as being open to unsigned code.
Was this change expected? Sorta. Microsoft’s Zune HD has a similarly closed app store, in fact, prior to the posting of the WP7S SDK, outside developers had to be invited to make software for Zune HD. Microsoft says that Zune HD will live on and be upgraded (presumably with “Zune HD 2”) to be in-parity with WP7S as a platform, similar to how iPod touch runs iPhone OS. And, Microsoft’s Xbox division has always acted as a gatekeeper for the platform. With Sony blocking nearly any useful form of Linux software on the PlayStation 3, Microsoft had no competition needed to make any movements to openness. iPhone was a similar change agent on Microsoft’s logic.
So, where do we stand on the freedom of apps? Today, a lot worse than yesterday. Windows Mobile 6.5 and earlier combined the full access to APIs that no other platform offered. When older devices tried to require code signing, handset makers and carriers alike were slapped on the wrist by users, forced to offer software patches that removed the onerous restriction.
Microsoft has said that WP7S will allow corporate users to deploy apps… but that’s not good enough. It requires developers to commit to a brutal pact that stifles innovation. End users won’t be able to benefit from that loophole.
Windows Mobile 6.5 is now a de facto abandoned platform… do you really think Microsoft was going to keep backporting features to it? Offerings like their recent List Manager enjoy one-star ratings on the Windows Mobile Marketplace, and worse, Microsoft won’t even sell some of their own software like Voice Command on it.
So, where do we stand on your alternatives? We’re down to four; Android, webOS, Symbian, and MeeGo. Considering Symbian and MeeGo have nearly no foothold in the United States, that leaves Google’s Android, and Palm’s webOS as the only two platforms pushing for open, native code.
Both platforms are far from perfect too, which makes this change by Microsoft all the worse. Android’s NDK has gotten easier, but most Android developers report that leveraging it successfully is still far more complicated than Apple’s iPhone SDK. And, as noted above, AT&T appears resound in neutering their Android phones to block unsigned code, unless a court tells them that they can’t anymore.
Palm’s PDK suffers from similar issues. Applications essentially have to be coded as web browser plugins, a complicated affair that requires a lot of research before diving head first into. Engines such as Unreal 3 have already been ported however, and Palm’s outlook on native code is similarly improving along with Android’s.
Still, this is actually good news for Google and Palm. They now have one less platform to worry about with truly tech-savvy users. Those that have already rejected iPhone for its stifling of innovation, will now reject Windows Phone 7 Series for the same reason. The only glimmer of hope is that Microsoft has such platform control, that they can reverse this decision down the road with a software update. If sales are slow, handset manufacturers will certainly be pushing Microsoft to make that change.
And, we already know what Microsoft’s response to this editorial will probably be. Silverlight, built-in to Internet Explorer on WP7S, will enable developers to run native-like applications outside the Windows Phone Marketplace. However, this is no different from Flash on other mobile platforms, and only serves to give Microsoft a limited edge over iPhone. It isn’t native code, and won’t allow the same amazing applications that you see from the iPhone SDK, Android NDK, or Palm PDK.
I agree entirely with the editorial above, and am glad someone was brave enough to say it. I don’t know what has got into Microsoft, making Windows Phone 7 Series a closed platform. Maybe CEO Steve Ballmer harbors ambitions to conquer the phone world and dominate all.
Interesting assessment that tech-savvy users will use Android instead. My assessment is that tech-savvy users are more likely to have above-average incomes, and are the most valuable customers for mobile operators as well as advertisers. The tech-savvy customer is a good customer for business.
However business customers are also leaving Microsoft. Enterprises spent hundreds of thousands of dollars creating custom mobile applications which were ruined with the demise of Windows Mobile. These customers have been burned, and will not be going to Windows Phone 7 Series which remains unproven. Instead, most are porting their custom apps to Android, which doesn’t restrict developers on what devices they can use.
It’s very sad to see Microsoft make Windows Phone 7 Series a closed platform. I’m hearing a lot of anger about this, especially from people who were previously Windows Mobile fans. They don’t want to move to a restricted and closed platform. I think Microsoft has made a grave error with this.
I agree 100% with the article. In fact, I said pretty much the same thing the first day of MWC when they first showed Windows Phone 7 Series.
I was even nominated to be a Windows Mobile MVP and I totally blew it off because I am not happy with these changes at all.
I will likely be moving to Android on my next device. If I wanted an iPhone, I would have bought an actual iPhone- not waited on some crappy imitation.
Having said all of that, Microsoft is not entirely to blame here. The US givernment should have put the wireless carriers in check a long time ago. As long as the carriers have so much power over what device the customers use, then innovation will continue to be limited.
Microsoft clearly targeted the carriers as their customer base with Windows Phone 7 Series. No longer are they trying to sell devices to the average joe. They are now trying to get carriers to commit to buying millions of them, and leaving it up to the carrier to sell them to the general public.
Microsoft couldn’t care less what you, me, or anyone else thinks about Windows Phone 7 right now. They only care that Verizon, Sprint, and all the other carriers in the USA and all over the world, will be stocking Windows Phone 7 Series devices. That is the new target customer. And I can promise you, carriers are jumping for joy about the changes. No longer do they have to worry about updating devices. No longer do they have to worry about customers tethering at no extra charge. No longer do they have to worry about customers buying apps that they don’t get a commission on.
Horrible news for us consumers and gadget fans. Someone needs to send this to Congress, the FCC, whoever, as an example of how the phone carriers in the USA are destroying the industry.
“The tech-savvy customer is a good customer for business.”
“tech-savvy users will use Android instead”
Sure, but “non tech-savvy customer” market is enormous compared to the “tech-savvy customer”. What about that fact?
Nicely summed up gentlemen,
the free market’s end “consumer”, decides what to take home, not the middle man, i.e the “carriers”, hence they will be suffering major sales losses with the dead weight of sitting MS7 product inventories,imagine the sales by Tmobile and the yet to be released HTC HD2 MS 6.5 and their potential sales losses.
A larger scale version of the above experiences will make it another short lived product by MS, causing the carriers to dump the product and revise policy by the 4th quarter, just in time for the holiday season.
Greed clearly has blinded MS, which will eventually lead to them sealing their own faith, the number of apps created by the free market for the iPhone and also for the Android, is another clear market indicator.
Another potential example, is VZW’s sales dilema with Palm, WebOs is falling behind rapidly, making Palm uber-ripe for M&A,
RIM on the other hand, has yet to make the next move into the future, before they risk relevancy on a massive scale and also becoming a niche product.
see: http://www.pcworld.com/article/191624/blackberry_users_willing_to_swap_for_an_iphone.html
Thank You
Why would anyone want to buy this phone when Apple already has a working profitable system in place with over 150,000 apps? I hate Apple just as much as the next guy, but I’ll buy an iPhone over this if they don’t provide any better incentives. Apple has gone out of it’s way to prevent you from jailbreaking it’s phones, Microsoft currently has been more forgiving. I wonder how badly Microsoft will be locking down these phones? I heard the Microsoft App store was already broking and apps can be ported and installed without going through official channels on the 6.5 platform. If this is true it shouldn’t be that difficult to have a Cydia app store clone for WM7. Microsoft has been pretty laidback about taking a Windows 6.0 phone and using Windows mobile 6.5 on it. While I COMPLETELY disagree that they did this and closed the platform down, I do wonder how effective it will be for the more “involved” owners to modify their phones at will. I also wonder if they are going to restrict half of what Apple does? If they can stop 90% of the end users from screwing with their phones and the 10% that flash roms daily can more or less still do what they want, will it even out in the end?
Android is still too new for me to bother with, plus I wasn’t impressed much after seeing it go head to head with an iPhone 3GS. They seriously need to work on the drivers efficiency–especially video.
@ malick:
Nobody said a device has to be either for the tech savvy or the non tech savvy. It can easily be for both.
If MS had made their new mobile OS the exact same as it is now, except allowed customers to install 3rd party apps that they did not get from the app store, allowed devices to have storage cards, allowed the devices to be seen as a USB flash drive, allowed the use of a file explorer and visible directory structure on the devices, and allowed multitasking- they could have pleased the tech savvy and the non tech savvy.
And all of that aside- if Android is the new tech savvy platform, and it is the fastest growing platform on the market, then you can’t really say the non tech savvy market is so much bigger than the tech savvy market.
Not only that, but if WinMo is the old tech savvy platform, and Palm’s WebOS is the new non tech savvy platform- and WinMo sales totally dwarf WebOS sales right now, then, again, you can’t say the non tech savvy market is so much bigger than the tech savvy market.
Again though, Microsoft could have easily had both markets. They just chose to ignore one of them.
Tech-savvy customers were key to iPhone’s initial success. They were the ones willing to pay $599, on top of a two year contract, and evangelized the device for its first year. Once it found mainstream success, Apple stopped catering to the tech-savvy audience.
Microsoft needed to carry over the millions of Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.X users in order to keep their foot in the door. Now they are alienating those users who have believed Microsoft’s own advertising… that they were buying into a solution more open than iPhone or iPod.
The company appears to be hoping that the “Windows Phone” strategy attracts more customers than this action burns. I know Apple wouldn’t have attempted such a strategy with a “Mac Phone”.
I think “Windows Phone” is a pathetic attempt to copy the iPhone name. Much like the whole OS is a pathetic attempt to copy the iPhone OS.
I couldn’t possibly be more dissapointed with Microsoft right now.
I wish I could agree with you on this article but clearly you might be missing one point. Even with all the Windows Mobile Devices out there, how many people are buying them compared to an Android phone or the IPhone. I have not read a good review on a Windows Mobile Product in forever from this site or many other tech savvy sites everyone complains about the same thing, It is old, it is tired as an OS, MS hasn’t done anything with it. Why would MS do anything everyone bought them and MS was still bringing in money up until the last 2 years or so then the Windows Mobile Market has started to get smaller,, Iphone sales exploded, Android came out and WebOs which isnt the biggest seller came out and MS market share started to sink. Did everyone want a new OS from MS that had to be able to be backwards compatible and do all the things the new mobile OS’s could do they never would have gotten it right and again everyone would be complaining of them trying to do to many things to match to many competing OS’s. So they went with where the money is. Everyone loves the IPhone, and that is what you are getting. If the supposed tech savvy people wouldn’t have jumped ship to everywhere else then maybe we would have gotten something different then what Windows Mobile 7 is. Tech savvy people are a small percentage compared to normal people that have to have a cool thing. That is simple logic. Go where the money is. the Tech savvy people complain about MS all the time so I am sure they will all have Windows Mobile 7 phones when they come out anyway because that is the new Gadget. You can complain about what MS did all you want, but clearly everyone who purchased one of the competeing phones clearly showed MS where the money is and they want the market share back tech savvy people need not apply if it is gonna be a problem, Stick with your Closed Market IPhone, the Android Phone, which can multitask not great at it but works, (Which I do have a Samsung Moment for my business, nothing fancy but works good and did not want to spend money on the Touch Pro 2 when I owned a previous Touch Pro and other that the bigger screen I didn’t see any other reason to buy it. I also have a Pre as my personal phone, also I like it a lot, won’t buy an Iphone because I hate Apple, numerous reasons why but closed market and too much control over their stuff, too much micro management but that is my opinion) or the different people the WebOs from Palm it can still multitask properly. This change is a simple thing in MS eyes. They have had enough of getting dinged in the mobile market and want to remind Apple that the big ugly MS beast is still there and will always be there. I don’t want to come off sounding like an expert which I am far from. I have been coming to this site forever back in the days when it was a Sprint only site. Everyone so often though I read something on here that just seems weird to me and decided just to say something. Thanks for reading.
@ SaltyDawg
Precisely,when was the last time MS came out with an original idea or product, even their “Windows Store” design and staffing is a pathetic attempt to copy the “Apple Store”!
This is a tragedy of “what coulda woulda” by MS,
I sincerely hope that soon consumers with the assistance of the FCC and some pro consumer legislation via U.S.Congress, could on a “walk in” bases at their carriers store, request the flashing of an OS of their choice on their hardware, certainly with the assistance of the Manufacturers of the device, and thereby achieve a new level of freedom, after all, why should the consumer be forced to stay with an absolete OS for two years?
However, since in case of the “iPhone OS”, that could probably never happen, hence they should be given a gift/debit card option, to apply it to the device of their choice.
Thank You
@ Chris
The only reason MS may succeed regardless of their current business strategy is they have enough money that if they keep throwing crap in your face, eventually you’ll just like crap. Sprint and Verizon don’t have the iPhone, so people will still wind up getting this phone so they don’t have to leave their coverage area and plans. MS knows this and they’re capitalizing off of it, all I can hope for is that the App store is broken quickly and the end users “re-open the platform” like they did with the iPhone and WM6x. At least it would seem that MS is allowing flash, that is probably the biggest reason I still say F U Apple. Nothing bothers me more then seeing the block on a website that should be showing a video. I laughed at the coverage of the iMaxiePad that showed the New York Times with a giant blue box where a video should be.
Chris, what phone and carrier are you on right now? I think I remember a while back you didn’t like the new TOS of Apple and you broke your contract with AT&T, just curious with all the information in your head what do you use personally?
Just to clear things up real quick…
Nobody “broke” the WM6.5 platform inj order to install apps outside of the app store. Microsoft never restricted WM6.5 in that fashion. Yes, it has an app store. But no, you are not required to use it.
Installing apps outside the app store is probably the smallest of my beefs with them anyway. I am way more upset about the no storage cards, no file explorer and directory structure, no using the phone as a flash drive, no 3rd party user interfaces like SPB Mobile Shell, and no multitasking.
Basically all of the reeasons I chose a WinMo phone over the iPhone are now gone.
If I wanted an iPhone, I’d have one already. I would not wait several years and then get a pathetic imitation.
Maybe MS just wants to follow the Apple way of releasing features in upgrades. So all the new Win Phone fans will act like it’s a major breakthrough when they get multitasking or storage card support in a future OS upgrade or something.
@ SteveBallmerSux,
I use a lot of different devices, I don’t try to stick with any one particular device. I do that so I can give you all the most informed positions out there.
Currently in my pocket is an HTC SMT5800 on Verizon (with data block). I use that as a voice-only phone. My data device is an original HTC Touch with Android 2.1 that I’m testing out for an article on HTC Android flashing. That one’s on Boost Mobile pay as you go.
That changes weekly as you might have concluded. I do have a first-gen iPhone that I use as an iPod touch (and primarily as an iPod/calendar only at this point).
@SaltyDawg
I read a few months ago that the DRM scheme that the current App store uses was broken and that paid for apps can be placed on any compatible WM6x phone without restriction. That being said, I was hoping since this happened so quickly that when WP7 hits the scene it could be hacked so that access to the file system, use your phone as a flash drive, or other ability that was lost will be resolved soon enough.
Realize that I’m not defending MS practices, I want to use the fastest, most featured phone that is affordable. If I have to wait a few months for this, I can live with it. I was watching a video that had the iPhone going against the Nexus one showing a gaming emulation. It was ~10 fps faster with the iPhone depending on what was concurrently moving on the screen. WP7 might even be faster still, I have a wish list of what my next phone should be able to do, whether jailbroken or out of the box. It sucks that our options are limited right now but at least in the past MS barely prevented people from flashing their phones, I had a Apache 6700 with WM6.5 briefly and while slow–it worked. If Steve Ballmer isn’t half the app Nazi that Steve Jobs turned out to be it may turn out to be worth it after the customizations.
Being the only gatekeeper will be difficult for Microsoft to balance. They’re in an odd position.
It’s in their interest to be more open than Apple is with the App Store, but the carriers will be holding Microsoft responsible for what is on their App Store.
Google can argue that they might as well offer some groundbreaking apps (PDANet is a perfect example), as those apps have shown they can thrive off-Market anyways. Microsoft can’t argue that position to carriers with WP7S.
As such, the carriers will demand takedowns/restrictions, and Microsoft will likely have little chose but to comply (at least on a per-carrier basis). The carriers can always strike back with stopping new WP7S sales, or force consumers to have to jump through hoops to even know the carrier offers a WP7S device.
In short, the dreams of PDANet and WMWifiRouter on your Windows Phone 7 Series device are over. Other apps that push limits however will be more likely to be offered, as Microsoft will be able to tell carriers that otherwise the apps would be thriving on Android and webOS.
The only problem is that this is another hurdle for “the next big thing” that the carriers won’t like… whatever that innovation is, or however it pushes the limits of net neutrality.
@Chris
If the carriers have no choice currently (pre WP7) for app selection why would MS suddenly care post WP7? No carrier I heard of dropped a WM phone because it was open platform. Microsoft is probably just to big to mess with (currently), I doubt that they are shaking in their boots about rejection unlike when Apple was, before running to AT&T since they are the only carrier that would take them first generation. I think Microsoft changed their ways after seeing what profit Apple makes by owning the app store and getting a cut on the sales. Although I can see Microsoft eventually cutting apps to make the carriers happy happening now, it didn’t have to come to that. I’m not entirely sure why Microsoft decided to close platform WP7, other then Apple did and it’s working for them. Again I can only hope that whatever Microsoft “breaks”, the xda team will unbreak…If the Cydia store hasn’t been closed yet then a MS equivalent store has a chance with all these missing apps.
The answer to that is pretty simple. Microsoft wants to replace Android as the “iPhone Alternative” for the carriers. With T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint unable to sell iPhones, they have been all testing the waters with Android. All the reasons we like Android and webOS, are things most carriers are afraid of.
So, Microsoft is trying to position to carriers that with a closed App Store, walled garden, and stellar features (APIs, web browser, email, Zune, etc), that their solution will be the ones that carriers want to trumpet.
Microsoft cares now because they don’t want Google or Palm to be the smartphone that the carriers trumpet. Both have easily replaced Windows Mobile in carrier advertising budgets already… that’s why it matters to Microsoft today to court the carriers. Our position at PhoneNews.com is that they could have done that, while keeping gatekeepers out of the picture.
@ Chris:
You said:
“No carrier I heard of dropped a WM phone because it was open platform.”
While that may be true- when is the last time you saw a carrier advertise a WinMo phone? Heck, try to even find a Touch Pro 2 in stock at most carrier stores.
I see a Sprint commercial all the time where they tout “3 of the best smartphones” and they are the Moment, the Pixi, and a Blackberry (no Touch Pro 2).
So the average joe is not even aware the Windows Mobile phones exist. They are never advertised, and they aren’t stocked in most stores. Technically the carriers didn’t “drop” WinMo, but to the average joe they might as well have.
Remember when the Touch Pro 2 first came out and Verizon was sold out for like a month or 2- with their reps having never heard of the phone, and not one single advertisement for it? Technically they didn;t drop WinMo, but they might as well have as far as the average joe is concerned.
As for everything else- Android is free. That’s why a lot of companies would rather use Android rather than WinMo. But with what MS just did, they are probably the carriers’ #1 choice for an iPhone alternative. And if the carriers want it, the device manufacturers will want it too.
That’s why I said MS is no longer marketing or trying to sell devices to the end user. They are now trying to sell devices to carriers, and they will let the carriers worry about selling devices to the end users.
It’s all a product of the broken wireless business model here in the USA. And it’s unfortunate Microsoft caved and started supporting it.
Woops, last post should have been @ SteveBallmerSux, not Chris…
Guess what… i just read that windows 7 WILL NOT support copy and paste. What is going on!!! Its like they are throwing in the towel and quitting the mobile smartphone game. Has anyone heard anything about this?
All i know is that microsoft better start doing some changes fast because android and apple os aren’t slowing down anytime soon. Even webos is doing some things to keep up in the game.
Its looking more and more that im going to have to switch to the everything plan to be able to have a decent smartphone.
@JJ
Yeah, I saw earlier that it is confirmed to not support copy and paste. I thought about postin git here but I didn’t want to go on another rant.
I’m already on an everything plan, so I have noting whatsoever keeping me on WinMo other than I love my current device (Touch Pro 2). It’s my last WinMo device though unless MS makes some changes in the future and forgets about all of this imitation iPhone crap.
Be careful what you wish for. Ask yourself why Windows sucks–Answer: because it’s a malware magnet and there’s no surefire way to stop bad guys from messing with it. Apple’s closed-loop App Store, signed code apps and no Flash are significantly responsible for 2+ years of no serious security outbreaks on the iPhone. Frankly, I like it that way, and I think that’s the way most users should be running their phones. I realize that many tech-types want to fiddle with their devices, but I hardly think this should be a mainstream expectation for all mobile OS’s.
Right, because Android and webOS have all sorts of security holes (sarcasm)… truth is, 90% of customers will never run unsigned code, or even know to enable the option to do so.
From a market standpoint though, it’s those 10% that explore, tinker, and benefit from cutting-edge innovation that are the early adopters. They drive what platforms will thrive, and where investment dollars go. Microsoft has written off the trailblazers, unfortunately, they were the only ones still using the platform outside of the corporate world.
Android and webOS both deliver a simple option to customers to stay within the walled garden, up until the very minute they want to try some groundbreaking app, which developers can explain to users and detail how to run the app on their devices. Why Microsoft won’t offer this, has little to do with malware, and much to do with what the carriers want.
[…] we dismissed the platform editorially, Microsoft confirmed that not only are multitasking, open native code, and memory card support […]
I really wonder what innovations WP7 will bring to the table then? Trying to clone an Apple but instead of cloning the current iPhone it looks like they are cloning a second gen model still running OS2x.
Is the battery at least going to be replaceable? Is the screen resolution going to match the ZuneHD 480×272? At least the iPhone has 480×320…
This has signs of epic fail written all over it, but as I said earlier people hate AT&T and MS has so much money that people will come around eventually.
Wow, this is as bad as the Obama administration canceling the proposed moon landing. We take strides forward in our culture only to regress into a previous state.
Welcome to the cell phone dark ages….
LOL, Win Phone 7 won’t bring any innovation. In fact, it’s a huge step backwards from WinMo 6.5 as far as features and functionality are concerned.
Unfortunately the only innovation Win Phone 7 will bring is it will set an example that companies can thrive without giving a crap about the end users or innovation.
The main thing that WP7S will deliver is consistency. The platform has had Direc3D for years. You can even port games like Half-Life to Windows Mobile 6.5, probably even Half-Life 2.
The problem is that those games would only run on a few devices, and it would be extraordinarily difficult for developers to convey system requirements to end-users.
WP7S is about having iPhone-type consistency between devices. If you make an amazing game that pushes the limits of Samsung’s WP7S device, it will run the same on HTC’s WP7S device. That gives developers the breathing room to deliver amazing experiences.
And, all that is good about WP7S is good stuff, we’re not refuting that. We’re not saying that’s why you should avoid the platform. It’s simply the other decisions that Microsoft has made that want us having no part of the ecosystem. We’d rather have phones ready for tomorrow’s web innovations, then to trade net neutrality for handheld gaming.
[…] MIX10 conference last week and came away with the same impression that PhoneNews.com editorialized after the major wave of announcements signaled a shift away from the open platform that Microsoft […]
[…] MIX10 conference last week and came away with the same impression that PhoneNews.com editorialized after the major wave of announcements signaled a shift away from the open platform that Microsoft […]
Good one Joe .