Windows Phone 7 will flop

What do your mean 'WILL'

You mean 'HAS'

And past tense on the word 'flop' as well.

Whenever I tell someone to "wait for the new Windows Phones", he/she goes? No thanks. The damage WM has left behind goes way, way too deep, and WP is not impressive enough to lure the injured crowd.

but desperate Apple fanboy talk.

I have 3 friends who were Apple iPhone fans who already jumped ship to the WP7.
Nevertheless EU people tend to be less biased and more objective in their opinions and their journalism as well.

I'm confident that WP7 will succeed.

I have no idea if it will be successful or not, am still getting one...and if it's crap (which from all the video I've seen doesn't look like it will be, I'll send it back. End of.

There are millions of people out there who have no allegiance to any one platform. All they want is a smartphone to replace their regular phone/bb/iphone/android device etc... They don't hold Apple, Google or MS so close to their hearts that they get offended when somebody has a go at one of them.

Yes, this article/opinion/whatever it is, is utter crap... but then, having been browsing around websites for weeks looking at reviews for various phones, there are a hell of a lot of moronic teenagers out there who fancy themselves as journalists.

As for WP7. One of things that I find annoying (and it's not just this guy) about people judgements of the tech specs, is that nobody considers battery life when talking about 'the next-generation' of processors etc. So 1Ghz is old tech is it? This is a mobile device ffs! I don't want the thing burning through my trousers! And I don't want it to last 2 hours and then konk out in the middle of a call.

Screen Res. Again.. battery life! The iPhone 4's 'retina' display is fine and dandy.. v impressive.. but then if they had stuck to 800px high, the battery would probably last a bit longer than it does. 960px on a phone? Don't need it.. I don't have several windows open on the screen... it's a phone.

Tbh, i don't get why people are all over the HD7 either.. big screen.. big phone.. can that thing actually fit in a pocket? My friend had an HD2 which she never took out cos it was too big.. I think the Trophy looks more or less the right size for a smartphone.

As for the interface.. I can't believe that anyone would look at that and not realise just how far ahead MS are in terms of UX innovation... They actually sat down, and thought about how you need to interact with a mobile device.. instead of reams and reams of individual apps. I'm not even that bothered about apps.. all the ones I've used on the iPhone just get boring really quickly and you end up with about 10 that you use regularly. So that's 7 fart apps, youtube, facebook and the camera. :D

Why do people get so emotional over phones anyway? We treat them better than we treat our girlfriends!... oh hold on.. I just realised I may be alone in that respect... woops!

I hope WP7 is a success, that way I can sit in the pub with my friend's with their iPhones and Android handsets and we won't all look like a bunch of c*nts.

Well we will.. but we won't be c*nts who all have the same phone.

This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo...Signing off.

"Why is it that when you turn up to meet your mate and they're holding the same phone, one of you doesn't need to go home and get changed?"

@Oops

No need to be a Microsoft Employer to see this article is trash, there is no added value to the smartphone discussion. That's what basically what people said here, and you just to dumb to understand it.

Microsoft-paid astroturfers, please use the handy Microsoft-authorized template below to earn big money in your spare time (or from you Microsoft cubicle):
(select one choice from each of the option brackets).

Microsoft Public Relations.

cut here:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(Optional header:) "I know older WinMo products were not so good, but this NEW WP7 looks real (nifty/swell/doesn't make me want to puke constantly). I can't wait to (spend my money/spend the hours of my life playing moronic Xbox games/spend my dollars buying Zuny-tunes) with a nice WP7 phone, which will (be successful/earn Ballmer his bonus back/make people with vested interests rich )and be "really good", too.

"This (article/writer) is the worst! Expressing free speech that could (sabotage/detract from) Microsoft's sales is reason enough to (fire/publicly flog/surgically modify to prevent procreation or any actions relating to procreation of) this author, and no one should ever (read this site/think for themselves/be critical of Microsoft or any other huge corporations that can pay me so much to post in their favour) again!

I have never been so (insulted/offended/well-paid for posting drivel) in my life.

Signed,

(your pen name - please include blogger/Microsoft employee number to ensure prompt payment).

Biggest waste of my time and by far the most off-track article the Inq has ever published on their site.
Look at the number of flaming comments, now look at the PPCGeeks.com site forums, or www.xda-developers.com, Now look at Inq again... yeah.

That's 1,407,624 (and growing) forum posts on PPCG (and millions more on XDA) by WinMo users that are getting the best performance they can out of their devices. There are numerous customized ROMs for WinMo and I can guarantee that they're itching for their WP7 devices so they can do the same thing to those.

Like previous comments indicated: the MS phone OSes were the greatest thing you could get when smartphones came out. For all of those who learned how to love the device and use it WAY beyond what any crApple or Google user would do, we're salivating for the opportunity to do it again.

I think the phone may do alright.

It has xbox/zune integration, which is a one up android for sure and in some ways the iphone.

I has silverlight and xna which open it up for a bunch of different developers than those for the iphone/android. Might not be a big deal, but it might get some unique titles as a result.

And it will have Microsoft OCS/Lync, which when combined with office/exchange is actually the best thing microsoft has offered in years. Big businesses are flocking to it, and I'm sure some companies will be buying w7 phone as well as a result.

Anyways, I have an htc desire :-), and I love it. But it was also available when I wanted a phone, W7 phone wasn't.

Yes the IPad will fail. It's currently selling like a cabbage patch doll, but eventually people will wake up and realize it serves no useful purpose. Kudos to Apple's marketing machine they can get people to buy anything, but only for so long.

win7 7 (desktop) is the best os i have used yet so why is it so difficult to believe that the new mobile os wont be either.

It's very clear that the majority of negative comments are from drones. Most of them from Indian companies paid to do this. It's pretty common these days.

Micorosft never did a good job on mobile, after MULTIPLE tries, why should we believe to them now? Because they drop obsene amounts of money to marketing?
That shows even more why the product sucks. If the Vole invest in development instead, but no, marketing...
First they have to make a half decent product, then (maybe) we will compare against other existing good products, period.

I might be wrong but I feel that the majority of the non-smartphone owning population (the majority of phone users and the target market of the manufacturers) just want a phone that works.
Google have let Android turn into a horrible mess which needs a techie's touch to get the best out of it, and Apple seem to believe that people want a magical multimedia swiss army knife which doesn't actually make calls.
I think that WP7 will succeed because MS are focussed cleary on the "phone" part of the word smartphone - the contacts hub just looks to be all there straight out of the box. Apparently coding for the apps is incredibly easy, so all of the decent apps on iphone and android that made any money will port over once there is a market.

Same crowd of people predicted iPad will flop because so many technical reasons. And yet, despite people like you iPad became the fastest selling new device.
Is Microsoft late? Yes. Are there missing features? Yes. So what? Maybe consumers want to try something new or something else. It is a reasonable mobile OS and it is a bit different. You try to be too smart too early. Too schmuck.

The only FLOP here is your article. It is indeed rare to run across something as bad as your rubbish.

I agree that Windows Phone 7 will flop but for different reasons.

1. Incompatibility with previous versions of software. If I can not use anymore any of existinf Windows Mobile apps, and I need to switch to a new OS I would rather go to Android.

2. Closed OS.Unleke the previous versions of Win Mobile which was open (I could install easy any application I wish) this one is closed, any way to add something is through Market Place ( a la Apple). I supposed this was done to reduce piracy. Well , I vote with my wallet and go to Android ( Apple has the same approach main reason I reject it).

3. Missing microSDHC card (!). Clearly a very stupid move. Most likely reason again netter control of the device as the card may be used to unlock the device. If this is not the reason is just plain stupid. Why I would buy a device without an importan feature for me if I can buy another one which has the feature for the same money.

So MS developes a new so called OS ( in fact the underlying OS is still the same good old Windows CE 6.0 - hey even the video driver is the old CE one which DOES NOT support 24 bit collor, just 16), but on top of this throws a layer which blocks compatibility with the old apps, creates a drconic DRM layer and disables existing OS features like the multitasking, SD card direct apps install), throws a so anso UI ( don't really like it), and want to attract new users ? Well MS lost me as a customer. WinMo 6 was sos anso but I could live with it (see above reasons). WinMo 7 lost the few reasons a would stay with MS and added a few very strong ones to stay away from it.

I belive 2 years from now you will hardly see a new WnMo set. My 2 cents.

Its not about fanboys - (almost) none of the comments stated "MS rule" in any way.
What angers people is not the fact, that MS is bashed (again) - both Apple and MS are bashed all the time here - it is the reasons presented to support the argument that annoy.
They are an embarrassment for a grownup, let alone tech reporter/journalist.

These retarded Microsoft fanboys, are showing to be worst than Aple fanboys.
what the heck, it seems they were sent by Mr. Ballmer. Imagine if they were allowed to bring a chair with them, what would happen?

I'm a bit confused, who is the "vole"?

Fascinating to see how The Inquirer, normally drawing ire from Apple fanboys/astroturfers, now draws ire from Microsoft fanboys/astroturfers, some of whom ridiculously accuse the site of being pro-Apple: a clear indication that they are "new" here.

And the prize for most stupid astrotard? Well, here's a nomination:

Author: ProGeek
Title: News or Opinion
Astrobody: "Agreed. Is this news article or an opinion piece? Horrible."

Huge hint to you, "ProGeek": it's an opinion, which you would have known had you actually read the title of the piece. Actually, since it says "Opinion" *before* the title of the piece, you wouldn't even have needed to read that far.

I wonder how many of the flamers above have actually struggled with the awful, awful previous Windows mobile platform day-in, day-out? It is the worst platform, mobile or otherwise, I have ever had the misfortune of using. But it has been my company policy that I should.

Let's not confuse the issue by comparing how marvellous Windows 7 is on a PC. Experience tells me the phone OS will not bear any, and I mean ANY, resemblance to the desktop OS.

I think W7phone will be awful but better than its predecessor. It may flop, but I will have to use it because my employer will foist it upon me.

Anyhow - let's wait and see before shooting the seer in this case!

First, kudos to the writer of this fine article and his boldness to say WP7 will flop.

Second, i'm a windows fun and i believe Win7 Pro is the best OS EVER!!

So.. Windows Phone 7 will flop, let me show you as simple as possible:

Average Joe walks in a store to buy a smart phone, he takes a look at iphone4, android phone, WinP7.

He asks how many apps are there for each? iphone4: 260,000, android phone: 145,000, WinP7 1,300.

WinP7 1300?!! this is soooooo lame..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_digital_distribution_platforms_for_mobile_devices

Then he takes a closer look at each phone, iphone4? Stunning, android phone? very nice!, WinP7? hmmmm, what are those squares? You mean that every time i use my phone i'll have to look at those squares? This looks more like an old cartoon, like a Chinese cellphone toy for babies, soooooo boring..

http://picasaweb.google.com/106243651285458898191/MobileWatchphone#5528806924447684098

Probably walks away with Android Phone either because the colors are nicer than the iphone4 (galaxy s samsung) or it's cheaper than the iphone4 (lots of them)..

So.. Windows Phone 7 will flop.

ff

Cannot believe the ammount of negative feedback for one article.... oh hang on, yes I can! What a load of rubbish. Oh and people saying MS are paying for people to reply with negative feedback on the article? Get serious.

Inquirer: for your own good, get rid of this guy. It is the worst journalist ever and it is seriously damaging your credibility.
And to the guy claiming that the comments are astroturfing (assuming it's not the author in disguise), how do you explain that there are NO comments defending the reasoning or conclusion? Or you are implying that Microsoft also paid EVERYONE *NOT* to post positive comments on the article?

@Puck

Your "MS=Evil Empire stuff is getting old" comment is hilarious. So what cave do YOU live in?

"HTC pays off Microsoft in Linux protection racket"

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1603069/htc-pays-microsoft-linux-protection-racket

How about Vole backstabbing their "partners" i4i?

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/09/i4i-says-microsoft-went-behind-its-back-in-word-patent-tiff.ars

How about their infamous "Screw Google" smear campaign?

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/microsofts-secret-screw-google-meetings-in-d-c/19143135/

That last two in particular are highly ironic, given that Google are now supporting Microsoft's claim that patents are allegedly the Big Bad (this week, anyway). Next week, when Vole sues Nvidia for "violating" their bogus GPU processing patent [*], they'll be lecturing everyone about how "intellectual property matters" again (Ballmer talking about how Red Hat's customers owe them money).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B0GTYfPoMo

[*] http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1742037/microsoft-granted-gpu-video-encoding-patent

All that and much more happened just within the last couple of years (some even this WEEK), not some time before the last Ice Age, as Microsoft apologists disingenuously like to pretend.

So are Microsoft still evil?

When did they ever STOP being evil?

Next you'll be claiming the Holocaust never happened.

In a word, LOL!

www.theinquirer.net has no quality in his articles...

wast of time reading this, visiting this site.

at least the comments tell something!

Stunned that the author would write something with such little substance. Provides no value whatsoever to people who are considering a smartphone purchase.

Congrats fanboys, your actions speak louder than your words. They indicate quite clearly that there are those in Microsoft that know this product has to rely on marketing to overcome the quality and performance of the software.

How can WP7 fail when we already have that many comments about this negative opinion. I remember when Apple launched its iPhone and all the negativity surrounding it. Well the iPhone didn't fail and I bet WP7 will not fail either. There is too much interest in WP7. Even iPhone and Android users are posting which tells me that they are also interested in WP7. WP7 will take a huge chunk out of Blackberry sales and to a lesser extend out of Android. Apple on the other hand will hardly lose any market share to WP7. But I also think that the iPhone will be slow in gaining many more new customers. The competition is simply to big for any single phone OS to reign supreme in the mobile phone market.

It's funny how all these people come crawling from behind their rocks now that someone made an anti-Microsoft article on INQ, which is by the way clearly marked as opinion.

But every time I see countless obvious anti-Apple articles here, you all seem to think they are very educated and informed ;P

If INQ likes to make opinion-journalism, fine by me. It's actually good that they have people on several camps now, obviously, instead of being on the Microsoft-side all the time and always bashing on Apple for everything they do.

Bring up some more variety like this. English tabloid journalism has always been opinion and not fact based, btw. Deal with it. If you want something more serious read the BBC news.

Good job trying to make a point by bringing irrelevant opinion into it. Hey guys, as well as me finding the interface ugly, I also happen to think the number 7 is pretty unlucky! Thus it's BOUND to fail am i rite!

The idea that anyone defending Microsoft must be a shill is such a preposterous conspiracy theory I don't know where to start. But I suppose this is the internet and you're an idiot. The real reason people have higher than usual expectations of Windows Phone 7 is of course because of Windows 7: officially the fastest selling operating system ever, a product that managed to outnumber a whole decade of OS X sales put together within just two months of its launch last year.

And thus it might be possible, might it not, that some 200 million users - whether rightly or wrongly - believe that 7 on a mobile could be just as revolutionary. The weight of positivity behind Microsoft amounts to more than a minority of urban middle class hipsters who like collecting Apple products. The popularity of Windows dwarfs everything else in the field, and it's best you learn to deal with it.

As for accusing the company of launching a product that's down on features and patching them later, isn't that what EVERY developer does? Operating systems are not black boxes and change unendingly - compare the original iPhone feature set with that of the iPhone 4, or how Android has changed in the last eighteen months alone.

On the subject of security, you are talking out of your hat. Windows is an enormously secure product compromised primarily by the enormous number of ignorant users. If you think *nix or OS X are somehow inherently safer you need to read more. These are comparatively LESS secure platforms than modern versions of Windows.

Lastly, look at the money Microsoft threw at their games console, a product that at launch was derided as a folly given the dominance of Sony's all conquering PlayStation. Where are Microsoft and where are Sony today? Do not dismiss the possibility of precisely the same outcome with WP7.

Despite the groundless negative postings of all the Microsoft-paid shills (a testament to how badly this product is EXPECTED to fail), Egan points out very valid points, most notably:

-WP7 has been RUSHED to market in an unfinished state, lacking a huge number of "smartphone" features (no doubt trying to "cash-in" on the "terrible Christmas present" market). Similar to other Microsoft products, they just sell them and try to "patch them later" (unfortunately this approach is still not working, particularly as security is concerned).

- WP7 is LATE to market; it has too many successful competitors for it to succeed.

As other posters have noted, one other thing that Microsoft cannot compete on is PRICE. There is no way that WP7 can succeed against a much more capable, rapidly-evolving, FREE, open-source OS like Android. Microsoft simply cannot afford to continue to shovel money at phone manufacturers and advertizing companies while trying to earn income from their WP7 patchwork OS.

Egan also left out one other point which I think might be very important: The WP7 UI is UGLY...so why would status-conscious consumers purchase even a Microsoft-subsidized WP7 phone when they could own a phone with an attractive UI like Android (but even Iphones have a better UI than WP7)?

Since Microsoft has obviously rushed out WP7 and neglected key features, the usual thing they neglect -- SECURITY -- would also be strongly suspect. And why would this Microsoft product be "more secure" than all the other insecure Microsoft products?

So, eventually Microsoft will have spent all its money trying to promote a dying product, leaving no additional money to pay shills to make mindlessly critical postings of any negative articles about Microsoft.

So earn your money while you can, those-who-are-paid-to-lie-for-Microsoft (while you continue to make Microsoft look ridiculous in the process by making a huge series of low-IQ postings).

this article was designed to cause the level of comments, and the author gets paid for it, so how nice is it to slate microsoft and in return they make money for you, and your rather pathetic discussion on something that isnt out yet! go away fool.

While Egan is obviously a Microsoft Hater, as a one time Windows Mobile phone owner I have to agree that all those past memories of a clunky and unfriendly interface prevents me from even considering Win Phone 7. I currently have an Android phone and Android is way better in 18 months than Win Mobile was after 10 years.

It might flop, but it's anything but certain. Right now we have too many smartphone OS choices: Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows Phone, WebOS, Maemo and anything else that happens to be hiding behind the closest tree.

I'm a application developer and I've had to write the same, fairly simple, app for Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and now Windows Phone 7 and I can say that 7 has the best developer tools of all. If that means anything (and it could mean more better apps) I expect a 2 or 3 tiered future that includes Windows Phone 7, Android and probably something else.

Across the PC news web, authors who write WP7 articles that can even be _perceived_ as not strongly supporting WP7 are being flamed. PERSONALLY. Not just this author in this clearly identified OPINION piece, but anyone writing about WP7.

Key is that the fanbois involved by and large do NOT bother to try to argue what might be so good about WP7 that would justify the premium pricing, late entry and limited apps list.

The preponderance of commentary is just to personally diss the various authors. Neither healthy nor meaningful, and it will not make WP7 (which would have been a good 2007 product) a good product in the Q4 2010 marketplace.

Completely negative review from start to last. As if the whole content was created in a negative frame of mind.

Windows Phone 7 is completely re-written on a new platform. I'm sure there must be at-least some improvement over the earlier versions. It can't be all negative.

Better make a full-test on the product first, and then draft your review.

Thumbs down to this review and the author

This guy has not even tested or used a Wp7 phone before he wrote this article. These guys get paid to write hear-say ?? There sure is going to be a job opening here when this guy is fired for writing this kinda rubbish!

I found this artical on googles news

I have to say author of this article have never seen Windows Phone 7 that's why he is assuming Windows Mobile and Windows Phone are of similar kind of devices just because under the hood Windows CE is working. No that is not the reality. Windows Mobile is purely enterprise dev device and which is not suitable for usual high street customer. Whereas Windows Phone is purely meant for high street customer interested to buy game console like gadget with amazing apps.

Being a Mobile App Developer for various Mobile OS, I think after sometime Windows Phone 7 will prove its worth and we shall see the growth in MS Share in Mobile Market.

Looks this is same phone as iphone or android. If they were successful it will be successful.

Above All MS always comeup with easy to develope programming techonology. we will most certainly see growth in Windows Phone 7 apps in near future.

we pay for MS products (just as for apple's), and they better deliver value.

is it possible that MS has come up with Win7 ONLY after vicious Vista bashing? but this theory wouldn't apply as only 2 or 3 have been pro-author in comments. other hundreds or so have thulped mr. egan orion so much, that he should rethink his career options.

Hi Egan Orion,
What is wrong with you?
Please consult a psychiatrist, or better, quit writing once and for all.

- With best wishes for good (mental) health.

to be honest this article was the real flop.

as for your opinion to be fair no one really asked for it, and despite any negativity im still not put off windows phone 7, i cant wait to ditch my iphone for the new htc hd7, i think windows phone 7 will be able to claw back some of the market share it has lost with the new OS or maybe not but dont bash it until you tried it.

You, are of course right...

BTW can someone recommend some decent IT/Tech site? (to switch to)

... Im really asking. I liked inq for many years (5+), but I feel its too trollish these days. Stupid articles with provocative titles only to generate clicks... guess its the "magazine-sensation" cliche and doubt I can avoid it, but still, there must be a better alternatives.
Anyone?

Wow, this has to be the worst article I have ever read on the enquirer. Just biased comments, not even with any humor in it (like the apple hating articles...which are fun to read).

Ironically everything you bagged about wp7 is everything the iphone 4 is now! the iphone 4 has no flash support, no silver light, only internal flash storage, no tethering, not full multifunction. Im confused??? Apple relies on gullible people, yet you bag Microsoft for following the same strategy?

This is the last of your articles I will ever read

Successful troll is successful.

All reasons [for a flop] are laughable, all of them.
A teenager can do better, using his head.

Thanks

OK that's only one word, but say it twice. Everyone said the same thing about the console market - to this day, they are still losing money in that division. What makes you think the mobile market will be any different?

Considering the iPhone lost out in the screen stakes by 266% until Apple clicked, 25% is neither here nor there.

So while there are fewer sheep left it still might just happen that either the mobile shops semi-boycott Android for a subsidised 7!
Who knows?

dear friend,really a junk article..need to be put in dust bin..pls stop..

Your Iphone is nothing but a repackage of all other technologies, only it has become popular due to Apple's shove-it-on-your-throat advertising.

You have to start thinking out of the box and stop making comparisons by starting with Iphone. Not all of us prefer an Iphone. It's as if you make it as a standard when it comes to a phone.

First of THIS IS NOT INQ QUALITY STUFF!!!!!!
Since when does the inq use a capital I to describe apple products?
I understand that windows mobile has its problems, i have 3 phones.
1. motoq winmo5
2. Samsung Omnia winmo 6.x
3. Samsung Behold Android 1.6
What i have to say is that Iphone and Android are to devoid of any serious features its not worth giving up my winmo. Even winmo 5 smartphone edition has more settings than Android 1.6. I know you will say what about 2.x android and I say. You cant actually load 2.x on a Behold2 that's what I got.
On my omnia I have instant gmail notifications with activesync. Iphone doesnt have that, Android does but then again its a google product. Sure youtube app sucks for winmo, but of course google is not going to release a good version for winmo. Then you can also use coreplayer for youtube.
A stand alone quiality GPS app (navngo), android barely got it. Why would i bother buying when i already have it in winmo?
Remote Desktop comes with winmo, I control my desktop from my bed. There is also a VNC server for my phone, I can control my phone from my desktop. Theres no need to look for a quality app in the marketplace and pay for it. Its free.
office in winmo, it comes standard. No need for documents to go, also I can edit an invoice and send it over my phone with gmail. What about an msl calculator in XLS? oh yeah i can do that too. Did i mention that microsoft released the 2010 office mobile for free?
PDF support sucks for all three, try to load a 500 page file. But then there is mobireader, and did i mention its free?
Can you use your mobile phone as a network card? I can, its called internet sharing. You can tether or use it as a wireless network card. I can even connect other phones to my winmo and use them as bluetooth modems. If your ever going to doing some tech jobs it helps a lot. Thats right and its free, no jail breaking.
What about sharing files over wifi? oh yeah my phone is DLNA, so is my viao. Neato, or I can just open a network location on my MS File explorer. Oh yeah thats also free. No need to put up with ads in my file explorer!!!
You know how the rotation can be annoying sometimes. Well how about i turn it off, or just turn the sensor down a little. Cant seem to be able to do that on android. Last time I checked on Iphone you cant rotate upside down or modify anything?
What about streaming? well for some reason on the Iphone you have to download some cheesy apps. Why not just keep a pls or mpu list around and use the player of you choice. Why do other Why dont other phones follow stablished to handle streaming, like we do in the pc?
Sure I take the slow downs and lock up that can happen with winmo, but i get so much more in return. I also have a marketplace app to, but why bother with it. Google is my market place. There countless programs for winmo, no apple or google marketplace can host them all. and we never called them apps either, that started with apple.
Thats why I think MS will loose out by not supporting legacy programs.
I dont think that microsoft needs to adopt the open source incremental development method, even half life is doing that with the episodes. If you release a strong product from the beginning. The iphone and Android were release in a beta state.
Also i dont think that vole has paid anyone to post anything. Although its possible, I think it hit the google news page. Coupled by the fact that you dont have to sign up to post and you got a good mix for a lively discussion. Way to INQ, I love you. How you dont have to sign up for anything to be able to post. And course very little moderation in real time is very nice too...

This website is base on this motto (see above):

"One door closes and another door closes"

They only accept 1 negative thinker that is to close all the open minded people.

It was interesting to read the article, but it was even more interesting to read the comments.

I also think the WP7 will flop, but the reasons are not those mentioned by the author. Price of the phone will be the thing.

So why not use the 400 million marketing money to lower the cost of the phone or to give it away like the Android does. This will make the phone cheap enough to compete with Android. The marketing strategy "more costly than Android but less snobbish than iPhone" will put the WP7 nowhere. If I want a cheap smartphone, I go for the Android (which has all the features of WP7 plus "copy and paste", "tethering", "BT file transfer" etc); if I want a top-of-the-batch smartphone, I will go for the iPhone (as a rough estimate, 90% of my friends who changed their mobile phones in the last 6 months bought an iPhone). So it is weird where the WP7 will stand.

Can't hate on the author for expressing his opinion. But if the vast of majority of the comments on here are any indication - most would agree his reasons at arriving at his conclusion are pretty lame.

To have absolutely nothing to say about any redeeming quality of the new OS is pretty suspicious to me. It's a sure fire way to rid yourself of any and all credibility considering even some of the most die hard fans of Apple find something worth appreciating in WP7.

Apple fanatic John Gruber is on record praising the new OS.. You can listen to him here if you like. WP7 topic starts @54:30.
www [dot] 5by5 [dot] tv/talkshow/10
“its absolutely a real, credible competitor in this space in terms of polish and quality, it’s absolutely very, very impressive.”

Stephen Fry another self proclaimed Apple fanatic felt pretty comfortable speaking at the WP7 launch party singing its praises.
www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=6Tn3-eB_hcQ

Methinks the author must have really struck a raw nerve in Redmond to draw out so much marketing money in the form of all these people hating on him.

Mr Egan Orion, I appreciate this is an opinion piece but are YOU FU&%ING SERIOUS !!!

You sir are a fool!

The author is right. WP7 will flop, but not for the reasons he mentioned.

Microsoft have followed Apple in creating a closed environment. This is something that the wireless operators will never support and the wireless operators control what consumers buy (unless you are Apple).

Microsoft have done a great job in building a great phone, but they are 2 years to late and don't have the brand equity or consumer cult status that Apple has..

Nice try Microsoft, but back to the drawing board..

Seriously.. i think the others have said it all. try not to start with such a burning title, it attracts the crowd yet only disappoints once reading the rest. You embarrassed?? You should be!! Absolute rubbish!!

Looks like author totally missed about WM7.
narrow minded favoring apple and android's.

Something fishy going on here... I've seen a lot of strongly opinionated articles during my 6 months of reading the INQ but these reactionary comments are WAY over the top. Not even St Jobs has encouraged such an amount of venomously hateful replies. It has to be M$ drones, paid to defend the castle.

PS thanks for increasing the subtitle on RSS feeds, they were getting iritatingly small.

Right now MS is offering services that are useful, actually sync, have keyboards, have zune (though I want HD radio), something that Apple and google had failed MISERABLY AT !

1- file manager, you can brows to your files.
2- copy and paste functions,CTRL C and V

3- full multitasking, to be hacked in a month.

4- Adobe Flash with take 2 months. Silverlight plug-ins in the web browser - um apps are written in silverlight.. dumbass.

5- IPsec virtual private network (VPN) security, - it has that.

6- video calling has this too

7 - Bluetooth file transfers. Give this 2 months too.

I'm not put off on 3rd party vendors that are begging and wanting to work with MS. And MS seems very willing to take and make requests work.

So with this, your article fails, and fails badly!!

I would have asked my techno-phobic grandmother.

The article is rather poorly written. Yes I understand it's an opinion piece, but could you please give us the readers some respect & treat us seriously ?

WM7 may well flop, but not for the reasons you've described. Cost, if anything, will be the deciding factor, and it's pretty hard to beat Android in that respect. However, WM7 can still take a decent share of the marketplace, just not as #1 or #2 spot.

I am not sure it is a journalist writing but I can tell it is another generic comments against Microsoft. I didn’t see any technical aspects that supports your own writing. Nowadays seems like anyone can get a job anywhere just to copy some tag line from the web.
Remember, same so-called IT-journalists called X-Box dead before!
To D Vale, Microsoft didn’t pay a single dime for this. I just used my common sense.

being an avid Newton fanatic for years, its fun to see Bill Gates company again trying its force against Apple. He really liked Newton, and created WIndows CE

However, even having my largest Apple-fan spectacles on me, I cant miss the really important thing. Windows Mobile 7 is missing some feature, because its a total rewrite, and the user interface is really thought out in another way.

its not anymore "lets get Windows 95 onto an mobile phone"; it sure isnt like Windows 7.

Among the feature you tell that its unfinished, I would count cut and paste as the most important, and its soon coming. Whichevery way power user put it, full multitasking and bluetooth file exchange isnt number one on most users list.

A darn fast, clever and simple UI, which you can load and run many program is far more important, ask me as an iPHone user, or ask any 2.x Android users.

So I an holding my judge. MS might actually do something good this time, that do work.

So its more a trouble if they can get their marketing working again. And if handset makers will care about something that cost them money, when Android is cheaper (though not completely free of a price)

I quite enjoyed this article - I took it to be an opinion piece and I liked the fact that the author was willing to stick their neck out.

I've never understood how Microsoft became The Vole - I know the lame 'Microtus' explanation, and that it allegedly started on INQ in 2001 - but the name just feels right, and I want either a properly cool reason for it or, almost as good, absolutely no reason at all...

Unfortunately, Microsoft is paying people to comment on any negative press it gets about Windows Phone 7.

It follows the same pattern.

Microsoft paid commenters flood the forum with personal insults about the author, such as "you're an idiot", "you're a moron" etc etc.

The same thing is suddenly happening on articles all over the web. If any tech journalist writes anything negative about Windows Phone 7, expect a barrage of derogatory comments from Microsoft-paid commenters.

Why do you get to decide what will fail and what will not. Let's the user decide not the person with pen and paper.

No thanks.

Interesting, all the folks who flame the author instead of trying to tell us why WP7 will do well. The iPhone came out just shy of THREE YEARS ago.

For the fattest tech company to come to market 3 years late in the rapidly evolving mobile market space where weeks matter, MS really needed to do something special. WP7 is just adequate.

WP7:
• Not a greatly superior product
• Not priced low enough to compete (coming in 3 years late)
• Not an extra-competitive number of great apps available right away
• Not a modern from-the-ground-up mobility OS
• Not great precedent guaranteeing good products (e.g. Zune & Vista failures)
• Little market incentive for developers (but MS does pay developers outright)

I cannot imagine why anyone would pay premium long-term contract prices to own a WP7 phone that very likely will fail like the Zune did. With Android and iOS so solid, I sure as heck would not sign a 2-year contract for WP7!

comments by readers are more interesting as compare to Moron's article. I think author is looking for quick fame by writing such articles.

The same thing will happen to Windows Phone 7 has happened to Microsoft's Kin phones. They will be discontinued.

After which, users of those phones are left with useless bricks, and the promised updates never come.

Someone would have to be a complete fool to buy a Windows Phone 7 handset, knowing what shortcomings are in it.

Please Inquirer, don't ask this guy to write for you again. This article really was terrible. It's just one irrelevant statement after the next under an attention grabbing headline. Shocking.

For the record, I was genuinely asking if The Vole was supposed to be a nickname for Microsoft. I don't actively read the Inquirer. I found this article through my Google News feed and had never heard the term before. I got half-way through reading it before I realized that it wasn't the name of some Microsoft executive or some consulting firm related to Microsoft.

I've since found out that it's a term used by the Inquirer. I still don't understand why, but at least now I get that it's some kind of inside joke.

Mr. Orion, it's time to grow up. It's almost 2011 and here you are writing the same trite and tired anti-Microsoft articles that were once the bread and butter of IT journalism. There was a time when they were true, but that era has passed. Microsoft is no longer the evil empire that it once was. They've long since been replaced by Apple and Google and Facebook and countless other towering empires of the tech world. Please Mr. Orion. Stop beating the proverbial dead horse and let the past die. There are much more important issues to discuss.

Not really a great article overall, but I agree with the substance of it, particularly the last point on features.

Microsoft is about 3 years behind in the mobile phone race. They are releasing a product that lacks key features their competitors have. They have a notoriously long development cycle in a market where point releases are expected every couple of months and new versions every year.

MS needs to knock the ball out of the park on this one. They need blockbuster sales during the holiday season, they need an update that includes the missing features within 6 months of release, and they need to credibly commit to a shorter dev cycle. If they do not do all three, then WP7 will be a dead platform by the end of 2011.

To the guy suggesting commentators are astroturfing - do you assume that everyone who ever expresses an opinion you don't agree with is being paid to do so? Must make for a very paranoid life.

I don't know about others - but like most readers of most blogs I tend to arrive by following links on topics I'm currently interested in, so it's no surprise if some are not keenly aware of things like the 'Vole' reference or that TI is a highly opinionated site.

That pretty much every comments section after WP7 articles has people making accusations of shilling or astroturfing is telling - but it says more about the accusers than the comments.

That said, in balance, those accusing any author with negative views re. WP7 of holding them purely because they're Apple/Android fanboys are being just as tedious and silly. It is possible to hold any number of views, informed and uninformed, about any mobile OS, without being a blind fanboy or being paid shills. Really.

Is someone actually paying you not to pay attention to the market, technology, trends. Is someone actually paying you to write things crap with no truth in it? One thing is for certain, you're an embarrassment to journalists and a moron in general.

How can you be serious with this article? The first phones that come out are not the only phones that will be released with this OS. The hardware specs will improve and manufacturers can put the OS on any phones that meet these MINIMUM requirements. I am actually going to live without copy/paste and multi-tasking for a while and going to buy the Samsung Focus. I challenge you to actually look at the screen on the iphone and any other newer smartphone and try to tell me that you can tell a difference in clarity... any of these phones' displays will look as good as the iPhone to your human eye.

There are a number of fairly laughable assertions in this OP, the most incredible being the author making something of the difference between 854x480 and 800x480 resolution (seriously?).

The key problem with this analysis, however, is that it assumes the potential smartphone buying public at large is simultaneously as knowledgeable as, well, us (people who read tech blogs etc.), and so make connections between OSes such as WM6 and WP7 (I would put money on this - go and ask 100 iPhone users what they think of iOS, if you even get a majority knowing what that actually is, I'd be very surprised, and they are the ones using it), while at the same time being as technologically unaware as the public at large tend to be (and thus not grasping that WP7 is a ground floor up new creation pretty much unrelated to WM7).

You can't have it both ways. The truth is - some will look at what they see an OS do, some will get excited by any apps they hear of, some will go for what they think is cool, some will go for what is pretty, and some will be technologically aware and base their decisions on that not on what a company did in the past. The rest, of course, will be those whose blind loyalty/hatred for one OS will make all other factors irrelevant.

If I wasn't right about the above, then Pocket PC/Windows Mobile wouldn't have beaten Palm, Apple wouldn't have had their iRenaissance a few years back, Windows 7 wouldn't have become as huge as it is and Android wouldn't be threatening the iPhone dominance.

I don't know if WP7 will succeed or fail, but I do know that most of the analyses plumping for either option are, frankly, built on such poor assumptions that we really do need to wait and see. The OS has potential and, let's not be silly, the hardware is more than up to the task of giving most users what they want (even what they don't know what they want yet). Apps are coming, devices are looking good, and MS is so committed to the future of the new OS that I suspect that the January 2011 copy/paste/flash/navigation update will be just the first of many.

Only a fool would write WP7 off at this point.

So from the other comments you can see where Microsoft's marketing budget [courtesy of Windows 7 and Office] is going to go ... damage control on the web.

We have commenters that have never heard "Vole" here before. We have ones saying this in an opinion and not news [true] apparently new to the site also since the even the news pieces here [and at semi-related sites] has always incorporated some opinion.

What a silly, bias article! Wow! I have been reading the Inq for many years but i dont know what has been happening over the last couple of years all the reporters are turning into bias morons like the author of the aforementioned article.

Even Joe Wilcox from betanews who is also bias in his articles backs his opinions and biased views with facts. You have just stated a bias that even if i agreed with your point of view you have failed to entice me to continue reading.

And what is it with 'the vole' and 'micro$oft'? That is getting seriously old! it was fun at the start but now turning into a bore.

I really hope the Inq doesn't continue employing authors like the ones above, i do understand the style of reporting is different to the traditional style (which is what first enticed me to read the Inq) but it needs to be balanced.

All the best!

Seriously. What was the deal with this horrible opinion piece that had pretty much no basis in fact. WP7 has nothing to do with WM 6.5 or any of the prior phones. I own and love my android phone so it sure isn't microsoft bias. I just hate reading stuff that is so not based on fact. I feel bad for the people who don't know any better and think that you are correct in your statements.

I am being following Window Mobile 5.x, android 1.x and apple.

I Agree earlier version of Window Mobile was bad, WM7 is completely rewritten means its does not have anything to do with previous versions, we can see that and UI is really looks good.

In my opinion writer either favored towards apple or android, he/she should open minded.

is this guy talking about. The smartphone market is still nascent. Smartphone probably represent less than 10% of cell phone usage. MS has ample time to get penetration and MS has the benefit of its office suite and seamless exchange synchronization. Personally, I am tired of Google and would only consider WebOS as an alternative to a functional MS product. I just want something that seamlessly connects me to my corporate account.

Your article stinks. I will, henceforth, actively avoid clicking on any article @ the inquirer

Wow, for some reason I thought you would give intelligent reasons why WP7 will flop. After reading your 'article' I wonder if you've ever even seen WP7 or just regurgitate what you read on Apple forums. It's ironic that you could have said the exact same thing about the iphone when it came out regarding the copy/paste, etc. I have used an iPhone for over a year and personally can't wait to dump it and replace with a Windows Phone 7. This is probably the worst article I've read that frankly had nothing to do with WP7, and more about trashing the hardware specs. Before you write anything technical in the future, will you please at least learn something about the subject you're writing?

This is the worst tech Article i Have read and have seen on the net. Please find another Job as soon as possible.

This is clearly an opinion article - and an uneducated and uninformed one at that.

This article is bait to get your hit count up??? It's rubbish. Just like most of the other articles on the web titled: "x resons ____ will fail/succeed.

How bout doing some real writing and give your article a real title? Sure you'ld only get 1/10000th of the hits but at least you'ld be credible.

SHEESH! BAIT!

Oh darn. I took the bait too. Arrrgh!

This is a very poor review.

First, the WM platform, with all of its shortcomings, wasn't a failure. I still think it's the best mobile platform for someone who wants to do real work on their device, as opposed to just using it as a multimedia / calls / text server. It's way more configurable than iPhone. What it lacked, until recently, was the eye candy and finger friendliness (finally achievable on WM6.5 but too late now). What really killed it, though, was the cost. WM phones were consistently more expensive than Androids, and WM software titles were $30 a pop vs free or mere pennies for Android or iPhone titles. Vast majority of users didn't need the more advanced applications of WM. MS abandoned the platform for far too long. I recently switched from a PDA to a smartphone, and went with a WM6.5 device - and I really wanted to get Android, but several key features (such as ability to take handwritten notes on screen) were just not available.
Will WM7 kill Android ? No, of course not. But I think it will be a solid #3. And when it comes to people who actually _use_ their devices, probably on par.

"Is this news article or an opinion piece?"

The word in bright red at the top of the article is a clue. :)

U are comparing 854x480 pixels with 850x480 pixels (as if u can find productive ways to fill those 4 extra pixels) while comparing droid n win7. A common user will care more about the feel of the end-product and not these crappy ignorable differences.

The Inquirer paid this moron to write this?! The author is obviously a MS hater!

I'm not here to bash you or be overly harsh but when you see so many people telling you flat out that you're a retard, then you may have to look into it and re-evaluate your journalistic style.

I agree with some of the things that you said and I'm an ex-Windows mobile user and I completely agree that my past experiences with Windows mobile will keep me very wary of the new OS. But some of your reasoning is flat out rubbish. The part about the minimum specs is absolute crap because they're MINIMUM specs, not the actual specs of the phone.

Also, when the Iphone first rolled out it was so low on features that you could barely call it a phone: it didn't have message forwarding, copy-paste, multi-tasking, bluetooth, video recording, the list is endless. The only reason the Iphone has flourished and bloomed the way it has is because of the snob value associated with owning an Apple product and the App store (which is awesome and has made the Iphone the success that it is today). I remember when the Iphone 4 was released I realized that this is the first phone that they've released that is equivalent to my 2-3 year old Nokia, feature wise (not specification wise). Now they were creating a new market at the time and they had the luxury of the being dicks and taking their own sweet time rolling out the features and milking the public with their incrementally upgraded versions of the Iphone but unfortunately, MS is entering a highly saturated market already and I don't think they have the luxury of rolling out an OS that's not top notch and comparable to the best out there, let alone being without basic functionality like copy-paste and multi-tasking.

But please, as a writer, try and be more articulate in making your point and more objective in getting your message across. Your article really sucks.

Wait, so is "The Vole" supposed be a nickname for Microsoft? I don't understand...

The person who wrote this article is very biased and ignorant. He probably has not even used the phone to see what it can or cannot do.

Let me think like you do, since the Iphone 4 was a flop(bad reception, not true multitasking, non-user replaceable battery), then you should be saying this is the end of the Iphone. They will not get any better...

Terrible article, the author has no understanding of what he is writing about.
I will not be reading anything from the Inquirer anymore.
How many times did he say that the previous version of Windows Mobile were terrible?
More then a few years ago, it was just Handspring, Palm and Windows.....I had an Ipaq and was quite happy with it.
Educate yourself before you make an even bigger fool of yourself.

I GET IT! You hate the VOLE. Microsoft sucks. This is real fun and we've heard it since 1990 or so, right after people realized that IBM wasn't the evil empire and redirected their hate.

How about you start reading the technology news and see that Microsoft isn't the swift+evil monolith it was when you started this act. Now it's just a monolith, like every other corporation. Make up a name for Google (I recommend a play on Ghoulie), since they are the new swift monolith that wants to aggregate your thoughts and project ads into your retinas. The potential for evil there is 1000 fold.

This act is getting old.

I've developed on Droid and I'm very impressed with the Win7 Phone kit. It's nice. The interface also takes (obvious) but necessary steps the others don't.

Apple's firm product line will hold up like the Maginot line if something cooler comes along, and this may well be it. Or not, who knows. Microsoft's big issue is their image, but that's something a few hundred million in ads, a partnership with Facebook and connecting in other market monopolies(XBOX, Windows, Enterprise stuff) can change. We'll see.

1. Windows 7's legacy was Windows Vista, but that didn't stop it from succeeding. The mistake with WM5/WM6 is that it shared a common platform for phones and PocketPC devices - the PocketPC devices were VERY successful in the enterprise, but the consumer phones suffered from a limited user interface and underlying OS. WP7 wipes the slate clean, and if you've tried one of the new phones, you should realize it's a vast departure from what preceded it.

2. High-Resolution isn't everything in display technology. The iPhone4 screen is excellent, but so is the 4.3" 800x480 screen on the HD2/HD7. While the iPhone 'technically' has 60% more display area in terms of pixels, that doesn't make it more usable. Compare Yahoo!Mail or Exchange WebMail on the iPhone4 and the HD2/HD7. The physical screen size of the HD2/HD7 makes it easier to work with (if you have man hands) and that can make up for the smaller pixel density.

3. Yes, WP7 doesn't have all the desired features enabled coming out of the gate, but Apple added cut&paste after the fact too. I believe Microsoft's approach for WP7 is correct - target the most important consumer features first, and follow up with incremental feature releases.

In any case, comparing the Windows Phone product with the iPhone is an exercise in futility - Apple offers little variety with the "single phone" model, Microsoft allows vendors to provide variety on top of well-defined specifications. At least this time around, they're writing the drivers... probably the smartest move they made.

Now if only they could have found something else for Ballmer to do on release day... seriously, could they not find a more media-friendly launch figure? Ballmer on the NBC Today show - uggggghhhh!

"Why will anyone want to buy a crippled smartphone?"

I don't know, but people seem to be buying lots of iphones. Doesn't get much more crippled than that.

I agree with the author. Window Phone 7 is yet another attempt at playing catch-up in an already established marketplace. They had years to get with the program, but they dropped the ball. This is just the latest from a has-been company with no real vision. Their reputation has been in decline for years, and I'm sure this will just be the latest addition. Smell ya later MS.

If you had looked or tried to understand the demographic me microsoft is targeting you would have found a valid story.

Hmm that gets me to the question are you a fanboy ha ha.......

hey... if they can't put copy and paste in the first release they failed. plain and simple. Microsof will fail for the simple reason that they are playing catch-up and not inovating. regardless of what the author wrote, it's going to be tough for MS to gain much in this game.

This article is terrible.. let alone the bias, the logic behind your arguments are totally flawed as others have noted. This pub needs to start recruiting some better writers with at least some reasoning capability or tech expertise. Based on this article's quality, the inquirer is a total rag.

Author obviously has no knowledge of the wireless industry much less smartphones. Next time sir before you jump on a band wagon you should do some actual research on the topic you plan to write about.

I'm by no means a Microsoft fan boy but I think they have done a solid job of creating a very interesting new platform.

Let the consumer decide if the platform will fail or not, because your uneducated claim is simply a waste of white space.

This article is wrong on so many levels that it is just worthless. I have an iPhone that I love, but I believe that the Windows Phone 7 is a worthy alternative that I may consider next time. One of the complaints is that Windows Phone 7 doesn't ship with Adobe Flash or Silverlight, er, does the iPhone? Don't quit your day job.

I hope that writing this rubbish isn't your day job. What a waste of my time to bother reading it. Thanks, that's 10 minutes of my life I'll never get back, and I have nothing to show for it other than the knowledge that you are ignorant.

Very bias article. Is the inquirer a bias company or do they just not have any control over their content writers?

Agreed.

Is this news article or an opinion piece?

Horrible.

I dont know if Windows 7 will flop or not, but based on your reasining I can provide you some valid information. You are a moron. The Fact that one of your reasons bases the fact windows 7 will flop because of its previous versions is irrelivant. Windows has made everyone very aware (just look at the OS for yourself) that this is a completely revamped OS, and cannot be compared to its predecesors. I think with Microsofts current relationship with Facebook along gives them a decent shot, on top of them integrating Uverse,Xbox among all of your other entertainment devices. Microsoft may not come up #1. but I do see them giving Blackberry a run for their money for hte #3 spot.

I do not know why I kept reading your bias opinion after the first paragraph, first off those are minimum specs for the phone, so any company making a phone for this platform has a set of requirements. Ya maybe none of the initial release phones beat iphone 4 specs but it wont take long for one to be released, thats the beauty of anyone being able to make a phone for an OS is variety, the world likes individuality and that is something Android and WP7 offer. As for the OS not being a finished product Android and IOS both release updates to improve functionality. Iphones didnt have copy and paste for a while. Im not even going to bother writing more

can't come up with anything new you get it off with your maxIPad.