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Microsoft shafts HTC phone users
STUMBLING PHONE OS VENDOR Microsoft has decided that users of Windows Mobile 6.X devices, including HTC's just-launched HD2, will not be allowed to upgrade to its Windows 7 Phone OS.
This news will miff owners of HTC's highly-praised HD2 touchscreen smartphone, particularly since the HD2 meets many of the criteria laid down in Microsoft's 'Chassis 1' specifications.
After all it has a 1GHz Qualcomm processor, a high-res capacitive touch display, a 5 megapixel camera and 3.5mm headphone jack. However it turns out that the phone has five buttons instead of the three blessed by the Vole's CEO Steve Ballmer.
Natasha Kwan, general manager for Microsoft's mobile communications business in the Asia-Pacific region, told APC that it is not that Microsoft is singling out the HD2 as a phone or even HTC as a manufacturer.
She said that it was all because Windows 7 had a very specific spec and the current phones HTC has right now will not be upgradable.
The Vole says it will not abandon the current Windows Mobile 6.X platform once Windows Phone 7 arrives. Instead it will be dubbed the Windows Phone Classic and retained for budget-minded smartphone buyers as well as business customers with 6.X-based apps.
However the question remains, why does Microsoft push such a tricky spec that means that manufacturers need to build unique machines for its operating system, particularly with HTC which has been a loyal partner?
Our theory is that the HD2 is a temporary machine that was designed to test out a few ideas until Windows 7 came out.
After all HTC knew what it was letting itself in for with Windows 6.X. Okay, it is probably the nicest looking smart phone on the market but it had a few buggy features and managed to get itself temporarily banned as too unreliable by several sellers. µ
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Phone7 is Microsoft's answer to the iPhone.
But we'll still see "windows mobile 7" it'll just be marketed as the business option.
After all, how many businesses use iPhones? Microsoft won't ignore their real market, and users will still need to run multiple apps at once.
Stop bashing MS. Its more a Class action lawsuit case against HTC, for denying customers a product which was developed during final days of WinMo7 but still HTC couldnt keep sync with MS or atleast clearly describe customers for no support for WinMo7.
All those Microsoft fanbois who mindlessly bought the latest Windows Phones just got shafted.
Most bought the HTC HD2 just to boast they had the largest thing in their pocket. This latest news will see them all deflate!
You should have bought Android, bois, you should have bought Android.
ctrl, alt and delete you mean? ;)
It's those three buttons, I think. MS are requiring Start, Back, Search, labelled as such. HTC's HD2 doesn't have a search button - no Windows Phone 7.
There aren't that many capacitive touch-screen WM6 phones, so most current models wouldn't be eligible for upgrade either. (Resistive touch-screens aren't easy to use with a finger.)
I'm sure xda-developers will find a way to hack the ROM, but official upgrades won't be licensed.
I bought the HTC Diamond.
Windows mobile is the worst thing they can ever put on that phone. It wastes more than 50% of the memory with the OS only. It takes many time to react and there is limited language support.
That's why I'm expecting to get an update for a (fully working) Android on this phone.
No more M$ in my phones...
This is pretty lame, especially when articles like this have been floating around for a while: http://www.redmondpie.com/htc-hd2-to-get-windows-mobile-7-upgrade-9140128/
Don't think it will be a problem when the people at xda-developers.com get hold of it though... a little key remapping here, a touch of new version there... and they will have it working in minutes.
How is it that this HTC model is not eligible for Windows Phone 7, yet the LG model shown at Engadget over the weekend with clearly more than 3 buttons runs the new OS just fine?
HTC should offer an upgrade to Android instead....
I noticed that not all Android handsets are being made able to upgrade either. I guess the OS you pay for is the one you get at the moment. Although tying down the hardware requirements should make it simpler in the future to tell what phones are and are not capable of future OS upgrades. For example it might be that the next version has the same hardware requirements. Also it should make the user experience more consistent between devices.
I was going to get the HDC2 and then upgrade it to Win7 when that came out.
I would have been stuffed completly!
They need to decide what they REALLY want...
I know that the average person is not too caring of what OS is on their phone, but here is the deal. I do, my wife does not and if MS is going to be a bigger dink than Apple, then what does it matter if I get or if I get my wife to get an iPhone. Cause at this point, that is what is now solidly in the cards for my wife who is up for an upgrade...
Not smart MS, not smart...
What a load of crap aNewbie. Vista was fine after SP1. Also it makes sense for microsoft to come down hard on the spec of the phones so it isnt so fragmented like before (this was a complaint by the public). If the HD2 doesn't meet those specs, it doesnt meet the specs. There's nothing wrong with the software on the HD2 anyway!
People who buy a phone on brand loyalty shouldn't be allowed to buy a phone anyway. Surely you look at the pro's and con's of each phone to decide on which to buy, regardless of who makes it.
As they did the same think to anyone that's loyal to their Vista sh_t and brought the damn thing TOO early. And as a loyal customer, M$ decided not to let anyone loyal to them to upgrade to Windows 7.
Just switch to something else, Apple, Google, IBM, ... anything!