Windows Phone “Mango” preview event on Tuesday – A summary
I know this will be met with the usual, cursory derision, trolling and vehement denial of any good that could possibly come from this event and Nokia’s involvement but for the first time in 2 weeks I actually feel like blogging and I won’t have your negative feedback taking that from me!!
Anywho, Microsoft is holding a preview event for their Windows Phone 7.5/Mango update on Tuesday 24th at 10:00 AM to detail their upcoming OS updates and the future of their mobile operating system. While we’ve covered quite a bit of the rumours surrounding what’s set to be announced on Tuesday, we felt it important to summarize all the news, covered both here and elsewhere to get a better idea of what this update is bringing to the table.
I’ll preface this by saying that comparatively speaking, this update is likely as significant (or even moreso) as the jump from S^1 to S^3 in terms of features, hardware support and increases in general usability.
1. Turn by turn navigation:
For many, myself included, this is a major requirement of ANY smartphone operating system and device that I use on a daily basis. Having used this on my 5800 for the better part of 2 years it was more than a little annoying not having access to this feature in the current iteration of Windows Phone. Personally, I expect that this implementation will be spartan at best and passable at worst but with Nokia on board, I expect Nokia’s devices will have significantly improved mapping abilities and integration (Ovi Maps 3D on steroids anyone?)
2. Multitasking:
Lets be real, a mobile operating system that doesn’t feature system-wide multitasking for both first party or 3rd-party applications is gimped (being as generous as possible here). Luckily for Microsoft, they’ve made moves to rectify this as soon as possible. While it isn’t likely to even remotely compete with Maemo (and the N900) in terms of multitasking prowess, from my own research, this will likely be the BEST implementation of multitasking for non-power users while simultaneously allowing the power users the degree of control they want on the applications they keep running.
I’ll be following up on WP7′s multitasking framework soon and explain why it’s not really that different from Symbian or Maemo in both the end user facing way but also at the system and functionality level. PS. If you’re too lazy to read, I’ll be sure to include a video 
.
3. Bing upgrades up the wazoo.
Bing, for all the flak it gets (sometimes deservedly so) is ridiculously well integrated into the OS and is really not as bad a search engine as many think. It’s certainly NO google, but it’s arguably better integrated, more fluid to use and a lot better integrated than current search implementations either on Symbian or Maemo are and have ever been. Shazam-like Bing Audio, Bing vision for reading QR codes etc. and FINALLY an image search utility integrated into the already stellar search experience (whose default appearance will be even better with the coming update).
Now users will be able to tag songs and other audio, read visual markers, search the web, search the local GPS database for anything within a local radius, search the news, search for marketplace apps AND content on the device all with a quick tap on the search button. (insert video?)
Better still, unlike Google search on Android devices, it’s well broken down into separate categories or pivots.
4. More improvements to the speech to text engine.
The speech to text engine for search or voice commands on WP7 is as good if not better than the implementation on Symbian. Adding the ability to narrate entire texts is seemingly on tap for this update.
5. Better integration of third-party services and podcast support.
Currently, it’s possible for third-party, cloud-based video services like Supertube (best youtube client EVER), Youtube etc into the Zune application and it seems that even more services could be possibly added. On top of that, there seems to be an increasing likelihood that podcasting will be significantly improved. (hopefully downloading and management OTA?)
6. Custom ringtones and SmartDJ
The former is self-explanatory and something a great many detractors have complained about incessantly since WP7′s release. The latter is similar to Genius on iTunes in that it creates playlists and mixes based on song/artist similarity, definitely a plus IMO.
7. East Asian language keyboard, dictionary and handwriting support.
Obviously the attempts to push WP7 into larger markets like China will require significant localization and this is seemingly the next logical step in such an approach.
8. People hub getting a huge upgrade
The people hub in its current iteration is an aggregation of contacts from a variety of sources, including your mail and Facebook contacts. Twitter integration has already been promised and it’s rumoured that FB chat, Windows Live Messenger Chat and AIM chat will all be making the cut for this next update. Given the recent acquisition of Skype I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before that gets chucked into the mix as well.
Here’s to hoping they allow a significant bit of filtering of said contacts and also do some work on that notification system at the same time. With that many options for communication, there’s bound to be some hell to pay if there’s no change on that front.
9. Email and group messaging updates.
The email application is supposedly getting server searching, threaded email views, pinnable email folders (pin a special work email folder to the “desktop”), Lync support, support for hidden corporate Wi-Fi networks and possibly other changes we’re not privy to. Also users will be
10. Socket support
Much was also made of the missing socket support upon the initial release so it’s no surprise that this is coming AND fast, Skype and Whatsapp already being on board that train and many others likely to follow suit.
11. Wi-Fi Hotspot support
Self-explanatory really, but users may be able to use their devices as Wi-Fi hotspots without the need for separate applications. Of course, knowing carriers that feature will be conveniently stripped out or well hidden.
12. Office 365
Ability to better sync documents created on the device over the cloud to either you Skydrive (decent amount of free storage is already provided) , Sharepoint or through Office 365. It’s likely that further corporate and enterprise services may be integrated as time goes by.
As much as has been said already, this update is FAR from a minor one and much more deserving of an 8.0 designation as opposed to a 7.5 even without considering the UI, battery-life and performance improvements that are likely(nigh guaranteed) to be on the way. Chances are that there’s even more to find out about this update come tomorrow so don’t get all disappointed and start hating too quickly k? If only Anna brought this much to the table 
.
Editor’s Note: Keep the comments clean, I will be moderating them if I see them devolving significantly into personal attacks etc.
PS. There are now 18000 applications in the WP7 marketplace, albeit quite a few aren’t exactly wondrous, significant growth is significant much like the explosion of QT apps in the Ovi Store. Doesn’t seem like such a dire decision by the Nokia board so far.
Category: Nokia
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So you've read something I've written. yay!! As you already know, my name is Andre and I'm currently a student based in Atlanta. Much like Jay, I pretty much blog here in my free time. Follow me on twitter @andre1989 or contact me directly at Andre(at)mynokiablog(dot)com. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions.Subscribe
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nice work andre… thanks
Andre you wrote “I know this will be met with the usual, cursory derision, trolling and vehement denial of any good that could possibly come from this event”
The reason you get this response is because you frequently respond in your annoying little fanboy troll way to people that point out the huge obvious flaws and shortcomings in Windows Phone, and the way you unfairly put Symbian down. What sort of response do you expect if you rile people like that? “LOL” (as you frequently say)
I have called you out on that more than most. And yet I am perfectly happy to accept Windows Phone as the future of Nokia smartphones *IF* it offers me more than their Symbian phones have done. In features (that people need and use), in efficiency, cost, performance, reliability and so on.
If it does not, where on earth is the sanity in trying to convince ourselves that “yeah, it’s all OK, Symbian is inferior and Windows Phone MUST be better, because Nokia and Microsoft say that’s the future and we just have to accept it”. NO. Why should I believe a lie? It is not going to happen.
Right now, Windows Phone is a steaming heap of shit with a slightly nice interface on it (AND no one is buying it – consumers don’t want it!). Symbian is a beautiful piece of technical excellence with a slightly poor user interface in parts on it (e.g. the keyboard implementation is SHIT on Symbian – clunky, slow and bugged). But most of Symbian is fantastic.
* ALL * you Windows Phone fanboys on here do is lie down and give up and convince yourselves that because you can do nothing to change it, Windows Phone has to be excellent and Symbian has to now be shit – you’ve convinced yourself of that position. And you don’t like it when someone comes along and disturbs that illusion by disagreeing with you. Which is a.) sad, and b.) rampant fanboyism (even worse, to Microsoft, a long time big bad bully boy in the PC industry and convicted monopolist in the USA and Europe).
When WinPho proves itself to be as good as or better than Symbian I will embrace it with open arms. Until then don’t expect me or many millions of other people to be stupid or insane enough to spend good money DOWNGRADING our excellent Nokia Symbian smartphones. Simple. As. That.
Hook line and sinker! For both of us. LOL. I always find myself replying to you! I’m sorry, Smith, but only you would call the person that wrote the article a troll. Only you would call the reporting of the progress of the OS that Nokia wants to use as their main OS “hating on Symbian” or “ignoring the flaws” of Windows mobile. Nowhere have I seen anyone say that Symbian is inferior to Windows. You are so delusional in your love for Symbian that you see ANY mention of another OS as a direct attack or insult to Symbian. It is obvious that you’ll NEVER be conviced to leave Symbian. Unfortunately for you, even Nokia in a way has left Symbian. All Andre or any one else here is trying to do is monitor and support the progress of the next OS likely to be on the next Nokia phone. That’s NOT Symbian hating or Windows Mobile fanboism, that’s just the reason why we are all here…to see what Nokia can come up with next. It IS called MY NOKIA BLOG, after all!
What a load of total nonsense. You are one of the WinPho fanboys I’m talking about. Andre is definitely a troll, and it’s his comment that I am specifically replying to: “I know this will be met with the usual, cursory derision, trolling and vehement denial of any good that could possibly come from this event”
Clearly you have failed to read or understand what I wrote and are so keen to shoot me down in flames that you can’t help yourself. Oh well perhaps other people will have the common sense to ignore your nonsense and realise what I am saying is obvious.
Seriously, you’re the one with the powertalk with words like ‘nonsense’ and ‘troll’ that’s just talking down to others.
You don’t deserve to be adressed like that nor does a writer or commenter on this blog.
You do realize that it’s this non constructive manner of writing is killing any meaning your post might have?
I can’t believe that I just got called a Windows fanboy. LOL. Now we see how truly off his rocker Ninja/Roger/Smith is! This is quite literally one of the if not first article I’ve said anything about my impressions of Windows Mobile…..and I’m one of these supposed “Windows fanboy trolls”.
You are TRULY dilusional to think that ANYTHING you say is constructive in any manner. This article is about upcoming features on Nokia’s future platform and somehow you always seem to bring up the anti-Symbian card….EVERY time. It’s getting OLD. Move on already. And for what it’s worth, this IS Andre’s site. He can write whatever he wants without being called a troll. His comment that you refer to is spot on. Just look at the turn this thread has made….b/c of you and your “only Symbian forever” attitude. Can we stop with this now and get back to discussing the Mango update? This has turned into exactly what Andre didn’t want it to!
Oh do be quiet. People continually love my posts on here, and continually vote my posts to be some of the most popular of all on the stories I comment on AllAboutSymbian. You’re just being rather silly.
LOL! You really live in your own reality. It’s really painful to watch sometimes. You really embarrass yourself alot in just about every post you make. You’ve got delusions of grandeur. Your proclamations on how Symbian is the best OS ever and ever to be is laughable by anyone’s standards. I mean you’re such an unabashed Symbian fanboy, your ass almost got banned from AAS a while ago. Even Steve Litchfield has said you are too much. If you’ve got nothing to add to the discussion other than bitch and moan why nobody loves symbian as much as you, why do you come here?
Haha, I also nearly fell for it.
But I do see fort Smith/fort Ninja/fort Decent/fort Roger crumbling a bit.
At first WP wouldn’t be touched with a 10ft pole. But now it would be if it had the right features. And the concept of accepting the future has also sunk in.
Is Roger/Smith/Ninja something like an Artificial Intelligence that learns with each post and reply. Nokia has got something really sophisticated, an autopost bot that can learn from responses.
Give it a rest guys, please. Let’s stop the bickering eh?
Dude, you are so predictable. I bet you stink at poker.
There’s another option that some of them are payed in dollars for promoting WP as THE platform of choice.
I can understand there being diehard fans of a well-established OS, like Symbian, Android, iOS..
But when I see so many people speaking in orgasmic tones of an OS that has practically only just been released, lacking in features and customization and practically everything else that other OS’s have had for a long time.. it makes me wonder.
For example, have you noticed that on the day Elop announced Nokia’s transition to WP, the Engadget website was literally FLOODED with positive comments about WP. The articles reached 4-5 THOUSAND comments. In a SINGLE day.
Looking at the comment history of those posters I was quite surprised to find that most of them (about 90% from the sample I took) had only ONE or TWO comments in their whole history.
Evidently word was given from “higher-up” to MS employees to post positive comments about WP on blogs like Engadget that day.
Big business is rarely honest. Especially where a company’s reputation is at stake. This is why I find Andre’s posts here somewhat suspicious in that light, as well.
Think about it. If WP7 was as wonderful is everyone here says it is, wouldn’t it have sold much more? The sales figures say that nobody really wants it. Yet blogs are flooded with comments that praise it to heavens. Something’s missing..
I’ve used wp7 extensively and bar say 5 features on Symbian that I used regularly (that can be done on other OS’s too mind you)
Ivenot missed it one bit…not a single bit of synbian’s UI, organization and options has been missed bar 5.
Funny thing is, the majority of smartphone buyers are even less fussy than I am and guess what, they’re def not buying Symbian either lol.
To each their own though, I will be buying those Nokia windows phones and not because I’m getting paid but because its something that I actuy want to use
> the majority of smartphone buyers are even less fussy than I am and guess what, they’re def not buying Symbian either lol.
See, this is what I’m talking about folks. Can anyone explain how Andre is not trolling here?
For the record, before Christmas, WinPho sold somewhere between under 700,000 and 1.5 million depending on who you believe. The brand new S^3 phones alone, of which most sales were the N8, sold 5 million.
Then after Christmas, in Q1 Symbian is still top of the sales charts, selling more than any other smartphone platform, and more than iPhone + Blackberry combined. WinPho meanwhile managed 1.5 million despite huge marketing campaign.
Knowing all that perfectly well, Andre then states something that he knows to be blatantly untrue (“they’re not buying Symbian either”) and then rubs it in with “Laugh Out Loud” at the end of the comment.
How is saying that not trolling, in light of those sales facts. If anyone thinks that’s not trolling, they don’t know what trolling is.
Andre is a troll. He’s also very suspiciously a massive fanboy of Windows Phone as is Rant and one or two other people on here.
Readers, if you want my advice? Ignore ALL comments and posts by Andre, Rant and Hypnopottamus – you’re just being misled.
You fully understand that most Symbian devices aren’t bought for and/or used for their status as actual smartphones. Secondary to that is the fact that WP7 is available in a significantly smaller number of markets than say Symbian an argument you have heard and summarily ignored before.
I’m not trolling either, it’s my opinion and I’m generally light-hearted with it. Secondly, the Q4 stats that you reference happen to ignore the fact that Symbian^3 devices like the N8 were available for nearly twice as much time as WP7 devices in the US.
Ignore my posts if you view them as trolling and if others share your view, they’re welcome to do so. As for the veracity of my posts, I write the facts as I see them and no more. Others can and do offer different opinions and if the “truth” you wish to hear is not being found here then help yourself.
Give it a rest already. Britney Spears sold 8 million records in 2010. Does that mean she’s the best singer ever? The reason why people dismiss Symbian is because it simply cannot function the way a modern day smartphone should. Where is the push email? Where is the fully functional browser? Where is the fully functional Social Networking client? Who is misleading who?
If a smartphone OS can’t do the above, tell me why anyone would want to get Symbian. Numbers don’t lie. Symbian is LOOSING market share. The reason is because of the above mentioned. Don’t come here proclaiming Symbian is the best OS ever if it can’t even do the simple (and most used) tasks mentioned above.
None of us would come here if we weren’t Symbian fans once. There’s a difference between trolling and being critical! Now that Symbian can’t perform as it should, we come here to see what else Nokia has to offer. Right now, that’s WP7 and we’re here to see what it’s like and what it has to offer. We already know what Symbian has to offer. Jack and Shit and Jack’s out of town. It’ll have been 8 fucking months until Symbian^3 gets a portrait keyboard. If you’re happy with that type of progress so be it, but don’t come here and call us trolls when all we here want is something functional all around!
It would be nice if you would explain why Symbian “simply cannot function the way a modern day smartphone should”.
You know, give examples of that. I’m waiting…
What the fuck are you waiting for? I already listed them. Read again.
Very funny. So push e-mail, and a social networking client? That’s all? There’s Opera Mobile, so browser is a moot point.
Boy, aren’t we being picky? Symbian has a great email client, push functionality is not the be-all of email.
Social services hmm.. You can always access them on your browser, as well. I guess it’s too friggin hard to click a bookmark in Opera (and lo and behold, you get a fully functional Facebook page!).
Please, your reasons are a joke.
I don’t know why have to keep repeating these things over and over. I say Symbian doesn’t have core functionality BECAUSE IT DOESN’T! Look, there are 2 main demographics that utilize modern day smartphones. Each demographic has their own need/wants (maybe they overlap sometimes). Business/enterprise user & multi-media/entertainment user.
The business/enterprise user depends on e-mail. Being late 5 minutes means losing a client, a contract, or even your job! Don’t downplay the importance of push email. There are SEVERAL documented issues w/ Nokia’s email. It simply isn’t reliable as a business/enterprise device. Second is the calendar. If one has multiple calendars to keep track of, being able to easily navigate and read the month view is essential. As of now (it suppose to come with Anna) there is NO way to differentiate between multiple calendars. Symbian is on the E7, the supposed “ultimate business device”. I’m sorry but it just doesn’t measure up. It really is a joke!
For the multi-media/entertainment user typically wants a fully functional browser, a good social network client, and the ability to listen/watch music/movies. Symbian does well with movies. It also does pretty well in the gaming department. The music app is not very good. Try searching for an artist. I’m sorry, but Opera mobile is a joke as far as fully functional browsers go. You’ve got NO FLASH support, thus you can’t view sites with embedded videos including facebook! Try viewing articles with video posted on THIS blog. YOU CAN’T! So there goes your half assed Opera workaround! Since you have no dedicated youtube app, you’re forced to use Symbians crappy native browser. Again, these are features that most prospective multi-media/entertainment user looks for ina smartphone.
This is getting long, but you forced me to point out Symbian’s shortcomings and I did. There is NO reason why a businessman would take a chance on an OS whose email client has an unreliable Push experience! Same goes when it comes to entertainment users! They look for a FULLY FUNCTIONAL browser along w/ social networking features. Symbian just doesn’t cut it.
As a former Symbian user, I have to say that you Symbian fanboys realy need to try other platforms and see what they are capable of. Instead of making silly compromises with half assed features, you need to see how truly far behind the curve Symbian has found itself. You call my complaints a joke, but the joke’s on you! Your defense of an incomplete OS isn’t doing Nokia any favors. In fact, sorry to say, with all the bugs and lags and workarounds Symbian user’s have to put up with, it’s no wonder why it has become the laughing stock of the smartphone world!
Let me tell you then, why WP “simply cannot function the way a modern smartphone should”.
No full Bluetooth connectivity. No USB-OTG. No file manager. No SD card usability (as a removable storage). No video calling. Has to be synced through PC – no drag-and-dropping files.
Shall I go on? The ones I listed above are core smartphone features expected in 21st century. WP fails on all those counts.
Symbian has them. Please stop repeating the same old rubbish. It makes you look silly.
Somehow you’ve mistaken me for a Windows phone fanboy, the same accusation Ninja threw at me. This is really the 1st time I’ve ever commented on WP7. If you see my other posts here, you will see the opposite is true. In other words, YOU’RE BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE!! I’ve only expressed my interest in where Nokia and WP7 is headed. You still thin I look silly?
So, after several long posts, your “list of missing features” is down to two things: missing flash and push email? Hilarious. Hey, I’ve got news for you: if five minutes makes the difference of having a job or a stock for you, push email should be the LEAST of your problems. As for embedded youtube.. Make up your mind, are you the business user or the multimedia type? Fooling around with your phone on the job is a sure way to get yourself fired, and not even push email will help you then.
In any case, no need to reply anymore. It seems we’ll never understand each other’s points of view. You are simply nitpicking from the view of a hipster with nothing better to do, while I look at it from the point of an everyday user. To a foodie any normal meals will look stale.
——”How is saying that not trolling, in light of those sales facts. If anyone thinks that’s not trolling, they don’t know what trolling is.
Andre is a troll. He’s also very suspiciously a massive fanboy of Windows Phone as is Rant and one or two other people on here.
Readers, if you want my advice? Ignore ALL comments and posts by Andre, Rant and Hypnopottamus – you’re just being misled.”——
Brilliant. No one else showcases irony, hypocrisy and fanboyism better.
Troll accuses others of trolling.
There’s healthy conversation and then there’s what you do. We’ve had this talk, perhaps almost 1000 times. I don’t think you’ve ever bothered to exchange back with me as your troll post was there simply to initiate my yet long winded reply.
It’s amazing we all still fall for it. I guess that’s why Internet trolling is so rife. There’s a guilty masochistic pleasure in responding to such troll-posts.
It gets a little tiring at times though as you take the discussion away from what was meant to be in the post.
“Symbian is still top of the sales charts, selling more than any other smartphone platform, and more than iPhone + Blackberry combined.”
It was on my to do list, unfortunately exam/revision I couldn’t get around to it. But Q1 according to Gartner says Symbian did NOT top the sales chart. Android Alone had more units sold. I’d like to know where your numbers came from (as these numbers have room for error. I remember when Canalys claimed a premature victory for Android last year).
I’d like you to prove me wrong. I don’t like the inevitability where Nokia’s market share is headed during this transition period.
To me, 36% > 27%. 27% from Symbian.
“and more than iPhone + Blackberry combined”
16.8 (iOS) + 12.9 (rim) = 29.7
I only did math up to A-Level, but something tells me 29.7>27.
It’s a shame that last this time last year you would be correct. And the years before that it was laughable that every major os and manufacturer combined could not exceed Nokia’s market share with Symbian.
One thing may be true is that Nokia as a manufacturer is still top. Though Samsung is snapping strongly at the heels. Apple too with iPhones. Just 18m vs 24m last quarter?
In other words: the Lady Gaga effect.
It’s obvious you have a disconnect with reality. So much so you can’t even see the reason why a businessman, who is rarely at his desktop and gets half a dozen LAST MINUTE meeting requests a day would need push email. I guess missing meetings/conference calls is okay for you! Anyhow, you obviously don’t have an answer (nor deny) as to why Nokia, in this day and age can’t get push email!
Nor do you deny the lack of a fully functional browser. It is obvious that you don’t have the intelligence to read or comprehend what I have said. I said there are 2 main demographics that make up smartphone users. Me making my mind up as to which I am has got NOTHNG TO DO WITH IT! Your dismissiveness of my comment (even when I took the time to reply) can only mean a couple of things:
1. You don’t have a need for a smarthpone since these BASIC features are missing and you don’t seem to mind
2. I am in the right. Nokia, using Symbian, simply doesn’t measure up as a modern day smartphone.
I suspect both to be the case(with the later DEFINITELY being the case). Thanks for proving my point for me. CASE CLOSED!
Darn, unmasked at last.
But you should try it sometime, Microsoft just sent a check in the mail for 3000 positive WP posts. Each one worth a dollar.
Easy money if you ask me, I hope Nokia can top MS’ offer and go to 2 dollars per pro Symbian post. But I think the top income will always belong to Smith/Roger/Decent/Ninja, those double accounts rake in the big money.
Love it, gave me a chuckle
HOLY FREAKING RAPTURE. You’re back in all your broken record glory.
I expect this comment is TL;DR.
I’d just like to know whether you are actually purposely trolling in our comments or whether you actually believe Symbian is this perfect impenetrable fortress you always make it out to be?
We’ve always talked about about all current/upcoming Nokia OSes, discussed the greatness and misgivings of those that we have used. Yet we are only a fanboy of Windows Phone because the mighty authority that is YOU have said so.
——”Andre you wrote “I know this will be met with the usual, cursory derision, trolling and vehement denial of any good that could possibly come from this event”
The reason you get this response is because you frequently respond in your annoying little fanboy troll way to people that point out the huge obvious flaws and shortcomings in Windows Phone, and the way you unfairly put Symbian down. What sort of response do you expect if you rile people like that? “LOL” (as you frequently say)——
Smith. Ninja. And all your persona here: I cannot believe YOU of all people can accuse anyone else here of being a fanboy when Andre can like something and accept limitations, where as you make some of the most ludicrous claims that the Nokia N8 is the best smartphone ever to date. You love Symbian so much you cannot begin to accept it has any faults as it is abundantly perfect for you.
There are aspects of Windows Phone that riles Andre and I up. Same with Symbian. Did you know that even though we talk about Symbian we have talked about our frustrations and annoyances for SEVERAL YEARS too!? All before Windows Phone! It was never Windows Phone is here thus Hate Symbian. We have voiced frustrations for so long when it needed it. It is HIGHLY FAIR to slate Symbian for things we have complained about for years on end which TO THIS DATE it still fails to address.
It is 24th May 2011. Over a year since N8 was announced. The browser? Still ridiculously crap. CRAP! So crap you suggest that users should know to use Opera. Why?! Why must people have to install something to make the core experience meet the expected standard? This is NOT iOS.
The keyboard – still awful? The mail? Still buggy. CORE experiences that should have been addressed in the beginning. I was led to believe that prior to N8 release, we’d get the new browser as soon as October. I was uneasy moving from Maemo 5 to Symbian again what with that dreadful browser (it is important now that the world wants to be online so much, with many activities all performed in browser). We waited to November, to December, to January, To February, To March, To April, it’s bloody May and where the hell is this browser? (Which I hope is much improved from what they demoed as that still looked utterly SHITE in comparison to what we see everywhere else. The slow turtle like tabs? WTF?!) It frustrates me so much that Nokia has been so happy to let such an important feature as browser slide in their flagship N8 and all other S^3 when they had Maemo 5 right there with MicroB. I suspect MicroB will continue to wipe the floor with the Anna and perhaps even Belle update.
————–”I have called you out on that more than most. And yet I am perfectly happy to accept Windows Phone as the future of Nokia smartphones *IF* it offers me more than their Symbian phones have done. In features (that people need and use), in efficiency, cost, performance, reliability and so on.”—————
That’s fine Smith, Ninja. Windows Phone as we have said before is NOT for power users. Nokia are not targeting them. They are after a simple, straight forward user experience that WINDOWS PHONE believe it or not delivers.
Features, Features, Features BLAH. I LOVE FEATURES. Symbian power users LOVE features. The rest of the market? Not so much. These features are foreign languages to them. Doesn’t make sense and not something they’d have adequate need of.
Can’t you realistically see the market where money is made cares NOT for features? They want, first and foremost, USABILITY. They don’t care N8 has BT3.0 or WiFi N, and sadly USB OTG (Not yet anyway as they are shit at marketing such features).
They want something that is fast. Something that just works. Something that is very stable. A great user experience. (Marketing and general trend has pushed smartphones AWAY from the hands of smart people – where no work is needed by the user to understand HOW to use their device).
I miss USB file transfer and bluetooth file transfer (the latter coming). I miss therefore the play AVI files ability. Maps I miss terribly too and of course the Nokia Camera. I’ve said before, but I would not recommend any current iteration of Windows Phone handset to any Symbian users. I’m not even sure the new Nokia WP will be up to scratch. But Nokia Windows Phone is NOT for these people.
Nokia Windows Phone is for new users that want SIMPLE, Hassle Free, just works experience of smartphones. Here’s my password there’s facebook, twitter, gmail etc. Great keyboard input, great browser (albeit no flash but hey, none either in your favourite Opera) great email. Fast stable UI that’s buttery smooth. Core of connectivity with people, I get done much better with Windows Phone that I have ever done with Symbian (though Maemo would have been perfect for me instead. Darn you Nokia!)
Nokia are doing what they NEED to do now given the little room they have to do what they WANT.
——–If it does not, where on earth is the sanity in trying to convince ourselves that “yeah, it’s all OK, Symbian is inferior and Windows Phone MUST be better, because Nokia and Microsoft say that’s the future and we just have to accept it”. NO. Why should I believe a lie? It is not going to happen.———
There is no conspiracy to fool you into buying the ‘inferior’ Windows Phone handset.
If you don’t want it, don’t buy it. There’s no one putting a gun to your head to force you to part with your cash.
As a Nokia blogger, I’m most interested in what Nokia can do FOR THE BENEFIT OF NOKIA as a whole. I don’t want to see them continue to burn and die whilst they flounder about trying to get Symbian to get to nowheresville. Windows Phone is their stop gap.
I would have much rather Elop have been less dramatic with the whole burning platform issue (Rather introduced us to Windows Phone and the partnership when they HAD a phone ready to release soon). Or at least talked about the tandem of Symbian and Windows Phone not just the death of one and shift to the other.
——–Right now, Windows Phone is a steaming heap of shit with a slightly nice interface on it (AND no one is buying it – consumers don’t want it!). Symbian is a beautiful piece of technical excellence with a slightly poor user interface in parts on it (e.g. the keyboard implementation is SHIT on Symbian – clunky, slow and bugged). But most of Symbian is fantastic.——-
OMG, you just called something bad in Symbian. I take back what I mentioned there about you not being able to see faults. I remember you saying before N8 didn’t even NEED updates! Now it needs an updated keyboard? wow.
Unfortunately there’s a whole heap of problems in Symbian and it might just be too much to turn back the tide. The Symbian Touch experience was an anticlimax in iteration one. What they delivered in the first proto was what came out with the 5800. Symbian^3 was still a major disappointment in the core of BROWSING, messaging (with default keyboard) and general stability (if you download apps).
It has NEVER made sense to me why Symbian as such a mature platform ALWAYS HAS LAGS. I have used nearly every single Symbian phone and it takes about a month of general use for it to start showing that unsightly lag or freeze. This has been made more noticeable when you see competitors just running away with less and less lag each time. This is unacceptable! Not helped of course by the pittance of RAM and the less than generous CPU offering (though it helped battery life).
It takes 6 seconds for my app folder to open (for the first time – instant afterwards. But WTF. 6 seconds)
——-* ALL * you Windows Phone fanboys on here do is lie down and give up and convince yourselves that because you can do nothing to change it, Windows Phone has to be excellent and Symbian has to now be shit – you’ve convinced yourself of that position. And you don’t like it when someone comes along and disturbs that illusion by disagreeing with you. Which is a.) sad, and b.) rampant fanboyism (even worse, to Microsoft, a long time big bad bully boy in the PC industry and convicted monopolist in the USA and Europe).——–
Convincing ourselves that X has to be excellent and disturbs us that someone disagrees and therefore we are fanboys. Do you type into mirrors?
>>>>>When WinPho proves itself to be as good as or better than Symbian I will embrace it with open arms. Until then don’t expect me or many millions of other people to be stupid or insane enough to spend good money DOWNGRADING our excellent Nokia Symbian smartphones. Simple. As. That.”<<<<<
1)Windows Phone is not for Smith/ninja. Nokia Windows Phone users aren’t going to be the ex Symbian power users that have come to experience the wealth of features that Symbian Provides. I’d bet the MAJORITY of Symbian users did/do not know the supreme potential of their device. None of my friends who have owned previous generations of Nokia’s knew it did apps. Nor that current gen has them either. Perhaps ex Nokia users would come back to the fold, or new Nokia users entirely.
Those used to the Symbian experience of features minus usability, I would never recommend the “stripped down” Windows Phone simple, just works experience. I’d recommend it to friends that are casual mobile users. Folks that haven’t got time to learn a new platform. Folks that I wouldn’t dare wish the frustration of their phone crashing because they never understood that it properly multitasks and you have to KILL those tasks they did not realise could run simultaneously. Shame. Too much power in simpleton hands.
2) Any ex Symbian power user tired of waiting most likely are heading off to Greenbot land. Possibly WebOS. MeeGo if it could have gotten here sooner. That was always the plan had MeeGo blueprint gone perfectly. Symbian would have disappeared from the high end with MeeGo rightfully taking the top seat. Development for Symbian has taken much much much too long. As with MeeGo.
3) Features are coming. One by one, coming. And fortunately, unlike Symbian updates, we have DATES on when to expect such updates. They get rolled out to people (as long as their shitty carriers – Hello T-Mobile, or god awful manufacturers – Hi Samsung – don’t mess up the update roll outs).
4) After my exams I’ll put together my long overdue experience with Windows Phone. I’ve never collated them all into one single post. Not had the time. That will be my experience with Windows Phone software (not the Samsung hardware, aka, battery de shit). may be able to get it out before Mango update. Then I’ll be more open to showcasing more things I dislike about Windows Phone (likewise, why I haven’t posted about some of the things I like that Nokia users should look forward to, none of the core app experiences or some of the cool apps I’m finding in MarketPlace).
Won’t comment on your whole post, just a few tidbits though:
“There is no conspiracy to fool you into buying the ‘inferior’ Windows Phone handset.”
Of course not. There IS a conspiracy to kill off the wonderful creation that is Symbian, however. This is what I find hard to digest. Without Symbian in the picture, WP looks like a more attractive proposition than it really is.
“Symbian^3 was still a major disappointment in the core of BROWSING, messaging (with default keyboard) and general stability (if you download apps).”
Hmm.. Browsing? Do you use Internet Explorer on your Windows PC? The in-built browsing experience that MS offers is also very sub-par compared to the competition. Yet I don’t see you bashing it. I wonder why not?
Messaging? What is wrong there? You have Swype, which is by far the fastest input method on a touchscreen. You also have the convenience of T9 for portrait, which is an EXCELLENT FEATURE, as it allows people with big fingers (like me) to not get frustrated while typing in portrait. Portrait qwerty is coming in an update.. so.. what’s your point?
General stability.. Is Android stable? Hell no. It is up to the APP DEVELOPER to insure stability of the app on a given platform. It’s not Symbian’s fault that the app you downloaded isn’t working correctly – because 99% of the apps in Ovi store DO work correctly and are very stable. Personally I’ve yet to find one that wouldn’t be. Give examples?
“It has NEVER made sense to me why Symbian as such a mature platform ALWAYS HAS LAGS.”
Blame Nokia for skimping on processor power and RAM. While Symbian is not a power-hungry OS, it still needs more juice than Nokia had been running it on. Especially because CONTEMPORARY APPS AND GAMES NEED HIGHER SPECS. This is the same across the board.
So in essence, you are comparing Android/WP with adequate hardware to Symbian with gimped hardware, and saying “look, Symbian sucks”.
Saving costs has its drawbacks. Even so I find that S60 phones with 600MHz processor never lag. Ever. I’ve yet to see it.
Likewise, S^3 could use 800 MHz or maybe even 1GHz to be even faster. However, I have never had my N8 lag on me yet, despite running many processes at once. A game, Opera Mobile with a few tabs and the music player in the background, for example. What else should I be running to make it lag?
If you expect a mobile phone to run as many programs as your quad-core desktop and be fluid, maybe you are missing the whole point of a mobile phone. I’m sure in the future mobile handsets will have such capabilities, but currently there is a balance to be maintained between power usage and power availability, that is battery power.
I agree with some of the rest of what you say, especially the part where WP is not meant for current Symbian power users. But I utterly despise Elop et al. for making such short work of Symbian – an OS that is miles ahead of WP in its current iteration. An OS that has taken many much brighter heads than Elop or Ballmer to develop. Especially as it leaves me little choice of where to go for a similar experience.
/end rant
——Hmm.. Browsing? Do you use Internet Explorer on your Windows PC? The in-built browsing experience that MS offers is also very sub-par compared to the competition. Yet I don’t see you bashing it. I wonder why not?————
I use I.E.9 yes. I also have firefox. My choice between then is different. Whilst both core browsing experience is essentially the same (as with Chrome) I have add-ons with firefox which is why I prefer using it (over any other browser for Windows).
Mobile is different. People don’t see their phones as mini PCs with growing functionality. They see the web button and expect it to JUST WORK.
The browser in WP is:
1)Fast – Symbian browser slow. Such a pain to see Symbian browser slowly opening my web pages. And whilst it’s loading I see NOTHING. It doesn’t even let me read parts of the page whilst I read. WHY?!
2)Smooth – Symbian browser, slow and choppy scrolling. Hiccup or stop
3)Renders pages accurately
4)Supports Multitouch that is very smooth – chequer boarding all the time and multitouch zooms in only very small portion
5)Accepts multiple tabs – NOTHING yet on this front for Symbian default browser. Opera gets there though.
6)Great multitab UI – There’s no multitab yet but what they demoed for anna looks AWFUL. Why not just steal what Opera’s done? There’s that new browser with top desktop browser like tabs on Symbian? Or at least have grid of thumbnails like Maemo/WP?
7)Can render pages very quickly even on slow connection – I don’t even bother on Symbian default. If slow connection, I need Opera.
9) DOES NOT CRASH OR LOCK UP ON HEAVY PAGES. – Symbian…er my browser has crashed loading wordpress. It crashes loading my blog. It crashes loading engadget. It crashes loading digg. I’m midway trying to type a comment and whoops, Symbian browser has crashed. Why should we put up with this?
10 – UI is easy to use – Even with Symbian^3 the default navigation experience is a pain. This was something commented about before the whole WP thing. I still have this toolbar that only disappears when it wants. THREE tap process to access buttons that should be there in one tap. e.g. REFRESH? On the plus side, Symbian^3 browser is MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCH better compared to the filth on S^1.
It’s no MicroB in terms of FULL web experience. I don’t have FLASH but neither do Opera users- the browser recommended if you want to do some actual browsing on Symbian. I miss flash for embed video (sometimes it opens with player, supposedly embed HTML5 vids better implementation in Mango)
But it’s a darn sight better than that shit experience I have had in Symbian with the default browser.
One thing I’ve found on WP is that I enjoy browsing the web on my phone again. I use bookmarked versions instead of apps. This somewhat gives me what I loved in Maemo.
Having 800×480 really helps ME as I can see more on a page at one time. For some 640X360 is totally fine. There’s a new bare minimum for 2011 though and it’s WVGA.
I hope we do see qHD on Symbian.
———–Messaging? What is wrong there? You have Swype, which is by far the fastest input method on a touchscreen. You also have the convenience of T9 for portrait, which is an EXCELLENT FEATURE, as it allows people with big fingers (like me) to not get frustrated while typing in portrait. Portrait qwerty is coming in an update.. so.. what’s your point?———-
SWYPE. Which we are YET to see portrait version for Symbian^3 huh? Swype designed for portrait use that is completely awkward in landscape (thus I end up preferring the default QWERTY. This shouldn’t have to be installed by a user who doesn’t even know what the hell SWYPE is (though good that in Astound, we saw it being rolled in as part of the experience).
This is what is important. The core user experiences are done RIGHT!
—-General stability.. Is Android stable? Hell no. It is up to the APP DEVELOPER to insure stability of the app on a given platform. It’s not Symbian’s fault that the app you downloaded isn’t working correctly – because 99% of the apps in Ovi store DO work correctly and are very stable. Personally I’ve yet to find one that wouldn’t be. Give examples?—–
Is Android stable? Are we talking about Android? No.
Is Windows Phone stable? Yes.
And as for “it’s not Symbian’s fault – it’s the apps”. NO. There are still parts of the OS that lags as a fresh install out of the box. And as for it being something Non-Ovi store.
I have had TWO Nokia N8′s. One for experimenting (with beta apps), one with just plain Ovi Store approved items. They BOTH crash and lock up in Web Browsing over certain pages. Gamelofts games sometimes FAIL to start for no reason or crash half way. It obviously gets worse if that game isn’t the only thing in the background. The wordpress app won’t even open anymore.
Those are some EXAMPLES for you from Ovi Store only touched N8.
—–Blame Nokia for skimping on processor power and RAM. While Symbian is not a power-hungry OS, it still needs more juice than Nokia had been running it on. Especially because CONTEMPORARY APPS AND GAMES NEED HIGHER SPECS. This is the same across the board. —-
Agreed! Symbian pro fanatics have always cried out that Symbian is light and doesn’t need all that processing power and RAM. Yeah, if you’re never going to use it for anything except what’s on the phone.
Why the feck Nokia didn’t par up N97 with beefier hardware when it new it was lacking in software polish? Same with N8! April when released…but let’s think about these handsets 6-12 months down the line! We want longevity.
I’m not sure about iPhone 3G or even 3G processors vs N8 and overall speed though.
I’d love to see what Symbian is capable of on identical hardware.
My comment is already too long as it is and I have exams to go to now.
Well.. In the same breath you mention microB and how Symbian browser sucks. What makes you think it can’t be ported to Symbian? You make the cardinal mistake of assuming that the OS is somehow inherently corrupted and unable to change, which is wrong. As a practicing doctor to a future colleague, my advice to you is to never assume too much: it can lead to grave mistakes later. Regardless the issue with Symbian is Nokia’s failure to give it enough attention, and nothing else.
You also mention Gameloft and how its games can lag- I think the issue is that the games are poorly optimized for Symbian. Coding games for this OS has always been somewhat of an afterthought, and it shows here.
Sent from my N8 using landscape Swype
cool?
whatever happened with that beta labs app that let you draw chinese characters?
did they ever add chinese text support for non-asian devices?
Text to speech, or speech to text?
The multitask UI looks like eh, odd. I mean shouldn’t the “thumbnails” at least rotate according to portrait or landscape? Positive if they make multitasking powerful and easy enough for normal people.
But yeah, soon WP will have almost the same features we already have, Yippee-ki-yay I say.
Good catch there
.. edited it
I would not say “soon” (unless you mean Nokia’s soon concept, in which case it would mean “in a few years time”) because the list is still huge, but I actually do hope they roll all updates up as quickly as possible. Preferably, they must have all Symbian features by the time the first Nokia WP7 is released.
You know, that does not mean I or many other people will ever buy a Nokia WP, specially after seeing the N9/N950 ad. Before that? Maybe, but only if they got everything absolutely right with WP7 and all Symbian’s features, connectivity and hardware. Right now? Nope, the N9 looks awesome and smooth, and is actually coming soon (in 2 months time).
My priority list for purchase (OS) is, in this order:
1 – Harmattan/Nokia’s MeeGo (provided it is an upgrade to my N8)
2 – Symbian^3 (again, only upgrades)
3 – iOS (if all fails, will be my gaming device with N8 as main phone)
4 – Windows 8 (tablet/phone, when released)
5 – Windows Phone 7 or 8, depending on which has the most feature-complete set.
That means I’ll probably upgrade to WP8 in 2013. That is, if it survives that long, after seeing only 1,6 million devices sold in the planet from more than 5 OEM’s.
Looking forward to seeing what MS offers with this update. I just recommended a good friend of mine to buy the LG Optimus 7 (she needs an easy to use smartphone). Hopefully, this update will bring significant improvements over the current software and will hopefully be good enough for the first Nokia WP7 phone.
P.S. Microsoft HAS to improve the camera application. Just like Symbian, it’s frustrating having to change the setting EVERY time you want to use the camera since it doesn’t remember the setting you last used. Please Microsoft, you need to change that.
I’m not really sure I would want that. Leaving the camera in macro mode. Not using it for a couple of days and the first shot after those few days will be frustrating since you have to set it all up again.
I’d rather have some easy way to have 3 user defineable presets that are easily accesed and easy to change on the go.
Or if that is not possible I would like to have scroller in the side that selects scenemodes. All the other settings apart from flash on/off aren’t much used anyway.
Multitasking: bad design copied from Symbian. Why not make visible more than one screen of background application? At least 4 could be easily visible.
Generally Windows Phone seem to have about 4 times less options then Symbian. It’s really unusable.
Style of Windows Phone with it’s big headlines and mix of all sizes of fonts is total mess.
Use it please, that mess you talk about makes it a lot easier to use than I’d imagined.
There are less options sure, but granularity is the anathema of simplicity and ease of use in most cases.
I miss some options but the simplicity both makes up for it and makes things understandable.
Total mess it may be to some,. but it is very coherent. Symbian is far more incoherent in that light, even Nokia’s own apps look different from the core OS. Even if WP is lacking a gazillion of features (which it is) it does have the basics right eventhough it’s design doesn’t suit everyone.
I just think Microsoft is going for the minimalist approach to the OS. It really is quite refreshing. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t usable, although it does lack some features….something I’m sure they’re working on. Believe it or not, even Android users are using launchers that mimmick the minimalistic feel of Windows Mobile. We shall see if this strategy will pay off in the end. It certainly has peeked my interest!
Will the Mango Update be available on all devices or is it just for the new ones?
I personally think, that WP7 is getting a great OS for the average user…
Add MeeGo for the power users and everything is fine for me.
All indications point towards Mango going to existing devices though I highly doubt there’ll be much more support beyond that, at least from the carriers.
Of course there will likely be hardware dependent aspects that won’t/can’t be ported.
And I agree with you on the MeeGo for power users, WP7 for the average user setup
Feature wise this update has nothin even for a symbian^1 user
In your very humble opinion
As a Symbian user I totally agree with him. Even with Mango, WP can only look good to someone that’s new to smartphones. Just one step above iOS. But to each his own. I just wish that WP fanboys would stop trying to present it like it’s the best thing since sliced bread. It really isn’t.
From the poweruser perspective I can understand WP is far from appealing, certainly in it’s current form.
But for all the user entering the smartphone world, or those that use only 20% of all smartphone features out there it is very useable.
Both Symbian and WP have their shortcomings, Symbian in the way it is operated by the user (archaic and sluggish, my opinion as a medium Symbian user) WP is lacking in the features department.
For me personally I would prefer WP over Symbian but ONLY IF there is decent bluetooth support, decent multitasking for all apps and good voicecall performance/overall radio performance.
As you say, to each his/her own.
I’ll agree with you too
IF WP becomes as feature-rich as Symbian is today, then I won’t have any foot to stand on, so to speak.
Of course I still won’t buy it, because I believe Symbian was a better direction to pursue. After all, software is just code and given enough attention you could always make Symbian into something far greater than it already is. So it’s also a question of personal conviction with me.
Finally, I do hope they change the UI to something nicer. Currently it’s just too simplistic for the likes of me.
I beg to differ, Symbian was not the way forward. At least not for the high-end.
Something Nokia could never have attained is the full ecosystem. Nokia can provide apps and music but it basically stops at that (not including Maps and mail)
MS on the other hand has XBox, Office, leverage in the corporate world and just the ability to seemlessly integrate your phone with your desktop. Windows is in the end a MS product.
That kind of integration is what Nokia could never attain with Symbian.
Symbian is an excellent choice for non-touchscreen devices and low to mid end devices. Windows Phone can never reach as far down as Symbian can regarding price points.
Hmm, again all I see is statements and more statements. You are just repeating what some moronic idiot bloggers have posted on Engadget and elsewhere.
“Something Nokia could never have attained is the full ecosystem.”
Why? Give me the reasons why you think so. Wonderful word usage, too. “never”
Why so? What makes you think Symbian would “never” be a good “ecosystem”.
The Ovi Store was a great leap forward in that direction. There already IS an “ecosystem”. What do you understand by that term, anyway? Apps? Facebook integration? What else?
There is absolutely no reason, whatsoever, for Symbian to not be competitive as an “ecosystem”. Just because it has lost “market share” lately doesn’t mean it can’t/couldn’t have one. Blame the guys in Nokia management for failing to develop it further. And please, stop repeating tired old bullshit, it’s not even funny anymore.
Besides, from the things you’ve mentioned, the only thing that made any sense at all was Office integration – and even that, what kind of “integration” do you expect from it? How does it help productivity? Office is a document/spreadsheet editing software, above anything else and I personally don’t see how integrating it with anything will help me make better documents or spreadsheets.
I’ll respond to that.
It’s pretty basic: Nokia is a hardware vendor that also makes a phone OS. Besides that what do they deliver?
Infrastructure for networks, still phone related. It will give them an advantage into good connecting phones and call quality yet is still remains phone oriented.
On the other hand you have Apple, Google and MS. All three (or two Apple and MS) are companies that have experience in the PC world. A world that will transition to mobile phones, or mobile devices in the coming years.
Those companies have knowledge and leverage in the PC world. And mostly they already work with a lot of services that want (or need) to transition to the post PC era, the mobile era.
I guess you need to see the definition of Ecosystem in a different light. It’s not about an app store, OS, phones and maybe a music store. It is about far far more than that. Remote acces to your desktop for one. Nokia would be hard pressed to make something like that. MS on the other hand makes 80% of the desktop world run, thus making it easy for them to get into something like that.
Then there is BING search, music etc. Also a part of an ecosystem eventhough Bing sucks a bit. That’s exactly why Android is also succeeding. Succes they had with Gmail and all their other services partly made Android to what is now.
Nokia started from the other side, mobile into PC world. OPK tried to copy a Google like model with OVI mail etc. But it was too poor an effort and too late as well.
It is all a personal opinion and by no means based on anything but I do believe it has some truth to it. Also, it is not meant as pro WP. More to say why Symbian probably wouldn’t cut it as a highend OS for long.
MeeGo would be the alternative, as you probably know, that OS was also built for the full package although that was a bit different, but they were (or are) aiming for integration in the sense interdevice compatibility.
I like the responsiveness but I so much prefer the good old widgets over tiles.
Feature wise, No, list out every feature Windows Phone or possibly several other OSes at the time of S^1′s initial release was no where near it.
BUT…Touching any S^1/S605TH handset makes me feel like THROWING IT AGAINST THE WALL.
My friend showed me her X6 which her stupid network let her “upgrade” on a 2 year contract. She’s got about 14 months left. That thing is such a piece of crap compared to what is offered today. The browser drives me crazy! It’s constant lagging! No new apps because anything that’s good (if any) is moving onto S^3. I know Symbian. I’ve used every iteration. The memories of N97 flooding into X6 was all too haunting.
I think general public appreciate usability more than features. The average person just wants to do ‘STUFF’. They want to do it quickly, efficiently, no fuss, no stall, just work. No learning curves (or very minimal at that), be very robust – just over all easy and nice to use.
The inconsistency in S^1 is mind boggling. The depths at which features are buried in menus is incomprehensible.
I’d rather have a bag of core important tools I can get to quickly than an olympic sized swimming pool filled with every tool in the world.
I strongly suspect dat Nokia will turn towards Qt-Symbian Platform aftr 1yr frm now..
Why lol
So the most important problem to fix is still not touched at all. It’s like they don’t even want to sell it to anyone. If they’re not doing it now, then when are they planning to change that annoyingly ugly POS UI to something good or even decent? When they release WP8? It’ll be too late by then. Until that UI is fixed, I won’t even consider a Windows Phone. Right now it’s so bad, that I’d rather take every other OS there is before it.
^ That wasn’t supposed to come there and be a reply for Andre. It’s just a general wondering.
I think this UI is the whole point of windows Mobile. As I state above, they are really going for that minimalistic feel. I am temporarily on Android, but believe me, I’ve noticed that one of the first things people do is use a launcher that mimmicks this minimalist approach. Everything is text based instead of icons. It’s not for everybody, but I can see this approach appealing to those who want/need simplicity.
And that’s the one thing that puts me off about WP than anything else. When they go as minimalist as this, they are bound to loose a big chunk of potential customers
I can see that being the case. I also think it is a bit too minimalistic for my taste. In some screens, I find it hard to know where to touch/select. This does appeal to some people, though. I’m not opposed to giving it a try.
I like it, even the big tiles would suite me perfectly although I would like a little more personalisation other than changing the color of tiles.
i also think so.
Yeah and I suspect that Nokia will turn towards DOS. Get serious dude. Windows Phone is the future.
well, the wp ui looks like dos.
Very texty.
Nice to see microsoft actually keeping the promise of wp7 mango firmware upgrade. That’s just like microsoft, very good at making software. And no wonder why there are the best number 1 software company in the whole wide world. But what about bluetooth file transfers support. Is it coming to mango update or not?
According to a recent job post, yes, it is coming: http://wmpoweruser.com/improved-bluetooth-support-coming-to-windows-phone-7/
A great summary, Andre. There’s a HUGE laundry list of functionality coming with Mango, but I think you touched on some great, poignant points that may interest current Symbian users willing to give WP a try. There’s a rumour floating there will be 9 devices shown (sadly, none by Nokia) but we’ll just have to wait and see. I’m really looking forward to your perspective on this update after the Mango preview.
I think this OS is pretty refreshing. It still needs some work in the features department, but this looks promising. The interface is very clean, but at times it can be too minimalistic (for my taste). I can’t wait to see Nokia’s offering with Windows mobile! I may yet return to a Nokia device. I’ll be keeping my eye out!
it’s not a Nokia device if it’s not running symbian
Guess the Booklet 3G wasn’t from Nokia then, nor was the N900 or N810.
Or the gazillions of S30 and S40 devices…
While technically you are correct, in reality nothing else says boldly and proudly NOKIA as does Symbian. It is/was their crowning achievement for many years.
This just in: Ballmer said 500 new features in Mango also new devices will be shown apparantly.
COuld we see a Nokia device already? One that would launch October/November time slot? Mind=Blown if that would happen.
By looking at the screen shot provided, I really felt that WP7 is too far from convincing us to buy WP phone. The UI is very bad looking and miles away from iOS, not even close to Symbian S^3. Generally the interface is not informative and not user friendly enough. We needs more 3D icon or “touch” based which is more friendly to finger, and less text reading on screen. Why put big text header on screen, but useless and occupy big space !
Nokia may need to “teach” MS how to make good phone’s software ie what info to show, or better MS just need to learn how Apple write iOS. For today smart phone, user friendly is TOP priority !.
+1
The biggest shortcoming of WP is not even its lack of features (after all, iOS had even less), it’s the very un-smartphone-like approach to the UI. I understand that many people like it, and I understand that also many people find it refreshing when comparing with others.
But underlying it all, the key issue is PRODUCTIVITY and USER-FRIENDLINESS (just like you said). I find WP failing in both departments. And no, it’s not just me hating the tile design, it’s much more than that.
Another issue is CUSTOMIZATION, which is severely lacking in WP.
I am impressed by the number of updates for Windows Phone, and while people(who have a WP& device) tell me that it isn’t really ready for everyday use, i’m looking forward to trying it out, though Maemo/Symbian devices will be my day to day device for now. I’m not sure I could have a day to day device without an Fm Transmitter or offline mapping right now.
Great list and set of screenshots – shame that no-one seems to be picking up on one of the best implemented things in Meamo and using it – I’m not aware of a similr task switcher anywhere else and it’s much better than the card view.
I’m still of the opinion that Symbian devices launched in Q3/Q4 of this year will be better more feature rich than Nokia’s Windows Phone devices launched in Q4/Q1, but the amount of updating going on here is encouraging to see.
It will be interesting to see what changes Nokia brings to it’s devices from other WP7 makes, though I highly doubt that we find out anything about that or see a Nokia device yesterday (rumoured to be 9 new devices on talked about and according to PhoneArena they are from HTC, Samsung, Dell and Acer).
to me, Windows Phone 7 is dead in the water because of 1 basic feature they don’t seem to be addressing: Memory upgrade, are WP7 phones still killing MicroSD Cards?
Windows Phone has an issue with memory cards. If it has a slot, it will take your memory card and it will upgrade your store. But you’re “stuck” for a while in that you can’t just swap it for a new card or take that card out (without formatting)
I don’t know if this is fixed in Mango. It will be OK for maybe majority of users that would perhaps pop a card in and never take it out again, but if you want the memory card for transferring, it’s a no no.
http://mynokiablog.com/2011/04/16/windows-phone-7-certified-memory-cards-available-_-certified-wtf/
Not only that, if I recall correctly it also makes your card “dead” for every single device, even your PC. The ONLY way to reformat it is to stick into (surprise surprise!!!) a Symbian phone and format it there.
Anna brings portrait qwerty and browser with new UI! Take that WP 7.5!
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