DailyTech - Windows Phones Launching on October 6

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Gadgets Windows Phones Launching on October 6
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - September 1, 2009 3:36 PM

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41 comment(s) - last by noirsoft.. on Sep 5 at 10:53 AM

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the 2009 Mobile World Congress (Source: Microsoft)

AT&T will give free Wi-Fi access to Windows Mobile devices

IPhone users have been enjoying the app store and access to all sorts of programs for over a year now. With the success of the Apple App Store, most all other providers are bringing their own offerings to market as well.

Word that Microsoft would be unveiling its own app store for Windows Mobile devices turned up in early July with a launch date pegged as this fall. Microsoft announced today that its next generation of mobile devices running Windows Mobile 6.5, also known as Windows Phones, will launch on October 6. The new line of phones will be designed to work closely with the Windows Marketplace, which presumably will launch at the same time as the new phones.

“A Windows phone gives people a single phone that works for their whole life, keeping them connected to the people and information they care most about by harnessing the power of the PC, phone and Web,” said Todd Peters, corporate vice president of the Mobile Communications Marketing Group at Microsoft.

Microsoft had no trouble getting phone makers and mobile service provides and in North America mobile carriers for the new phones will be AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, Telus, and Verizon Wireless. Phone makers working with Microsoft include HP, HTC, LG, Samsung, and Toshiba.

The phones will feature a new version of Internet Explorer Mobile with support for Flash Lite. Office Mobile will be featured on the new Windows Phones along with tight integration of social networking. The aforementioned application store will offer some features that are not currently found with other offerings including the ability for users to return apps for a full refund if they don’t like them.

Gizmodo reports that AT&T will also be offering free Wi-Fi service to Windows Mobile devices as well, ensuring that the new Windows Phones will have the same access to Wi-Fi as the iPhone and Blackberry devices have.

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Don't get iConned by crApple

By SteveIsMyiConArtist on 9/1/2009 4:52:31 PM , Rating: 2

I still think even the current version of Windows mobile is much more useable and indispensible than iCrap.

The people who got iConned by Apple would disagree, which kind of makes sense if you spent $600 on a useless and incompatible device designed solely for Apple to steal your credit card number so that you can be iConned into buying even more iJunk for your iCrap.

RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By ThatNewGuy on 9/1/2009 5:07:52 PM , Rating: 5

You sir, are iClever.

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By QueBert on 9/1/2009 5:48:48 PM , Rating: 2

Yes, I hate the fact I can do anything on my iPhone that I could on my Motorola q (WinMo) better and faster. If this phone is WinMo based, you couldn't pay me enough to use it. I had 2 WinMo based phones since they same out, both were pretty shitty. Also the Apple store is at a level where MS would never even come close to catching up. Palm has as good a chance as MS does of competing with Apple. And Palm has zero chance. How exactly did I get iConned again? I've had an iPhone since the 1st gen, and there's no other phone for me. I paid $200 for it - WOW that's uhhh exactly what I paid for my last WinMo phone, which didn't do half the shit my iPhone does. I got conned lol...

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By Souka on 9/1/2009 6:17:36 PM , Rating: 3

Moto-Q was a horrible Winmo phone...1st gen, 2nd gen, 3rd gen... (we deployed about 200 of these over 2 years at my last job...every single person bitched and wanted to be switched back to a Blackberry or the WinMo phone they had been using.)

All these phones cost $$$... find one that YOU like and use it. iphone, blackberry, winmo, palm... if you like it, great.

cheers

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By omnicronx on 9/1/2009 7:28:17 PM , Rating: 2

Haha, you can't compare a 3+ year old phone with the WinMo phones of today. If apps are you thing, then perhaps its not for you, but there are many things a WinMo phone can do that no other phone can. It is a full fledged OS, and while definitely rough around the edges, and pretty much terrible in terms of user friendliness, it does have quite large feature set. Voice commands are amazing out of the box compared to other phones, and I will take Opera mobile any day over safari. I also enjoy having a high resolution screen which always helps.

WinMo is definately heading in the right direction. New builds as of a few weeks ago have totally changed the UI, no more buttons on the top bar, everything is moved to the bottom. I'm using it right now, and I am still very impressed.

If you know how to flash your own phone (I maintain my own kitchen) winMo can be quite fun. I can customize my phone far more than your iPhone thats for sure.

Is the iPhone a better all around phone? IMO yes, is it well suited for everyone, surely not..

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By Oralen on 9/2/2009 8:44:43 AM , Rating: 4

quote:
...and while definitely rough around the edges, and pretty much terrible in terms of user friendliness...

I'm sorry, but you just explained yourself why everybody has an Iphone, and why people hate WinMo...

A phone is a consumer appliance.

You take it out of your pocket, call someone, play a game for a few minutes while waiting for someone, listen to your music while you're on the go...

And then you want to be able to put it back in your pocket and forget about it.

It's not supposed to be "rough around the edges", because I don't have 20 minutes to troubleshoot it when I want to do something with it NOW.

It HAS to be "user friendly", because I carry that thing with me all the time... And I AM the user! And since I bloody paid for it, I expect it to be fun to use, or at least unobtrusive.

I had both. And I remember having to edit the registry in WinMo to get some things to work.

And now, as I remember, I wonder how I could stand it.

A registry? On a friggin' phone?!?

A phone is a consumer appliance. Microsoft isn't good at that. Period.

They rely on businesses to buy their phones, because the servers are running Windows, Win Mobile can tie into that more easily, so they won that market until now.

Buy when people have to spend THEIR OWN CASH on a phone... They prefer to pick up the more expensive Apple option.

I think that says something about Windows Mobile, no?

For now, Windows Mobile is a clunky, outdated platform playing catch-up... And failing.

You say "WinMo is definately heading in the right direction". Ok. Good. I didn't test the latest builds, so you must be right.

But... Call me when they actually get there. Because I will believe it when they deliver, and not before.

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By omnicronx on 9/2/2009 9:28:07 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
A phone is a consumer appliance.
You take it out of your pocket, call someone, play a game for a few minutes while waiting for someone, listen to your music while you're on the go...

No, a phone is a phone. Why you iPhone users think the vast majority of people need to play a game for a minute while waiting i beyond me. For a vast amount of people, merely calling will suffice. Add in browsing and facebook and most people are happy.

quote:
It's not supposed to be "rough around the edges", because I don't have 20 minutes to troubleshoot it when I want to do something with it NOW.

Was is the keyword. HTC specifically has really stepped things up and essentially they have replaced the winmo gui with their own.

quote:
Buy when people have to spend THEIR OWN CASH on a phone... They prefer to pick up the more expensive Apple option.

I think companies like RIM prove that you are incorrect, Apple while a great seller is still very expensive. You can get a cheaper phone plan and data on pretty much any other smartphoen if you do your shopping. Yet BB does not really have any apps, is still a bit rough around the edges and mainly serves as a phone/email device. So much for your 'consumer device' theory..

I'm not here saying WinMo is amazing compared to the iPhone, I just don't know why you keep commenting based on your 3 year old reviews. That was my problem with your post. Don't get me wrong the iPhone is a great and definitely all around best device if you are going to use all its features, but personally I could care less about apps, and I know many other people are in the same boat. I spend enough money on frivolous things, I don't need to be buying useless iPhone apps too..

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By Oralen on 9/2/2009 10:24:21 AM , Rating: 2

I understand your point of view entirely.

The "gaming" thing on my phone came after I bought it, and I never imagined I would actually do that.

It kind of grew on me, that's all.

And you're right to say RIM makes great phones. To me RIM is great for work thing, and Apple great for fun.

But I can't see a great place for WinMobile in the future...

The thing that got me mad and posting a comment is the constant Apple bashing at Dailytech.

Some people here reacts like football fans: Apple Bad!! Microsoft Good!!

It pisses me off sometimes.

You have to admit that on the phone front Microsoft got a little upstaged, no?

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By omnicronx on 9/2/2009 10:55:04 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
You have to admit that on the phone front Microsoft got a little upstaged, no?

Hey I'm not here to defend this, MS still cannot compete with the big players in the market.

Really though there is nothing wrong with Windows mobile, its just the carriers implementation and the lack of (or non existant) support makes most stock winMo phones terrible.

I personalize my ROM on my phone, has all the components I choose and setup the way I like. For someone who does not play games, this is absolutely ideal. If I get tired of the UI? I change it to one of the many available options. Getting tired of my browser? Lots of options and for me this is the ideal mobile OS..

Of course MS has been upstaged, I am not here to talk smack at Apple, the massive drop of WinMo share speaks for itself. I just took offense to you comparing a Motorola Q to the WinMo phones of today, as believe me there is no comparison. My phone has 4x+ the amount of resources and a much faster processor and a gpu that actually does what it is suppose to do.(and this is from a phone released last year)

Going forward hardware could progress far more quickly on WinMo than the iPhone, mainly because it is just a platform and hardware manufacturers can do what they please to up end the competition. Snapdragon is on the horizon and should definitely give WinMo and Android a boost.(we should be seeing 1GHZ clocked snapdragon phone from HTC later this year)

All of this being said, I would tend to agree with you, (although the way I came to my conclusion was completely different), MS needs to prove they can compete in the mobile game, and right now they are not for the vast majority of its users.

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By Donovan on 9/2/2009 2:09:32 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
A registry? On a friggin' phone?!?

Ironically you will be among those waiting in line for Apple's first release of "Bootcamp for iPhone" so you can finally run all your favorite programs that were rejected by the App Store.

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By Alexstarfire on 9/2/2009 5:09:20 AM , Rating: 2

Good luck shooting motion video on that 1st gen iPhone. Guess that doesn't fall under "anything" does it? I'm not suggesting that WinMo phones are better, but until the 3rd gen iPhone it really didn't even compare to many phones that were 2+ years older than it was. Of course, people seem to enjoy paying money on apps to get their iphone functional, aside from games.

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By jimbojimbo on 9/2/2009 1:16:08 PM , Rating: 2

Don't forget the iPhone JUST got copy paste and the WinMobile phones surely still don't have that feature... oh wait, they've had it for years! My phone from 2003 was able to send MMS messages as well and wait a minute, the iPhone just got that too. It's so innovative with its new features isn't it? Right.

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RE: Don't get iConned by crApple

By jimbojimbo on 9/2/09, Rating: -1

MS Phones?

By InvertMe on 9/1/2009 4:00:12 PM , Rating: 5

Is it too soon to see specs on these phones?

What I want is a ZUNE HD 64, 3g phone with a decent camera. If only such a device existed I would buy it in a heart beat.

RE: MS Phones?

By FATCamaro on 9/1/09, Rating: -1

RE: MS Phones?

By Indianapolis on 9/1/2009 5:29:09 PM , Rating: 5

We're really not interested in your love life.

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RE: MS Phones?

By chmilz on 9/1/09, Rating: -1

RE: MS Phones?

By InvertMe on 9/1/2009 9:10:24 PM , Rating: 3

I could stand to hear a little more.

(for 10 points what movie is that quote from?)

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RE: MS Phones?

By jadeskye on 9/1/2009 9:48:39 PM , Rating: 4

Serenity.

RIP firefly >.<

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RE: MS Phones?

By HopJokey on 9/1/2009 6:00:32 PM , Rating: 5

quote:
I didn't know she had a pony. How was I to know she had a pony? Who figures an immigrant's going to have a pony? Do you know what the odds are on that? I mean, in all the pictures I saw of immigrants on boats coming into New York harbor, I never saw one of them sitting on a pony. Why would anybody come here if they had a pony? Who leaves a country packed with ponies to come to a non-pony country? It doesn't make sense.. am I wrong?

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RE: MS Phones?

By FATCamaro on 9/1/09, Rating: -1

RE: MS Phones?

By av911 on 9/1/2009 6:56:32 PM , Rating: 5

Seinfeld.

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the title

By Totally on 9/1/2009 6:25:33 PM , Rating: 3

Would benefit with the word new in there, Windows phones have been out as long as I can remember

PINK?

By Zorlac on 9/1/2009 5:03:29 PM , Rating: 2

What about project PINK?

I too would love to see a Zune HD/smartphone.

Zorlac
www.MyPortableLifeStore.com

Suggestion

By Randomblame on 9/2/2009 7:30:34 PM , Rating: 2

Shouldn't the headline read something like "Final Build Of Windows Mobile 6.5 Coming to an HTC kitchen near you by October 6th"

*happy dance*

Maybe they will fix all the bugs with the acelerometer on my incite.

New OS

By DigitalWanksta on 9/1/2009 4:30:41 PM , Rating: 1

The fact the AT&T will offer the Wifi free will be a nice feature. I'm anxious to see what all is in store for this.

- Alex
http://www.jabcellular.com

1st

By Rightous Troll on 9/1/09, Rating: -1

RE: 1st

By Rightous Troll on 9/1/2009 3:57:54 PM , Rating: 2

actually on a real note, I'm abit confused. Is microsoft selling a new phone or are they just releasing a new os for phones?

I don't own a cell phone by the way, don't care to0, only have a land line for 911. so I am ignorent on the subject

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RE: 1st

By Spivonious on 9/1/2009 4:13:30 PM , Rating: 2

AFAIK these are just phones with the new WinMo OS.

Gives them something to stock the Microsoft Stores with.

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RE: 1st

By bubbastrangelove on 9/1/2009 4:02:00 PM , Rating: 3

Jason Mick isn't the author so I think the standards for first post falls into one of the two following categories:

1. Useful insight to the article
2. A humorous short quip related to the topic

And then the discussion proceeds to deteriorate at varying speeds depending on several factors but the troll density seems to be the most common denominator.

I'm afraid you violated protocol.

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RE: 1st

By Rightous Troll on 9/1/09, Rating: 0

zzzz

By sprockkets on 9/1/09, Rating: -1

RE: zzzz

By sprockkets on 9/1/2009 5:11:45 PM , Rating: 1

Don't believe me huh? I did support for WinMob phones, and would hear from customers about this at least 4 times a week. Still happens on 6.5. This isn't personal anecdotal evidence.

It doesn't matter whether Palm or HTC makes the phone. All of them for whatever reason do this.

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RE: zzzz

By Totally on 9/1/2009 6:28:26 PM , Rating: 2

They're just doing it wrong. Has the thought that your customers are idiots ever run across your mind or are you in denial?

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RE: zzzz

By sprockkets on 9/1/2009 6:32:57 PM , Rating: 2

Seeing as how we got two of our own phones to do it in house, I believe it when it happens to customers. Once it happens, you can change the ring settings all you want, but it no longer will ring or vibrate.

I don't get my brother in law. His HTC from Att does it all the time. He says he keeps needing to set the ringer properly via the old way, instead of the HTC front end, but that only works for a few weeks. After that, he has to hard reset.

Aside from him missing 10 calls when it happens, most of them his business customers, yeah, he says the phone is great. Until it stopped charging again, and was going to send it in for repair, but didn't since doing the hard reset fixed the issue.

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RE: zzzz

By dark matter on 9/1/2009 8:04:56 PM , Rating: 2

Ah, but does it explode? Does it pack up above 35 degree heat, or below 0?

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RE: zzzz

By sprockkets on 9/1/2009 9:14:02 PM , Rating: 2

Just because I don't like WinMob doesn't automatically mean I'm all for the iphone. If it weren't for Att and their BS you have to have a data plan for life crap, I'd get one.

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RE: zzzz

By Shadowself on 9/4/2009 10:49:26 AM , Rating: 2

Let's bash Apple with facts, not BS.

No matter what the bloggers say, there have been no "exploding" iPhones. There have been less than 10 verified cases of shattered screens (not cracks or scratches) -- which some reports have claimed were "exploding iPhones". In each of these cases, upon investigation, it was proven that the shattering was due to external forces.

Additionally, U.S. armed forces are using the iPhone in the current conflicts in the middle east. The iPhone is being sold to consumers who are using them in that region of the world (I was there recently in the middle east and saw this first hand -- people walking down the street in 43 deg C temp and using their iPhone.) Clearly the temperatures there are ranging *well* above 35 deg C -- and the phones still function. Look at almost any consumer device and you'll see the specifications state a limited temperature range much smaller than the actual operational range.

Lastly, for those who might be thinking of the thermal issues raised with the iPhone, that has also been debunked. The most celebrated case of the back of a white iPhone supposedly being discolored due to internal thermal issues was proven false. It turned out that the person was keeping the iPhone in an off brand enclosure that did the discoloring.

As I said when I started this post, let's bash Apple with facts -- not feed the Apple fanboys with BS. (They love to feed on BS.) There are many factual things for which to bash Apple and the iPhone ecosystem: the greatest one in my opinion is Apple's completely asinine and arbitrary decision history over what apps to allow in their app store and what not to allow -- and at least until the FCC and SEC make Apple change, Apple has absolute final say as to what shows up in the app store. As I said, asinine.

Then there's AT&T's supporting certain functionality on other phones but not on the iPhone even though the iPhone can inherently support it too.

The list goes on and on and on.

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RE: zzzz

By Alexstarfire on 9/2/2009 5:12:53 AM , Rating: 2

Seems like a very serious issue with the phone, or the OS on the phone. Any reason many of us seem to have never heard of this?

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RE: zzzz

By noirsoft on 9/5/2009 10:53:29 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
He says he keeps needing to set the ringer properly via the old way, instead of the HTC front end, but that only works for a few weeks. After that, he has to hard reset.

So what you're saying is that there's a flaw in the HTC software that has nothing to do with Microsoft or the OS at all? Maybe that's why I've owned 3 WinMo phones over the past 7 years (plus 3 Pocket PCs before that) and have never had this problem. I don't run the HTC front-end on my Fuze, as I prefer the SPB interface.

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